The National:

DOUGLAS Ross must have been dreading waking up this morning.

The Scottish Tory leader has spent months trying to convince the people of this country that they are a valued and equal partner in the Union, only for his boss in London to turn around and undo all that careful spin.

Boris Johnson told a group of English MPs that devolution had been a “disaster”, making a mess which his underlings have spent the subsequent 24 hours trying to clean up.

Tory excuses for their boss’s remarks have ranged from the boring (Ross simply stated: “Devolution has not been a disaster”), to the clearly wrong (UK Minister Robert Jenrick claimed Johnson had been talking about the SNP), to the sublimely ridiculous (John Lamont MP said independence was a mistake as it would spell the end of devolution).

READ MORE: Boris Johnson slammed for claim devolution is 'disaster north of Border'

Whatever their excuses, defending devolution is an odd position for any Unionist to take. “We believe in the Scottish Parliament”, they cry. But does anyone really believe them?

Why should the Unionists who argue against further powers for the Scottish Government be so smitten with the ones that it currently wields?

Far from being “Tony Blair’s biggest mistake”, the Scottish LibDems, Scottish Labour, and Scottish Conservatives all seem to think it’s absolutely perfect as is.

“Scotland needs no more and no fewer powers than it currently has”, they say.

“Any more would be terrible, just terrible, but all the powers devolved so far have been a great success”, they say.

The double-think is astounding.

Unfortunately for Douglas Ross, we’re not the only ones who have noticed.

His comment about devolution (the boring one where he said it hadn’t been a disaster) has not gone down well with some Unionists.

One pro-Union site accused Ross of “disloyalty” after he dared to contradict the word of Boris Johnson, adding: “Perhaps it’s time to close down the @ScotTories branch office.”

On Twitter, one user commented: “Douglas Ross losing Scottish Conservative votes every time he opens his mouth or tweets.”

Another added: “He’s lost me, there’s no way back from these gaffes. Absolutely no confidence [in] him, they need shot of him.”

Others accused Ross and the Scottish Tories of not standing up for “core Conservative values” like believing in the abolition of Holyrood.

One said: “Resigning my membership. Five months from an election and he is trying to win over SNP supporters instead of trying to win the Unionist vote.”

And, unbelievably, still more accused the MP for Moray of being “SNP at heart” and of turning the Scottish Conservative and Unionist party into an “SNP-lite”.

READ MORE: Former Tory media chief says 'Union is dead' amid fury over PM's devolution claims

Even on Ross’s latest offering, a video posted to Twitter where he tries to explain how it's not devolution but the SNP that’s bad, this angry Unionist presence can be felt.

“Devolution is a massive fail! At least @BorisJohnson sees that”, one writes.

“Do not appease the SNP. There must be no further transfers of power. Accepting devolution has been a disaster recognises the problem”, another adds.

One more commented on Ross’s post: “So you agree with Boris that devolution isn’t working - that is to say it’s a disaster. You are a bit of a plank aren’t you?

“You are more concerned with attempting (and failing) to score points against Boris than fighting the SNP - just resign and give us a break.”

It seems Douglas Ross can’t even promote the Union right, at least according to some of his own (perhaps now former) supporters.