MPs will today vote on whether to "modernise" the House of Commons.

The knife-edge vote has become a battleground between traditionalists and modernisers and has split opinion along the North-South divide.

A defeat would be a personal blow to the Commons leader, Robin Cook, who has led calls for reform of MPs working hours.

A new YouGov poll indicates that most people believe that MPs are ineffective and that parliament is stuck in a "time warp".