IN the midst of all of this Brexit chaos, we all needed reminded that it is not just our EU membership that we’ll lose if time runs out on the Article 50 deadline.

The threat to devolution and our parliament in Holyrood is a real and present danger. Theresa May and her bulldozing Brexit colleagues are planning a power grab of momentous proportions in an EU-free UK.

The apocalyptic headlines on the consequences of a no-deal Brexit or even a Maybotched deal, and the knowledge that Scotland’s voice has been disregarded and treated with contempt at every twist and turn are rightly dominating the debate.

However, this should not distract from the fact that the very foundation of our parliament at Holyrood is now on shaky ground. When faced with constant undermining, deceit, double dealing and broken promises, it’s important to remember that the struggle to preserve Holyrood as something more than just a “pretendy parliament” is an integral part of protecting Scottish identity, sovereignty and our hopes for a progressive future.

Even Gordon Brown warned towards the end of last year that Britain would be “a far more centralised country” after Brexit this coming March, as well as expressing his doubts over the present UK Government’s commitment to the devolution project.

Brown also said that Theresa May’s disregard for devolution raised “fundamental questions about the future of the Union”.

“Duh,” as my kids would say, or “the best sinners are those who repent” quoting the Hadith.

David Mundell, the supernumerary Secretary of State, was busy blowing his bugle last week when the final devolved power promised by the Scotland Act of 2016 was transferred to Holyrood. This final section devolves legislative competence for welfare food schemes and completes the agreement from the cross-party Smith Commission set up in the wake of the 2014 independence referendum.

Once again, Mundell declared, apparently in all sobriety and without a hint of irony in that wee voice, that Scotland can boast of one of the most devolved parliaments in the world.

All the evidence would point to the contrary given what’s looming after Brexit. This extra devolved power is just a symbol to put us off the scent, to hide the true intent.

And as Donald Tusk reminded us only last week, the road to hell is paved with Tory intentions. After all, it is Mundell’s boss Theresa May and the UK Government that took the Scottish Government to the Supreme Court over Holyrood’s EU Continuity Bill to delay the act becoming law and then they changed the rules to suit their own ends whilst the legal process was in motion. The EU Withdrawal Bill was thus passed at Westminster which cut the powers of the Scottish Parliament without our consent.

Not much devolution in action there, never mind democracy – just shabby sharp practice. “Britannia waves the rules” to quote the redoubtable Winnie Ewing.

It’s all the more galling knowing that Mundell is fully aware of how damaging Brexit will be to Scotland. He even admitted in Westminster that the UK is not a partnership of equals and has talked Scotland down throughout the Brexit debate. His simpering comments on Holyrood’s powers ring hollow given the fact that his party have never been cheerleaders of devolution.

The Tories campaigned against a Scottish Parliament in 1997, and they’re still campaigning against independence. Indeed it’s all they’ve got to talk about in Scotland given their lack of solid policies.

But Scots know that Mundell and his gang are not to be trusted; they do not have our best interests at heart. They have no heart at all. The Scottish electorate can see that Holyrood and Westminster are like chalk and cheese. Progression, inclusion, equality and humanity versus regression, exclusion, individualism, and inhumane policy decisions. Through devolution, we’ve created an entirely different vision for our future, and it’s the very antithesis of what Westminster stands for in every sense. That’s why the SNP are still in power in Scotland pushing 12 years on and why the Scottish Tories are still “also-ran” or “forget it pal”.

But post-Brexit, the questions remain. How are we to operate with many of our vital powers left in a holding station at Westminster? How can we continue to safeguard Scotland from the worst of Tory austerity and their anti-immigration hostile environment? And how can we protect our nation from the bonfire of regulations protecting our human rights, our welfare, our health and our food standards that threaten to be set alight by Brexiteers triumphant.

These worries are all the more poignant given we should be celebrating 20 years of devolution this September, not fighting off the loss of all we’ve achieved since 1999. But for David Mundell, the Scottish Tories and the UK Government, devolution is merely an inconvenience, and everything is worth sacrificing to save the Union even if it means the worst of all worlds for Scotlawnd.

When Brexit reality bites, outrage at this democratic injustice will only intensify and the journey from No to Yes will accelerate towards independence. We must be ready to provide the means, and the sooner the better in my opinion.