I SPOKE out in Westminster last week as our democracy is being distorted and denied.

There are consequences in a suspension, which I accept. But it seems you can be a sex pest or a tax cheat there but not express outrage at the abuse of democracy.

Scotland has a mandate for an independence referendum and yet Boris Johnson, who no longer even has the support of his own MPs, denies it. At repeated elections, Scots have voted for that and he refuses it.

Worsening that was his rejection of a vote of no confidence. It’s a fundamental right in a democratic chamber to hold the Government to account. But even that was denied. Johnson is a self-serving charlatan but whoever succeeds him has been equally complicit.

Boris Johnson was comprehensively rejected by the Scottish electorate in 2019, as has been every Tory PM since before I was born. Whoever follows Johnson will likewise be rejected by Scotland. Yet they will rule over us having been selected by Tory MPs and Tory members, of whom there’s not many of either in Scotland.

All this at a time when our country is energy rich. The oil and gas we were told in 2014 was all but finished is now being proclaimed an economic saviour. Yet many Scots can’t afford to fill up their cars and the Treasury’s refusal to increase mileage allowances sees them pay to do their job, not just get to work.

Equally, as can be seen all over the county, Scotland is energy rich in renewables. We’ll be producing way more than we need to provide for every home in Scotland. Yet despite the current heatwave, we know that winter is coming and fuel bills will be rocketing. Many in East Lothian and over half of Scots are going to find themselves in fuel poverty. That’s perverse.

It will be under a new Tory PM with no mandate in Scotland and who is just another rich man or woman looking after their own. It’s why the push for Scottish independence is vital and that’s where efforts must focus, not perpetual Tory rule.