The opposition leader was speaking to the Scottish Tory conference in Perth with less than two months to go before elections to the new Edinburgh parliament.

The party lost all its Scottish MPs at the 1997 General Election and has only 85 local councillors.

But despite initial opposition to devolution, the party has now set its sights on recovery through the May elections to Scotland's first Parliament in nearly 300 years.

Scottish identity

"The devolution argument has come and gone - and we are not going to reopen it," said Mr Hague.

"We are not going to let the Conservative Party get dragged into the past."

The Tories had followed the common sense of devolution without betraying political principals, he said, adding: "Because logic tells us that if we believe in Scotland and we believe in the union then we must make the Scottish Parliament work for both Scotland and the United Kingdom."

Labour had failed to follow the logic of devolution, he claimed.

"They spent 18 years calling for it but now it is here they do not dare practise what they preach," Mr Hague said.

"They do not dare let the Scottish Labour Party choose its own candidates for fear they might, heaven forbid, choose candidates of integrity and independence and principle.

"They do not dare let the Scottish Labour Party run its own campaigns for fear they might escape the clutches of the Millbank Towers operation.

"And they certainly do not let the Scottish Labour Party decide its own policies for fear they actually come up with some ideas of their own."

Mr Hague accused Tony Blair of being like former television dog trainer Barbara Woodhouse - barking commands at his "trained poodles" in Scottish Labour. And he added: "His favourite command for Donald Dewar - play dead."

'Break free'

Mr Hague also attacked Labour as a high-tax party and warn against the dangers of independence.

Speaking to Welsh Tories on Friday, Mr Hague urged them to "move on and break free of the past" in the run-up to May's Assembly elections.

Recent polls predict the Tories could pick up a dozen of the 129 seats in the Scottish Parliament.