AS you’re sitting reading today’s paper at the kitchen table over breakfast, or from your phone on the bus to work, Theresa May’s Cabinet will be arriving at their first team away-day since her appointment as Prime Minister in July.

Now her team has had the summer to gather their thoughts, she’s demanded their presence at her official country residence in Chequers to present their individual departmental plans for delivering Brexit.

But as they take their seats around the table, what picture can we begin to piece together of what relationship this Tory Government wishes to have with Europe and the wider world following the referendum result?

In the 68 days since we woke up to this news, official announcements have been thin on the ground. Apart from her traditional holiday snaps from the slopes of the Swiss Alps, the new Prime Minister herself has kept a low profile as she’s planned her strategy for the months and years to come. Beyond the meaningless platitude of “Brexit means Brexit” she has so far failed to project her approach to dealing with the constitutional shambles that her predecessor left her.

Rather than seeking to adopt the proactive approach of our own First Minster, who is committed to protecting Scotland’s own national interests by seizing the initiative in what is proving to be a challenging diplomatic climate, voters here have been left to ruminate over vague press reports of anonymous briefings and ministerial splits. At the same time some EU ministers appear to be hardening their negotiating positions ahead of their own parliamentary elections next year.

What we do know for sure is that the possibility of being outside the EU but remaining within the single market is becoming more and more remote every day.

Germany’s Vice-Chancellor and Economy Minister Sigmar Gabriel has recently stated that the remaining EU states must take a strong position in Brexit negotiations, to ensure that “we don’t allow Britain to keep the nice things, so to speak, related to Europe while taking no responsibility”.

Norway’s European affairs minister has also been clear that the UK’s path to join it in the European Economic Area would not be clear or straightforward, given that it would shift the balance in this grouping away from the current members, a move which in their view may not be in their own interests.

While the doors to these “soft Brexit” options have been slammed in the face of the UK, thinking in Whitehall appears to be coalescing around three key red lines for future negotiations with the remaining EU states; discretionary control over immigration policy, discretionary control over lawmaking, and no compulsory contributions to the EU budget.

Liam Fox, the new Secretary of State for International Trade, said on an official visit to the US that he favours a free trade deal with the EU, rather than remaining part of a customs union, while a hastily deleted press release on his department’s website some weeks ago seemed to suggest that his department were planning for this to take some time, leaving our export industries at the mercy of WTO rules.

Adopting this approach would be a disaster for our exporting industries which support so many Scottish jobs. The Scotch whisky industry has already predicted that such an arrangement would lead to higher tariffs and increased paperwork for business, which would be a double whammy for Scottish jobs. The effects would also be seen in the wider economy, with higher prices in the shops for everyday goods and services.

At the same time, the new Department for Exiting the European Union has its own plans afoot, which appear to consist of using CETA, the EU’s proposed trade deal with Canada, as a template for negotiations, while seeking to add a new section to deal with trade for the UK’s service sector, including our financial services.

This is despite CETA’s fundamental flaws in terms of its approach to investor state dispute settlement, which would leave our governments open to legal action by predatory foreign firms.

Following any of these paths would be bad news for Scotland and our economy.

When Parliament returns after its summer recess next week I’ll be teaming up with our other SNP MPs to keep the pressure on the Tories to deliver a fair deal for Scotland in the negotiations to come and to make sure Scotland has a seat at the top table. This is not an outcome that the people of Scotland voted for in June, so it’s not one we’re willing to accept.

We must take all available action to ensure that Scotland’s voice is heard and respected and that our position in the EU is protected, whatever treacherous path the rest of the UK chooses to follow in the future.