CAST your mind back to the morning of September 19, 2014.

Sore heads and even sorer hearts as dawn broke with our dream of independence sadly pipped at the first post. The Better Together campaign had thrown everything and the kitchen sink at the day’s preceding the vote, including the reassurance that saying No would actually be securing a Yes to remain in Europe.

“The Vow”, promising an equal federal partnership in the UK with a powerhouse Scottish Parliament, like the paper which printed it, was one great big con trick, the phrase “Better Together” an oxymoron.

In the aftermath, the divides widened further when a petulant David Cameron pushed English Votes for English Laws and half-heartedly agreed to a future EU referendum to shut up the right-wing dissenters in his party. The rest, as they say, is history and a tragedy which Theresa May is now repeating as parliamentary farce.

Fast forward to 2019 and Scotland has never been more marginalised; ignored and patronised at every twist and turn by a UK Government hellbent on bulldozing a catastrophic Brexit through Parliament despite our democratic wish to remain, despite the evidence of the horrendous harm it would cause to our economy and the future prospects of our young people.

So far, so treacherous. But, incredibly, out of this chaos and false promise, out of this doom and gloom and sleekit sleight of hand, Scotland has arisen, stronger than ever in reputation across the UK and beyond. And this week during the indicative votes at Westminster it is a deep irony indeed that it is Scotland that has attempted to throw the UK a lifeline to save itself. It was a Scottish initiative which secured the UK’s right to unilaterally revoke the folly of Article 50 and it was a Scottish advocate in Joanna Cherry who offered the UK Parliament the lifeline from chaos this week.

In terms of unexpected twists and turns, it’s up there with the Sunday National headline last weekend about the Scottish Tories considering breaking away from their southern colleagues should Boris Johnson become the next PM. Even Scottish Tories confess that they can’t stand Johnson’s toxic brand of English nationalism. Even the Scottish Tories (perhaps minus their joker, Aberdeen South MP Ross Thomson) realise that Johnson and his version of Rule Britannia Brexit represents the death knell for their careers. But it’s all too little, too late, for the 13 MPs who dread a General Election even more. The forces driving further madness are now way out of their control.

With just nine days to go, the choice facing Parliament is stark. An isolated UK led by General Johnson singing Jerusalem with Tommy Robinson hanging on for dear life to his morning coat-tails or an equal member of a larger global community with rights and the rule of law at its core. And faced with that choice Parliament still can’t agree on a way forward!

Of course, Scotland has its own choices amidst this chaos. But before we launch our lifeboat, as we surely now must, let history record that it was Scottish civic nationalism that reached out to save the UK from its lurch to far-right, xenophobic nationalism.

It was Scotland that offered the UK a way out, a way back to its central values that have been hijacked and misrepresented by an elite force of Brexit brigands, cushioned and protected by wealth and influence from the havoc waiting in the wings once we’ve left the European Union.

The SNP wants to stop Brexit. It’s as simple as that. We want to stop it for Scotland because it will be an unmitigated disaster for us in every sense. And, we want to stop it for the UK too – the same reasons apply. It makes sense for everyone in this relationship, whether better together or independent and aligned, to be equal partners in the EU, enjoying the benefits that such membership brings and being able to trade freely and to travel freely across each other’s border. It’s a no brainer really, but the Brexiteers weren’t appealing to people’s brains, they were appealing to their baser instincts as illustrated by last Friday’s nasty and aggressive Leave rallies outside Parliament.

Talking of brains, my good friend and former colleague, MP Joanna Cherry, has been tireless in her work to prevent Scotland and indeed the entire UK, falling into the Brexit abyss. If it wasn’t for her cross-party action with the Scottish Six and QC Jo Maugham and their victory at the European Court of Justice, we wouldn’t even be in the position of discussing revoking Article 50 and Theresa May’s terrible red lines. Joanna’s steadfast pursuit of consensus and a willingness to work across traditional party lines has offered the UK a way out of the treachery of a no deal, and to forge a better path for our future on the world stage.

Although her well-rounded and non-partisan proposal was rejected on Monday, her work is a great example of how we’re capable of doing things differently in Scotland. And it comes in the wake of that wonderful, positive video message to Europe from Scotland that has gone viral.

Civic nationalism and internationalism, this is Scotland. Inclusive, equal and fair, this is Scotland. Looking after our neighbours, no matter how flawed and unequal our past relationship and working across political divides to reach consensus, this is Scotland. Democracy in act and deed, this is Scotland in 2019. This is what we are capable of and this is what we are putting into action despite all the constraints and knock backs. Beyond Westminster and the chaos of Brexit there is a future for our country to be anticipated with great positivity. Beyond Westminster and the constraints imposed by indifference, Scotland is ready for the next big step.