The UK Government has announced it will scrap a system which gives English MPs an effective veto on certain laws in a bid to save the Union.
Then prime minister David Cameron had originally unveiled the English Votes for English Laws (EVEL) plan the day after the September 2014 referendum on Scottish independence.
EVEL was introduced in 2015 to correct a perceived imbalance in the powers of English and Scottish MPs - the so-called West Lothian Question.
Scottish MPs at Westminster can vote on health and education matters that only apply in England - but English MPs have no say on how health and education are run north of the Border as they are devolved to Holyrood.
But the move created an immediate nationalist backlash that led to 56 SNP MPs being elected to Westminster.
Tory minister Michael Gove today announced the procedure had "not served our Parliament well".
"The procedure has been suspended since April 2020 and having reflected, the government believes it has not served our Parliament well and that removing it would simplify the legislative process," he said.
"It's a fundamental principle that all constituent parts of the United Kingdom should be equally represented in Parliament," he added.
SNP MP Pete Wishart claimed EVEL had created a "quasi-English parliament squat" in the UK Parliament.
The SNP's Cabinet Office spokesman Stewart Hosie said: “No amount of tinkering around the edges will change the fundamental flaws with the broken Westminster system or protect Scotland from the damaging policies of Tory governments we reject.
“The only way to keep Scotland safe from the long-term damage of Tory austerity cuts, Brexit and Westminster power grabs is for Scotland to become an independent country, with the full powers needed to build a strong, fair and equal recovery.”
