DAVID Cameron dealt a blow to devolution hopes yesterday when he ruled out giving Yorkshire tax powers – despite extra freedoms heading to Scotland.

The Prime Minister’s stance triggered a furious row with MPs and accusations that he believed “the voters of England can’t be trusted” in the same way as the Scots.

Mr Cameron came under fire for the disparity in health spending between the nations, which leaves Scotland with £203 extra for every resident.

He admitted that NHS gap could widen because of the Barnett Formula deal in the post-referendum settlement with Scotland.

On taxes, Labour MP Clive Betts asked: “Are you saying the people of England, the voters of England, can’t be trusted with their own taxation as the people of Scotland are going to be trusted?” And a Conservative MP, Sarah Wollaston, demanded a rethink of the Barnett Formula to ensure equal treatment by the NHS.

She said: “How can it possibly be right that, if you are someone living with heart disease dementia, arthritis or cancer on one side of the border, there is so much less to spend on your healthcare?”

But Mr Cameron said he would not allow town halls to “whack up council tax bills”, or enjoy other tax powers, saying: “My answer to that would be no – we have got enough taxes in our country.”

English council leaders have called for powers ranging from retention of stamp duty and capital gains tax to keeping extra tax revenues from growth and increased borrowing, through municipal bonds.

But the prime minister said the answer to the devolution deficit was to deliver ‘English votes for English laws’ at Westminster, which Labour is opposing.

And, on the Barnett Formula, he insisted it was too difficult to replace and would lessen in impact as more control over taxes was handed to Scotland.