WHEN the SNP stormed out of prime minister's questions a couple of weeks ago in protest at what they describe as a 'Brexit power grab', they showed their true colours once again.

Instead of working hard in the best interests of their constituents, they would rather perform yet another political stunt to appeal to their core vote and drum up membership.

Accusations of a 'Brexit power grab' are just quite simply untrue. Currently, there are vast swathes of powers that are currently exercised by the European Union through both regulations and directives.

The Scottish Government does not currently have the power to determine its own policies in these areas. Nor does the UK Government.

When these powers are returned to the UK, it is important that we think carefully about the level of government at which they should be delivered.

There are some cases where it makes sense to explore a UK-wide approach to things like agriculture, fisheries, food labelling and public procurement. A total of 24 such powers will be reserved to Westminster for a time-limited basis

The vast majority of repatriated powers will, in fact, be devolved to the Scottish Parliament: 119 in total. And herein lies the irony of the SNP's protestations. If they had there way and had an independent Scotland in the European Union, they would have control over none of these powers, which would be set in Brussels.

While the Scottish Government falsely described the situation as a 'Brexit power grab', the Welsh Government engaged constructively with the UK Government to come up with the current compromise position that ensured that both devolution was protected while it would still be possible to look at setting up some cross-UK frameworks for certain policy areas.

In contrast, the SNP have unsurprisingly attempted to use the UK's departure from the European Union to further their sole political goal of Scottish separation.

Their so-called Continuity Bill that was rushed through the Scottish Parliament – despite being ruled outwith Holyrood's competences by the presiding officer – with just 25 hours of debate.

The SNP desperately need to reassess their approach to Brexit and to work more constructively with the UK Government to get a deal that works for Scotland. While difficult, it is not as if such collaborative working is impossible. The announcement of the Stirling & Clackmannanshire City Deal, which will see an investment of over £90million of funding from both governments, is very welcome.

The Wee County specifically will benefit from a range of exciting projects that focus on a number of areas, including skills and training, environmental businesses, culture, tourism, heritage and a wide range of capital projects to be delivered by Clackmannanshire Council. Now that the outline of the deal has been agreed, work begins on the detailed businesses cases.

The Stirling & Clackmannanshire City Deal builds on the UK Government's industrial strategy, which aims to release economic potential across the United Kingdom. This deal will provide a real boost for the local economy, meaning more jobs and more opportunities. If the Scottish Government would start working more collaboratively, such successes could be the norm.