Mr Tony Blair's government was accused of acting like a "Stalinist dictatorship" last night, as the row continued over its plan to cut short debate on Bills providing for referendums on Scottish and Welsh devolution.
The charge came from Tory MP Mr Bill Cash, as Mr Michael Howard - one of the Conservative leadership contenders - accused the new Labour government of "displaying its contempt for decency, convention and for parliament itself".
The government's decision to guillotine debate on the Referendums (Scotland and Wales) Bill sparked angry exchanges in the Commons late on Monday night. As the debate on the government's timetable motion began yesterday, the Scottish Secretary, Mr Donald Dewar, denied that a "bullying executive" was "bulldozing" its legislation through the Commons.
As Mr John Major confirmed his appointment of a high-powered committee to oppose the government's devolution measures, Mr Dewar accused the Opposition of "an organised attempt to obstruct" the Bill after MPs had tabled more than 250 amendments.
But the former prime minister said Labour's use of the guillotine was "an extraordinary proposition".
"I don't know whether it is borne out of their inexperience or for what reason they have decided to do that," Mr Major said. "But I can think of no precedent at all for a guillotine of this sort, this early in a parliament, on a constitutional measure, before debate in committee has even begun."
Mr Howard was altogether less generous, accusing ministers of treating the Commons in an "arrogant and dismissive way". "After just a month in office, the government has already demonstrated its contempt for parliament," he said.
Former Tory minister Sir Norman Fowler weighed in, declaring: "They [ministers] don't give a fig for the rights of parliament" Sir Norman told MPs the guillotine marked a "further step in trying to make the House of Commons the government's rubber stamp. Their triumphalism and arrogance is already sowing the seeds of their destruction.
But Mr Dewar dismissed the Tory complaints as "humbug".
"The whiff of constitutional outrage drifting around the Commons chamber quickly disperses when you look at the facts," he said. "We really can't have the myth perpetrated that this has never been done before and it's some new jungle territory into which we are plunging, where democracy will die among the snakes."
Mr Dewar said the Bill was a simple paving measure to establish the mechanism for the referendums.