LAST week’s vote in the House of Commons confirmed that we are all set for a General Election on 12 December and while the thought of an election and party activists chapping at your door may arouse some distinctly non-festive feelings, the truth is that stakes could not be higher.

This election will be one of the most important in living memory.

We face a rabidly right wing Tory party led by a serial and compulsive liar, which seems intent on dragging Scotland out of the EU against our will, enforcing draconian welfare reforms on those in our communities and ripping up workers’ rights to secure a trade deal with Trump.

The Scottish Tories’ records are clear for all to see. At every opportunity they have put their own careers before the interests of their constituents, standing up to defend some of the most callous Tory policies that have pushed their constituents and thousands across Scotland into poverty.

No amount of spin can hide that time and time again they have defended the two child cap and rape clause, the bedroom tax and harmful welfare sanctions, while at the same time voting against raising taxes on some of the UK’s most wealthy.

Decisions taken by the Tories at Westminster have a real and lasting impact on those living here in Clackmannanshire.

I know just how damaging Universal Credit has been for my constituents, forcing them into rent arrears and desperate spirals of debt and despair – and no cynical election promises can undo this.

So when Tory candidates cheerfully get their photos taken at foodbanks in the run up to Christmas, remember it is the policies of their party that makes the foodbank’s existence a necessity for so many.

The Gate Foodbank received over 1000 referrals in the first 6 months of this year, providing over 41,000 meals to individuals and families in such dire straits they cannot afford to feed themselves.

This is the appalling legacy of a Tory Westminster Government.

And make no mistake that given the opportunity, any Scottish Tory MP would do the very same again.

That is why it is so important to send an SNP MP back to Westminster. An MP that will put their constituents first, standing up for them on the issues that matter.

Fighting for proper funding for public services from Westminster. Opposing toxic austerity policies and the disastrous Universal Credit. Stopping Scotland being dragged out of the EU. Making sure that they have a strong local voice and that their concerns are heard.

This election the SNP will be making the positive and credible case of how we can build a better Scotland as an independent European country, free from Brexit and Tory Governments we don’t vote for.

The Tories have proven time and time again that they cannot be trusted.

A vote for the SNP is a vote to put the choice over Scotland’s future in your hands, not the hands of charlatans like Boris Johnson.