Senior Labour figures called on Wendy Alexander to change her leadership style as public support for Labour fell to its lowest level for 90 years in the aftermath of her disastrous handling of the referendum U-turn.

Several of the party's MPs and MSPs urged the Scottish Labour leader to consult them before announcing controversial moves in future, with one calling for a “period of silence” from Ms Alexander to allow the party to recover from a series of mistakes.

An opinion poll published yesterday in The Sun showed Labour plummeting to its lowest level in Scotland for 90 years, with support at 26 per cent compared to 32 per cent for the SNP in voting intentions for Westminster.

If the findings of the YouGov poll were replicated at the next general election the SNP would win 23 seats to Labour's 21.

The Scottish breakdown of the UK-wide poll is based on a sample of just 141 people, well below the level needed to give a representative picture. However, it fuelled anger in Labour ranks over the handling of the decision to back an early referendum Bill.

One Labour MP said: “Wendy might think she is cleverer than everyone else on the planet but she should not treat us with such contempt. This madness has got to stop.”

He added: “This was unadulterated selfishness. It is unforgivable that we were not consulted. We do not want to fight the next general election on the constitution — but now we don't have much choice.”

The Labour peer Lord O'Neill of Clackmannan also urged Ms Alexander to draw a line under the events of the last week, during which the Prime Minister distanced himself from her plan to call Alex Salmond's bluff.

He said: “As Denis Healey said, when you're in a hole stop digging. Someone needs to take the spade from her.”

Some Westminster figures are also critical of the role of the Scotland Office, claiming that it failed to step in to resolve the differences between Ms Alexander and Gordon Brown spilling into the public arena.

One MP said: “Des Browne is expected to be in charge of two wars and handle the Scotland brief, it is unsustainable. We need someone dealing with Scotland on a full-time basis and someone who is a strong communicator.”

There were signs that the latest row to have engulfed Ms Alexander was beginning to subside. Labour's Scottish executive, the ruling body of the party, is due to meet in Stirling today and its members are expected to rally round to support her. The embattled Scottish Labour leader also retains the support of her MSP colleagues in the Scottish Parliament although many are despondent at Ms Alexander's failure to get the party's message across.

One MSP said: “People are a bit down. Wendy is thoughtless rather than malicious. She dives in without thinking and leaves other people to pick up the pieces.”

He added: “Most people are just keeping their heads down because they have no idea how we get out of this.”

Labour went on the offensive over reports that Alex Salmond would be prepared to vote with the Tories at Westminster in the event of a David Cameron premiership if it were in Scotland's interests. Mr Salmond said: “We would judge policies as they came forward from the minority administration of the day and we would seek to extend Scotland's influence.”

Labour claimed that this was evidence of Mr Salmond “cosying up” to the Tories. Labour MSP Jackie Baillie said: “In 1979 the SNP voted with the Tories to bring down a Labour government. Now we see the resurrection of the Tory-SNP alliance against Labour.

“This week the SNP have been running scared of the Scottish people by not having the guts to bring forward an independence referendum and end the constitutional uncertainty they have caused,” she added.

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