'LAST week saw the North Irish Assembly and the Welsh Senedd, join the Scottish Parliament in rejecting the UK Government's key Brexit legislation.

In an unprecedented move, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales refused to consent to the EU Withdrawal Bill - the first time all three have rejected legislation affecting devolved matters.

For the UK Government to ignore that reality simply demonstrates how broken the Westminster system is.

Indeed, before the Northern Ireland Assembly and the Welsh Senedd had even voted, the UK Government had made it clear that what Westminster says, goes. They even underlined that arrogance by ensuring that the first Mike Russell, the Scottish Government’s Cabinet Secretary with responsibility for Brexit issues, and his Welsh and Northern Irish colleagues, knew of letters addressed to them was when they appeared on the internet.

So Brexit Day is almost upon us. The Tory slogan during the General Election was “Get Brexit Done” and the 31st of this month is when it is supposed to happen. But of course, it isn’t ‘done’, and it won’t be ‘done’. Not by a long chalk.

This isn’t even the beginning of the end, it is only the end of the beginning.

In far more positive news, I was delighted to hear from MND Scotland last month about their ground-breaking new clinical drug trial, MND-SMART,

This trial is seen as so important that MND Scotland has committed to bringing more MND trials to Scotland in 2020, and by investing £1.5 million this pivotal research is now taking place. This investment accounts for more than half of the charity’s annual turnover, which really does highlight the importance the charity’s places on these trials as part of their mission to find a cure for what is a dreadful debilitating disease.

Additional funding for the trial has also been made available from the My Name’5 Doddie Foundation and the Euan MacDonald Centre for MND Research.

The innovative clinical trial is designed in such a way that multiple treatments can be tested at once, while also allowing the addition of newly discovered treatments on an ongoing basis.

The UK-wide trial is open to everyone in Scotland with the illness. With more than 400 people in the country with MND it is absolutely crucial that as many of them as possible get a chance to contribute to this vital work whether they live in an urban or rural area.

I want to take the opportunity through this column as I have through other platforms to try and spread the word about this trial as far and wide as possible.

For anyone who is interested in taking part in the trial, there is a link for those with MND to sign-up online at www.MND-SMART.org.

As for the rest of us, we can help to support this groundbreaking and exciting research and donate £5 by texting CUREMND to 70660, or by calling 0141 332 3903 to make a donation'.