IT would be hard to call some Tory MPs' contempt for Scotland subtle, but even if it was, the sheer quantity of these days makes it impossible to miss.
It was only earlier this week that SNP Westminster leader Ian Blackford was told to "go home" to Scotland by a member of the Opposition benches.
WATCH: Tory MPs shout at SNP to 'go home' to Scotland during Brexit debate
And again, today, they showed their total disregard for Scotland's democratically elected representatives.
It was confirmed that meaningful vote III will be held tomorrow, in what must be one of the saddest trilogies in history.
That news only came earlier today, however, and SNP MP Pete Wishart had an important point to make about that.
Speaking in the Commons, he said: "There is just one more issue about tomorrow. As Scottish National Party members, we are all, as you would expect, Scottish Members of Parliament. That means that there are particular issues when it comes to our travel arrangements.
"We spend more than half a day getting to this House and half a day getting back – that is one full day of travelling just to be able to come down here and do our business. This Government have so disrespected all of us who have to travel great distances. Confirming only this morning that the House will be sitting tomorrow is totally unacceptable."
As a reasonable person, you might think that a reasonable point. North Dorset Tory MP Simon Hoare didn't think so, however.
Never mind that Wishart, who represents Perth and North Perthshire, has about four times the distance to travel. Hoare clearly knew best, and rose from a sedentary position to make his point.
"I look forward to the honourable gentleman agreeing with me," Wishart said optimistically as he accepted the intervention.
Hoare piped up: "Nobody is forcing the hon. Gentleman to be here."
And that was it. There was his contribution to this debate. Wishart complains about travel issues making it hard for him to represent his constituents to the best extent possible, and a Tory MP can only mock.
The SNP MP hit back: "Do you know, Mr Speaker, this is just part of the pattern that we expect from honourable gentlemen. 'Just go home', 'go away', this is what they feel about us – I’ll tell the honourable gentleman, I’m happy to oblige him, and I’ll tell you how we elegantly achieve that, it’s when we secure independence for our nation."
By saying "independence", Wishart had used the command that awakens Scottish Tory MPs from their slumber, and it was their turn to intervene.
Ochil and South Perthshire's Luke Graham said: "He’s making a point about travel. I would just say to my constituency neighbour that our constituents in North Perthshire and South Perthshire will be plenty happy for us to be here making some of the biggest and most important decisions in this Parliament in modern political history. These decisions cannot wait any longer."
Wishart responded: "Mr Speaker, I am pretty sure that the electors of Perthshire would be delighted if we were here making decisions, but that is the exact opposite of what we are doing. We have probably not made any decisions in this House for the past few months, and he is responsible for that."
When will Tory MPs stop treating the representatives of Scotland's biggest party at Westminster as a joke? We all know the answer, and we all know the solution to that issue.
Got a story for The Jouker? Let us know by emailing jouker@thenational.scot
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