FOR the self-styled Mother of Parliaments, Westminster is in something of a mess, its Commons unrepresentative of electors through a skewed voting system, the legitimacy of Scots members questioned, the anger of English members unassuaged, and an Upper House so absurd in its composition, that it defies satire.

Today Prime Minister David Cameron pays a Bute House call on First Minister Nicola Sturgeon to discuss the further transfer of powers from Westminster to Holyrood, but for the broken constitutional foundations of Westminster this is a relatively small part of the vast rebuilding job required. Like the crumbling Gothic Victorian structure of the Palace, our democratic structures need a complete overhaul.

The Herald has never been blind to the merits of English Votes for English Laws, although we remain unhappy with the ham-fisted way in which Mr Cameron chose to run with the issue hours after the Union cause won the day in the independence referendum. But in the constitutional mash-up that is the United Kingdom it might not be our most pressing need for reform in the quest to create a modern, fully-functioning European democracy.

As if we needed a fresh reminder of the problem, the Conservative Government, faced with its worst percentage poll in history in Scotland and retaining its only seat, had to ponder on how to fill the positions of Scottish Secretary and Minister of State.

There had been talk of innovation. Might even Tory leader Ruth Davidson be co-opted into the UK Government? Or Annabel Goldie or Alex Fergusson or anybody with democratic legitimacy among the Scottish Tory ranks be brought in, if not to the Cabinet, then at least to the junior ninisterial role?

Sadly, not. Alex Salmond, roaming Holyrood yesterday in his newly weaponised role as Scotland's equivalent of Shadow Foreign Secretary, was enjoying it all immensely. "They have appointed Poll Tax Andrew," he declaimed about the elevation of long-time Tory backroom adviser Andrew Dunlop to the Lords in order to make him a government minister.

Mr Dunlop has been a Tory Party or Conservative Government apparatchik for as long as most at Holyrood can remember and it is true that, within the inner circle of the Thatcher Government, he was widely seen as the chief architect of the poll tax.

Now he has earned a place in the House of Lords. But let us be clear. Mr Salmond has a point. The appointment of Mr Dunlop will be seen as summing up the ills of Britain. The Tories failed to get much traction in Scotland, partly because of a discredited voting system.

They have over-used the ability to appoint new members to the Lords to compensate for their failures in getting people elected from Scotland. But everyone seems to be at it. Every time a party loses it seems to add new numbers to the Lords ranks.

None of this makes much sense. A key part of the next constitutional agenda must be a UK-wide voting reform to make sense of our disparate systems and look at the flaws revealed last week.

Fairer votes, a properly accountable and representative upper house and some degree of federalism seem inevitable. The question is how seriously we take each of these issues. How much fairer the votes? How reformed an upper House? How federal a UK?

We believe the present situation deserves a strong response to each of the above. We will nudge and encourage each step of the way, and we will hope for the best from Bute House today. We do not expect white or grey smoke. In future, we want no smoke at all.