THE debate on Brexit was raging in the Scottish Parliament today, with many Tories desperately trying to defend a position on Brexit they once opposed so strongly.
That wasn't the only historical anomaly on display, however, as Mike Russell was quick to point out in a devastating moment for Adam Tomkins of the Scottish Tories.
Murdo Fraser was another of the Tories with the pain so visible on his face – that part of the chamber was really something to behold.
The vote clearly went in favour of rejecting a no-deal Brexit and Theresa May's draft proposals, and Russell had them on the ropes enough on that front.
READ MORE: Holyrood rejects Theresa May's Brexit deal in overwhelming vote
Then he pulled out a quote from Tory MSP Tomkins' own blog post, and it speaks volumes.
"He knows how harmful this is, that this is a disaster for Scotland," Russell began.
He continued: "Let me make this point. You have to look at his contribution and say, what is the track record of being involved in these issues, in terms of the advice he has given to people on the EU and Scotland. And you can judge the veracity and strength of his recommendations on that track record. And I can do no better than quote from a blog he wrote."
Back in 2014, on the "Notes From North Britain" site, Tomkins indeed had plenty to say on Scotland and the EU.
"Would an independent Scotland remain in the EU?" he asked.
Tomkins wrote: "The only way of guaranteeing that Scotland remains in the EU is to vote Yes."
He added: "There is little real danger of the UK leaving the EU. Any Yes campaigner arguing in 2014 that the only way of securing Scotland’s membership of the EU is to vote Yes is scaremongering, plain and simple."
He also predicted that an EU referendum was exceedingly unlikely, but a vote to remain very likely.
"There's a track record of contribution," continued Russell. "There's a man who said it would not happen, and that those people who said it would happen were simply to be dismissed. How could you trust that?"
Really, you can pick any paragraph at random and find more gems like this, so you can read the full piece by clicking here.
Tomkins had dismissed the Holyrood vote as a “game” and claimed the debate wasn’t really about Brexit – we all know the real reason Tories want to avoid scrutiny on this issue.
It shows their hypocrisy. It shows the Better Together lies in 2014. And it shows why Scotland must be able to make its own decisions.
When indyref2 comes around, we'll know how seriously to take claims such as those in Tomkins' blog.
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