WE all have a breaking point. Mine came on Thursday night as I watched the latest episode of “Meaningful Vote: Parliament’s Revenge.”

Even for those of us who have followed all the debates, motions and twists and turns of this saga – and write about it for a living – it is becoming a struggle to keep up.

On Thursday, I had foolishly turned away from the House of Commons live feed for a moment to run a bath. When I returned, MPs were voting on an amendment to an amendment on the Government’s main motion and I lost the thread of proceedings and temporarily lost the plot. It took me five minutes of full concentration and frantic Googling to bring myself back up to speed. I found myself unconsciously whacking myself on the forehead in a futile attempt to dislodge the information that I needed.

The procedures of the House of Commons are so impenetrably archaic that it is no wonder the public are growing increasingly angry and frustrated at what they see as an establishment fix-up.

It is impossible to underestimate how badly we have been let down. Two weeks until exit day and there’s no deal, no plan, no consensus and scant willingness to work cross-party.

As Theresa May croaked her way through another week of bluster, we saw the last of her credibility and authority over her party and government ebb away.

She is in office, but not in power: exemplified by some ministers – including Scottish Secretary David Mundell – brazenly defying a three-line whip without being sacked or indeed feeling compelled to resign.

Later, when the Brexit Secretary voted against the very motion he had been arguing for on behalf of the Government only moments earlier, it became clear that the rot had truly set in on May’s decaying premiership.

Rumours are swirling around Westminster about what she plans to do next. It seems inevitable that she will bring her deal back to Parliament early next week in the hope that it will be third time lucky. She could well be right.

The DUP are said to be in close talks with the Government, and speculation was rife that they may be ready to offer the Prime Minister their support. The Chancellor was also in attendance, which made some wonder how much hard cash it is going to cost the Government to seal the deal.

If the noises are correct and the DUP do agree to back the deal, it is expected that many in the ERG will dutifully fall into line and do likewise.

It is a sad reminder of our unequal Union that while the Prime Minister is courting the 10 DUP MPs, she continues to dismiss the concerns of Scotland’s Parliament and leadership.

The UK Government’s disregard for the impact of their Brexit vanity project on the already fractured relations between Holyrood and Westminster will not go unnoticed. The problem with governing on a minute-by-minute basis, as May has found herself forced to do, is that there is little time to pause and take a wider view of the unintended consequences of events.

Two years ago this week, Nicola Sturgeon spoke to the assembled press at Bute House and laid out her reasons for beginning the process of seeking a second independence referendum. Her words then – in the days before Article 50 was triggered – are even more relevant today.

She said: “I am far from alone in fearing a bad deal or indeed no deal. Nor am I alone in fearing that even a so-called good deal will turn out to be significantly inferior to membership of the single market – and that it will set Scotland on a course that will not only damage our economy, but change the very nature of the society and country that we are.”

Had that plan not been scuppered by the snap General Election and subsequent events, we may have already held a second independence referendum. Nobody can say with any certainty what the outcome would have been. The unedifying spectacle of Westminster in crisis might have convinced enough people that we could do so much better as an independent nation. Or it could be that soft-No voters might have been frightened off by the thought of adding more layers of complication onto an already chaotic situation.

The proposition we were sold in 2014 is materially different to what being part of the UK looks like for Scotland today. Back then, we were offered security, prosperity, membership of the EU and respect among equal nations.

The ineptitude of the Brexit negotiations in recent months have made an imminent decision from Nicola Sturgeon on indyref2 less likely. After the votes in the House of Commons this week, we know that we will not be leaving the EU on March 29.

Whether we are heading towards a short technical extension to pass the necessary legislation for an approved Withdrawal Agreement – or a longer extension if May’s deal fails to get through – the First Minister still won’t have the level of certainty she needs to fire the starting gun.

It is frustrating to watch and wait. For as long as the UK Government refuse to compromise and work with the devolved governments, there is little Scotland can do but look on in horror.

While Scotland is forced to wait, Theresa May clings on to power. Her shamelessness is also her greatest asset.

Free from the bonds of duty and courage that would have made another leader feel constitutionally bound to resign long before now, she knows she has nothing left to lose.