FOOL that I am, listening to Prime Minister’s Questions, I was actually feeling hopeful that Westminster’s Brexit-related assault on devolution and Holyrood’s (nearly) united fightback would finally prompt a prime-time mention by Jeremy Corbyn. After all, it was just a week since the Labour leader visited Scotland and belatedly defended the powers of the Scottish Parliament. A day since Neil Findlay MSP announced: “As the party that delivered devolution, Labour … cannot vote to give consent to the EU Withdrawal Bill at this time.”

And a night since the stand-off between Holyrood and Westminster actually made it on to Channel 4 News and BBC bulletins. I’ll admit it. I thought it possible that Jeremy Corbyn might use one of his six questions to try and skewer Theresa May on her response to that unprecedented moment in our constitutional history, when the Scottish Parliament voted 93 to 30 to refuse consent to the UK Government’s Brexit plans earlier this week.

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Now of course, the Labour leader often heads off piste with constituents’ letters and avoids raising Brexit with Theresa May since it exposes his own party’s divisions at PMQs. But with the fig leaf of his customs union membership wheeze, Corbyn has got bolder and yesterday devoted all six of his allotted questions to Brexit-related outrage. But there was not one squeak about Scotland.

Now I sense an outbreak of tittering. “What the heck made you think anyone but the SNP would waste a nano-second on Scotland at Prime Minister’s Questions?”

Or even – “What the heck made you think Corbyn would waste his time on Scotland when huge issues like Palestinian killings, Windrush deportations, also failed to get a mention?” And to be fair, there is an array of more straightforward Brexit targets for a UK Labour leader – like the long list of companies preparing to bail out of Britain and the spectacular disarray of the Tory Cabinet – something Theresa May didn’t even bother to deny.

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But here’s the thing. If Jeremy Corbyn thinks he’ll get any Brownie points from big business for airing their grievances, he’s sadly mistaken. On the other hand, former Labour-voting Scots would have been blown away (OK I exaggerate somewhat), if Jezza had trained all his available parliamentary ammo on the constitutional crisis looming in Scotland – for just five minutes.

And the signs were there. First the wee chat with Mhairi Black, then pronouncements about defending devolution – you could be forgiven for thinking Corbyn was crafting a tartan-caped-crusader moment, when he’d surprise everyone by rushing to defend the Scottish Parliament against Westminster’s power grab.

But no. As ever, the moment Scotland dared to stand up to the might of Westminster was all but airbrushed from Prime Minister’s Questions and the formal record of British democracy.

Of course the SNP tried. Its Westminster leader Ian Blackford MP called on the Prime Minister to respect the overwhelming Holyrood vote refusing consent for the UK Withdrawal Bill – pointing out that refusal was backed by the Scottish Labour Party, LibDems and Greens as well. Theresa May’s answer contained empty phrases, evasion and a patronising bit about most Scots opposing independence. The usual.

Except this is no usual situation.

Ian Blackford tried again.

“If this Government forces through the legislation – without consent of the Scottish Parliament – the Prime Minister will be … breaking the 20-year-old devolution settlement.

“Any constraints placed on Holyrood’s existing powers without Holyrood’s consent would be a democratic outrage – and would fly in the face of the fundamental principles of devolution.”

Still, nothing.

Debate moved on.

It was like the Bad Old Days before Holyrood, when Scots had to stand in line like naughty bairns till the Westminster grown-ups finished their really important business first. In fact, it was extremely like life pre-1999 because the media also behaved as if this clash of parliamentary wills was really too boring to cover.

Remember that premature headline about Sturgeon being isolated in her defiance? No, I haven’t seen the retraction either.

But this clash truly matters. I once asked, if Scots are ignored by the UK Government over something as big as Brexit, will we ever get heard on anything smaller? Now there’s a postscript. If Labour aren’t ready to ask one single question when Scotland’s devolution settlement is in meltdown, will they ever act?

Meanwhile, as I write, Scotland’s hopes of blocking Westminster’s bizarre version of consent (where no consent equals consent) hang on a final amendment in the world’s second biggest unelected chamber – yup the House of Lords.

Since the SNP opted not to join that elitist club, their Lord and Ladyships have become Scotland’s only hope of amending the offending bit of the Withdrawal Bill known as Clause 11.

But their slightly radical Lordships seem to have let Scotland down as well. Yesterday they did manage to inflict another defeat on the UK Government – their 15th rebellion over the Brexit Bill. But it wasn’t about rewriting Theresa May’s bizarre definition of consent – it was requiring that EU “environmental principles and standards” be maintained post Brexit.

Also important but not what Holyrood needed from the Lords. So that’s it then.

The UK Government can force things through and present its Withdrawal Bill for Royal Assent regardless of Holyrood’s opposition, though even the House of Commons Library recognises that such a “nuclear option” is entirely out of kilter with the customs of British democracy. Forcing the Bill through “would be a constitutionally unprecedented course of action, the Government having explicitly acknowledged that the convention [of needing consent] applies to the Bill”.

Interestingly the library also points out that more than 320 legislative consent motions have been tabled across the three devolution parliaments. Only nine have been rejected (seven in Wales, one each in Scotland and Northern Ireland). And on every occasion, when a devolved legislature has withheld consent the UK Government has changed the offending clause, “either to secure consent or to remove provisions for which consent has not been given”.

Well, well. That’s how civilised things have been – until now. But with Brexit, all gentlemanly conventions have been scrapped, all bets are off and no-one is riding to Holyrood’s rescue. In short, every part of British democracy had something better to do yesterday than protect devolution.

Of course there is still the Supreme Court. Westminster sources say that whilst Scottish Government lawyers are ready to go to court immediately, Theresa May’s people are stalling for all they are worth.

It seems now is not the time – again. There is no sense of urgency – even when it means tackling a fundamental constitutional dilemma that will hang over Holyrood until it’s resolved.

After showing an admirably united front in Holyrood on Tuesday, the parties of devolution at Westminster failed Scotland again. Another disappointment amongst so many. A date this independence supporter will remember.