By SNP MEP Alyn Smith

So, another breathless series of votes in the House of Commons and yet more questions than answers. As ever my regular health warning, keep the heid and remember the big picture. Nothing has changed for 18 months, amid the sound and fury the choices remain: leave on agreed terms, leave without terms, or revoke. I find the idea that anyone could countenance leaving without any idea of what comes next (and Johnson’s package, like May’s, tells us precisely nothing about the future) the height of recklessness.

I want to see us revoke, because Scotland voted to Remain. It is open the House of Commons to vote to instruct the Government to revoke (albeit I don’t see the numbers for that presently) or it is open to a second EU referendum on the terms of the deal versus Remain. I also want to see a UK election because Westminster is broken. All things are possible. So I’m glad MPs voted yesterday not to approve Johnson’s “deal” because it was a false choice. He offers only an exit, very likely delivering nothing but a hard Brexit in 18 months for which there is a very sketchy mandate in England and absolutely none in Scotland.

The Westminster hurly-burly was a grim spectacle. Having lost the debate and vote on the Letwin amendment Johnson pulled the vote that was the entire point of yesterday’s meeting and announced he did not intend to ask for an extension as the law demands he should. Then, adding to the arrogance, he called for the Commons to vote again for the deal on Monday and left the chamber.

READ MORE: Johnson refuses to sign Brexit extension request to EU

So where now? There is a real chance that the Scottish Courts will have to intervene and force the Government to ask for the extension everybody knows is necessary. On top of this there may or may not be a further debate and vote on the deal itself early next week in some form though it remains to be seen if the Speaker will collude in the madness.

But will the EU grant an extension? Yes. In Brussels things are more predictable, not least because the EU position is already itself a granular agreement across 27 member states. Tomorrow I’m on the 0800 flight to Strasbourg for the final voting session of the European Parliament before October 31. We are the ultimate legal authority in all this, and we will not approve any Withdrawal Agreement until Westminster has signed it off first. This means that barring the remarkable we now face either a no deal or an extension.

The EU27 still want this deal to pass. They regret Brexit, but they’re past the grieving stage and want the process to be as orderly as possible. So there will continue to be noise about opposing an extension and the unpredictability of events means that they will try to apply any pressure possible to get MPs to agree to the deal but the truth is simple. They will give an extension if the UK asks as they will not throw Ireland under the bus.