IF ELECTED this May, Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh said she will establish dedicated welfare surgeries to assist those struggling with poverty.

The SNP candidate for the Ochils and South Perthshire seat is keen to give all those struggling with poverty to have a bespoke point of contact with their MP to discuss their issues.

Ms Ahmed-Sheikh made the announcement last Friday during the visit of former first minister Alex Salmond to Alloa.

Speaking to the Advertiser, she said: “We are campaigning really hard and trying to gauge from the public what they really want in an MP. For me the most important thing is that I will constantly be around to speak to anyone.

“One of the things I want to set up is a welfare surgery — which will be aside from the normal constituency surgery.

“It will be a place for people who have welfare issues to come and speak to me about them. We do lot of statistics in this country and often we forget about real life stories and how people are affected by decisions.” She added: “Scotland has changed forever and for good on the back of the referendum; we are energised and we know what way we want our country to go.

“We have to make sure we have the powers that we were promised in order to deliver all the things that people are aspiring for — a strong education system, a properly-funded NHS and job opportunities.

“If the people here vote for the SNP then it would be a privilege for me to deliver that down at Wesminster and to make sure the voice of Ochils and South Perthshire is heard.” Speaking at her official adoption night at the Cochrane Hall in Alva on Friday, Ms Ahmed-Sheikh said people in the area are ‘ready for change’.

She said: “They want a new start and a new sense of purpose and opportunity. The SNP has a powerful agenda of hope and renewal and that’s exactly what I will be offering.

“Ochil and South Perthshire is a fantastic constituency. I intend to ensure that it gets everything it needs and deserves.” Ellen Forson, chair of the SNP’s Ochil and South Perthshire constituency committee, added: “We have an excellent candidate in Tasmina, and a great campaign team.

“We have already spoken to thousands of people across the constituency and the results on the doorstep indicate that we have a real chance of winning this seat.” Former SNP leader Mr Salmond gave his full-blooded endorsement of Ms Ahmed-Sheikh as the Nationalists look to bolster their contingent at Westminster.

He said: “This is an outstanding candidate, and one of the most outstanding members of the yes campaign who cut such an impression across the country.” “We have the chance, for the first time in a generation, for Scotland to have a substantial influence in Westminster politics. I think people are going to take that opportunity.

“That will include those who voted yes in the referendum, of course, but I also think it will include a number of people who voted no in the referendum.

“A lot of people who voted no did so because they were promised more powers for Scotland and one of the things we will guarantee with success in seats like Ochils and South Perthshire is that these promises that were made to Scotland will be redeemed in full.”