THE complete lack of leadership shown by the government and opposition in the aftermath of the EU Referendum has been plain for all to see.

The Prime Minister made a cast-iron promise to stay no matter what the result, then departed the scene within hours of the voters’ verdict. Then, when the pound was plummeting and the markets were panicking, the Chancellor of the Exchequer went into hiding for the weekend. Boris Johnson’s own campaign manager, who had worked side-by-side with him for months on the Leave campaign, decided in the space of three days last week that Boris was actually an untrustworthy sort who didn’t have what it takes to lead the country, so he would have to do it himself.

When we face a national crisis, it’s a vital part of our parliamentary democracy that the opposition parties step up to the task and keep the political focus on the key issues at hand. That’s what the SNP at Westminster has tried to do.

But in the last two weeks, MPs from Her Majesty’s Official Opposition at Westminster have decided to turn on their own leader, who was democratically elected by their members less than a year ago.

The only good news from Westminster over the past week seems to be that Nigel Farage has decided to stand down from national politics, I assume to concentrate on appearing in his regular slot on the BBC’s Question Time.

What this abdication of leadership has laid bare, however, has been a serious and fundamentally damaging lack of planning by the Government and others for the consequences of the UK leaving the EU. While George Osborne was busy crafting fairytales and scare stories on the implications of Brexit for the television cameras, and as Theresa May was preparing for her leadership bid by keeping her own head below the parapet, neither appears to have devoted serious consideration to our current situation in advance of the vote last month. It’s a national disgrace.

This lack of foresight led to the absurd situation in the Commons on Monday afternoon, where Gisela Stuart, one of the leaders of the stridently anti-immigration Leave campaign, stood up and called on the Government to provide certainty and adopt an inclusive approach to dealing with EU migrants currently living in the UK. It was immediately clear that the Government hadn’t given this vital issue a moment’s thought.

In reply, the Home Office minister at the dispatch box refused to guarantee the status of those migrants from the EU who already live here, a position agreed to by the current Home Secretary, but publicly opposed by the Secretaries of State for Education and the Department of Work and Pensions.

Another example of the total disarray has been the Government’s inability to set out the impact that leaving the EU will have on controversial trade agreements such as TTIP and CETA. Does the UK still intend to implement CETA this year?

Will UK officials continue to participate in the 14th round of negotiations on TTIP, which are due to be held next week? If this deal is concluded before the UK’s EU membership ends, does this Government still intend to attempt to ratify it?

At the very time when the UK Government needs a strong focus in order to act in the best interests of all of the country, there is no plan and absolutely no leadership.

There is no need to prevaricate on these issues.

In particular, the Government can decide here and now to give full and complete certainty to EU nationals who live here that they will be welcome to stay here. The fact that they are being used as pawns in the forthcoming negotiations, or worse, political capital in the Tory leadership race, is absolutely disgusting.

With police in England and Wales reporting a five-fold rise in race-hate complaints since the result, UK ministers and Tory leadership contenders must provide public reassurance to our migrant population that their contribution is valued and that they are welcome.

We need clarity now on issues surrounding TTIP and CETA. This week I’ve received a range of holding answers from the Government on these trade agreements, which simply isn’t good enough.

And business must be reassured that every possible effort is being made to ensure economic stability at this time of diplomatic uncertainty.

With so many of the main protagonists in this unfolding, indeed almost Shakespearian, tragedy fleeing the scene, I’m glad that we have the strong leadership provided by Nicola Sturgeon’s Scottish Government. Her UK counterparts need to get their heads out of the sand now and take a leaf out of her book.

To be caught without a plan for our current situation is crime enough. We need real action now if we’re to avoid making this bad situation even worse.