A year from today, the UK is scheduled to leave the European Union.

I regard that as a matter of deep regret – and I regret even more the fact that Scotland faces being removed from the European family of nations against the express wishes of an overwhelming majority of our population.

That simple fact is one that cannot, and must not, be overlooked as we move forward – and the scale of the verdict in Scotland against Brexit bears repeating.

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In total, 62 per cent of those who voted chose to oppose Brexit – a 24-point margin of victory for Remain in Scotland.

Every single one of our country’s 32 local authority areas voted to stay in Europe.

And the overall nationwide result was, far and away – whether for Leave or Remain – the most resounding margin of any of the four nations of the UK.

Despite this, we still face being taken out of the EU, with all that that entails. And the UK Government has taken no account whatsoever of that resounding result in Scotland.

We were promised, in the immediate aftermath of the Brexit vote, that Scotland would be a fully engaged partner and that our views would be taken into account in the negotiations – indeed Theresa May promised me as much when we met in Edinburgh just after she became PM.

But that has not happened, and instead Scotland’s views have been largely ignored in the Brexit process.

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Our efforts at compromise, such as keeping Scotland in the single market while remaining in the UK, have so far been rebuffed.

And there has been absolutely nothing in the approach pursued by the UK Government which in any way lives up to their lofty rhetoric of the UK being a “partnership of equals” between four nations.

The complete lack of clear direction, strategy or detail by the UK Government as they have pursued Brexit has been astonishing.

And the way in which they have failed to properly consider the long-term implications on issues like citizen’s rights and the Irish border has been downright irresponsible.

On the former, they have left literally millions of people – EU nationals living here and UK citizens in Europe – in a state of fear about the future for them and their families. Thankfully, progress is now being made in guaranteeing residency and other rights, but a final deal is still needed.

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On the latter of those two issues, the Irish border, it now looks as though there is a possibility of Northern Ireland remaining in the single market and customs union. And if that is possible for one part of the UK then it must be possible for others too.

Remaining in the single market – which is around eight times bigger than the UK’s alone – is vital for Scotland and presents the least bad Brexit outcome when it comes to protecting jobs, investment and living standards.

We will continue to make that case, just as we will continue to oppose the UK Government’s power grab over devolved responsibilities.

Twenty years ago, the Tories stood alone in opposing the establishment of a Scottish Parliament – today they stand alone in not protecting Holyrood’s powers. And as their shameless sell-out of our fishing industry shows, they now think they can do whatever they want to Scotland and get away with it. Yet again, they will find that they cannot.

The Scottish Government and the SNP will continue to defend our national interests at every turn and continue to make the case for Scotland’s future as a European nation.

Nicola Sturgeon is First Minister and leader of the SNP