IT HAS been a tumultuous time in politics in the last few weeks.

We had a set of elections, for an institution that we were supposed to have already left, to select Members of the European Parliament whom we hope will never have to take their seats.

I spoke to many people who had decided simply to sit this election out either because they did not think it should be happening at all or because they could not bring themselves to support the party for whom they would usually vote.

I understand this frustration. Back in 2016, voters across the United Kingdom were asked to make a choice: Whether they wanted to remain a member of the European Union or leave the European Union

Collectively, people across these islands chose the latter, yet three years on, politicians have failed to deliver.

The result here in the Wee County was significantly better than some had predicted for my party as indeed it was across Scotland.

As we heard news of some very difficult results from across the UK, it became clear that we would hold onto our Scottish MEP—something few had predicted.

These results came not long after another seismic political event just a few days earlier. The prime minister, Theresa May, has now set out a timetable for her departure and the race to succeed her will now begin. We can expect to have a new prime minister by mid-July.

Mrs May was undoubtedly dealt a difficult hand, but she has also been faced with a parliament whose members campaigned overwhelmingly against leaving the European Union back in 2016 and many of whom are still not reconciled to result.

While she has determinedly tried to get her deal through parliament, she has not succeeded and now is therefore the right time for her to go.

As we go forward in the next few weeks and months, we must challenge those who call for a second referendum when we have still yet to implement the result of the first.

These calls have only come from those who wanted to stay in the EU in the first place and who have still yet to come to terms with the result.

Whether on Scottish independence or on leaving the European Union, people who are on the losing side of the argument seem to think that we should keep voting until we give them the result that they want. That is not democracy.

But in Scotland, another independence referendum remains a clear and present threat. This is not about keeping Scotland in the European Union but about fulfilling the lifelong ambitions of Nicola Sturgeon and the rest of the SNP to separate Scotland from the UK. She recently said that the case for a referendum within the next few years remains even if the UK were to remain within the EU.

I have recently been reselected as the Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party candidate for Clackmannanshire and Dunblane for the 2021 Scottish parliamentary elections.

I am ready and able to take the fight to the SNP in this election and make it clear that Scotland wants change. We need a new government and I am ready to play my part in making that happen.