The National:

THE First Minister had the perfect response after the Tories kicked off Prime Minister's Questions with some staggeringly hypocritical Unionism.

Theresa May may not be keen on answering any questions about the Brexit chaos caused by her government, or on a second EU referendum ... but a softball about a second Scottish independence referendum? That's allowed.

READ MORE: Nicola Sturgeon hits back at Theresa May's indyref2 comments

The question came courtesy of Scottish Tory MP Stephen Kerr, who opened up PMQs by raising the matter of Scottish independence.

Reminder: This was the man who called for the Scotland Office to be scrapped and replaced with a "Department for the Union". At least it'd be a more honest name.

The Stirling MP said: "May I say as a proud Scot that the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the most successful political union that the world has ever known.

"That said, does the Prime Minister agree with me, that when Nicola Sturgeon demands a second independence referendum, only four years after we had the last one, that the UK Government should side with the majority of the people of Scotland, and firmly tell her, no?"

It really, really isn't saying much for political unions if this is the most succesful the world has ever known.

Nicola Sturgeon hit back on Twitter, too, pointing out the huge flaw in his argument.

She tweeted: "It could be argued that it takes a staggering lack of self awareness to accuse others of being out of touch, when it is you who is ploughing on with a Brexit policy that is opposed by the vast majority of the Scottish people."

If you need a reminder, 62% of Scotland voted to remain in the European Union – 55% voted to remain in the United Kingdom. That makes Kerr's stance seem ... a little hypocritical. 

Particularly given that the Brexit shambles is only growing the independence cause – and support for indyref2.

Still, we can't really expect the Scottish Tories to care much about what the Scottish people think. After all, just earlier we found out they've been actively fighting against us having a say in post-Brexit trade negotations.

We have to talk about May's answer too, though, because it's so incredibly ridiculous.

In response to Kerr, she said: "As he points out, Scotland held a referendum in 2014, it was legal, it was fair, it was decisive. The people clearly voted for Scotland to remain part of the United Kingdom.

"But more than that, at the last general election, the people of Scotland again sent a very clear message that they do not want a second divisive referendum. But the SNP sadly are out of touch with the people of Scotland. They haven't yet heard that message. The last thing we want is a second independence referendum. The United Kingdom should be pulling together, not being driven apart."

At the last general election, Scotland sent 35 pro-independence SNP MPs to Westminster. All the other parties combined have only 24 Scottish MPs. The SNP had set high standards, having previously won 56 of 59 seats, but it was hardly a resounding rejection of indyref2.

Plus, the SNP won a mandate at Holyrood for a second independence referendum if there was a material change in circumstances ... such as Brexit.

The closing line is quite something too: "The United Kingdom should be pulling together, not being driven apart."

Of course, by pulling together, May really means ensuring Westminster has all the power.

The Brexit power grab and shameful sidelining of Scotland in negotiations speak volumes.