REGARDLESS of whether you are pro-EU, or pro-EEA, or a staunch Leave supporter – I think we can all agree that the Brexit process so far has been utterly appalling. Lack of communication, lack of clarity, lack of a position, and most of all, a lack of honesty.

This week we saw David Mundell struggle as he stumbled through answering another round of questions as the Secretary of State for Scotland. In order to give some context to this article, I quickly want to run through some facts.

While Brexit may seem a long, boring and messy affair, there is no understating its effect on the intergovernmental relationships between the devolved administrations and Westminster. How Brexit is handled will completely change the mechanics of our politics forever, and whatever the end result is will have a lasting effect on most people whether they like it or not.

From the very get go the SNP were fearful of the EU Withdrawal Bill due to the power it immediately gives Westminster and the vulnerable position it leaves the devolved administrations in. One of the most contentious parts of this Bill is Clause 11. This clause allows for the immediate transfer of powers from the EU, relating directly to already devolved areas, to Westminster as opposed to coming straight to the devolved administrations where they belong.

Now, it is argued by some that this is purely a technicality and that there should be no doubt or concern that powers will be given to the devolved nations. However, this completely negates the realities of our political system and the long trend of broken promises from Westminster.

It is important to say that the concern over Clause 11 was shared by those on the Conservative benches also. MP for East Renfrewshire, Paul Masterton, described Clause 11 as, “not fit for purpose”. He demanded the clause be amended with an entirely new version that ensured the devolved administrations would not be undermined. When asked what he would do if the Government did not bring through the sufficient amendments he said, “I’ve said it at second reading, I’ve said it again tonight, I will not support the Bill which undermines devolution and does not respect the integrity of the Union.” The Government subsequently said it would bring forward amendments before the Bill went to the House of Lords in order to allow at least some scrutiny by elected members in the Commons.

The Government failed to bring forward any such amendments, and Masterton voted with the Government anyway. As did Stephen Kerr, MP for Stirling, who subsequently said, “I make no bones about it: it sticks in my craw to think that unelected Lords will make the vital amendments to this vital constitutional Bill.

“It is not really good enough, and as a Member of the House of Commons I hang my head to think that we have somehow dropped the ball.”

It really is not good enough. It shows precisely just how voiceless Scotland is as part of the Westminster institution. We have 59 MPs (which they are looking to reduce), and regardless of the fact that 13 of those MPs have constantly bragged about having the ear of the Prime Minister, not a single one of us were able to make a single change to this huge Bill.

I have to give credit where it is due, Mundell was seemingly very honest in saying that he simply didn’t get the amendments done in time. It is pretty damning, or at least should be, for a government minister to admit such blatant incompetence. But it was believable, so I’ll take it.

I was lucky enough to be drawn for a question to Mundell this week and I asked him how he could justify the fact that this Bill would be going to the unelected Lords unamended, without even his own elected colleagues having any say. The reality is that Michelle Mone and Alan Sugar are going to have more of an impact than 59 of Scotland’s elected members, and Scotland has a secretary of state that breaks promises to his own colleagues, his constituents, and the nation he is supposed to represent in the Cabinet. He also can’t get amendments done in a timescale he set. I don’t know if it is significant that when PMQs followed directly after Scottish Questions he was demoted to sitting on the carpet step rather than alongside the other ministers sitting on the front bench. Maybe I’m reading too much into it, the place is cramped.

But my point is this – Scotland deserves better than this. Now I have a limited word count in this article so I genuinely cannot list every embarrassing, incompetent moment this government has had since the Brexit negotiations began. On top of that, I really, really cannot list every broken promise Westminster has ever made to Scotland. Even forgetting everything before 2014!

When I argued this point recently with someone, they retorted that maybe Europe just wasn’t the Government’s forte. So let’s take even this quick example from my colleague, Steward McDonald, who tweeted: “What a farce this place is. Government statement on the National Security Review expected this morning. Gov then says not happening. BBC reports happening tonight. Speaker doesn’t know. Leader of the House says not happening. Government whips unsure. Defence Cttee Chair unsure.”

This chaos is how the United Kingdom is run.

Now imagine for a second that this had been the Scottish Government. This would be on every single front page for days. The Scottish Government would be torn to shreds be every media outlet in Scotland. Maybe some of those journalists and politicians that constantly shout about how they would never be a, “nationalist” are simply too worried about what flags are being flown and when they are being flown to notice this burning inferno before us.

Who knows? But I do know this, they would be screaming from the rooftops that it was evidence that Scotland was not fit to govern itself. Surely by now the question has to be, is Westminster fit to govern us? And can we really afford to wait and find out?