The National:

TO say the Tory Party are dying might just seem a quick way to sum up the shambles they're in just now.

But there might just be more to it than that, as the SNP's Stewart Stevenson pointed out in the Holyrood debate on Theresa May's draft Brexit deal.

The Banffshire & Buchan Coast MSP decided to make the case that the Tories were dying as a party by citing advice "given to people that work in a hospice, on how to recognise death".

It applied to quite an extent – and helped to highlight the Tory dismissal of Scotland's voice on Brexit.

READ MORE: Tory MSP left red-faced as Mike Russell quotes his Unionist blog

Stevenson explained: "Someone who is dying usually begins to withdraw more and more into his own world. Sounds like the Tories.

"She or he is still conscious and able to communicate but various behaviours may appear. Restlessness, disinterested in activities previously enjoyed.

"There is an increased inability to grasp ideas … this sounds like the Tories.

"All the senses decline, even hearing, and if there’s one sense the Tories are lacking, it’s the ability to hear what the public domain is saying, what the political domain is saying.

"And ultimately, we hear the death rattle of a party on its last legs, heading for the grave."

At that point, somewhat on-brand, LibDem leader Willie Rennie interjected to voice his support for a People's Vote.

Is there any possibility of this Tory party being revived? Not north of the Border anyway, polls would suggest.