WE CONTINUE to live through very strange times as far as the governance of the UK is concerned, with the new Conservative government using every trick in the book to get their way.

Fortunately, they don’t appear to be making much headway with their “no-deal” Brexit plan but they have managed to alienate almost everybody who disagrees with their hard-line approach to leaving the EU. And make no mistake, a no-deal Brexit will devastate the Scottish economy.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson in his first 50 days has, by his cavalier actions, divided public opinion even more than his predecessor Theresa May.

His record so far includes: losing his first six Westminster votes; lying about meaningful negotiations taking place with the EU to secure an exit deal; suffered some serious resignations from his cabinet, including his own brother, and significant defections to other parties.

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He also threw senior Conservative colleagues out of the Tory party for disagreeing about his “no deal” stance, leaving the Conservatives – even with DUP support – with no majority in parliament.

He tried to have an early general election so that his no-deal plans could not be scrutinised by MPs and we would have, by default, left the EU on October 31 without any agreement with the EU.

Because of his unwillingness to listen to serious concerns about no-deal opposition and dissident Conservative MPs forced and won a vote to outlaw no-deal. Boris then closed down – prorogued – parliament for five weeks, ensuring that all opposition to his plans was curtailed.

The SNP’s Joanna Cherry – a QC – and a cross-party group tested the legality of the parliamentary closure and won a remarkable victory in that the Scottish Court of Session found that Johnson had misled the Queen in order to obtain her ascent to prorogation. As a result, the prorogation was adjudged unconstitutional.

David Allen Green, the Financial Times legal columnist, points out the law in England and Scotland are different and constitutional matters which may be lawful in England might well be unlawful in Scotland. He also congratulates Joanna Cherry MP and the other MSPs for taking the case forward.

What will Boris and his colleagues do now? Ignore Scotland and disrespect her legal system – pretty much as Tory governments usually do.