A general election is a slog at the best of times and totally knackering when it’s not going your way. It’s not easy when you’ve got to keep going but you sense the public has switched off.
Of all the elections I can remember, this campaign is particularly brutal viewing.
It’s missing the hope, inspiration and positivity that political parties need to put forward. I completely understand why so many people are sick fed up of politicians and just want this whole thing to be over already.
The only thing the whole country can probably agree on is we’ve all got summer holidays to get on with and enjoy, as soon as this lot get off our screens.
But I’m writing today because I want to make sure you know it’s still so important that you do use your vote wisely.
There are still several weeks left to run in this campaign but in the coming days, postal ballots will be landing and you’ll get to have your say about the issues that are most important to you.
For some of you, that will be education and the future opportunities available to your kids and grandkids. For others, it will be the frustratingly long waiting times for a GP appointment or the shocking lack of resources that fantastic frontline NHS staff need to cope with.
Your thoughts could be all about who is best to fix local roads, create good local jobs, or maybe something specific to your local area.
Our economy and public services are struggling so much that any number of vital issues could matter most to you.
But if the SNP win, none of your top priorities will get a look in. Nationalist MPs won’t be focused on the issues that really matter to you. We all know what they’ll obsess about – independence above everything else.
That’s why your vote is needed to stop the SNP winning.
When I went toe-to-toe with Nicola Sturgeon at the 2016 elections, it was to stop the SNP from breaking up the United Kingdom, and I know that thousands of people across Scotland voted for me and my party for that reason.
Now, the better part of a decade later, the SNP are still at it. They’re still pushing for the powers to take Scotland out of the UK, while all the time overlooking the important issues that people really want to see time spent on – growing our economy, getting a grip on NHS waiting lists, driving up educational standards and making our communities safer.
John Swinney has said it himself. He has said independence will be ‘page one, line one’ of the SNP manifesto.
That’s what he wants this election to be all about. He’s stated plainly that he will claim every seat the SNP wins as a ‘mandate’ to deliver independence.
The SNP have been a disaster for Scotland, and it will only get worse unless we all act to stop them. Every seat the SNP win would be trumpeted by them as another milestone on the road to independence.
We can’t afford to let that happen. We simply can’t allow the SNP to drag attention away from all the issues that really matter.
Let’s be honest, I know a lot of people are unhappy at the state of politics not just in Scotland but across the UK as a whole – and frankly I’m one of them.
But you need to ask yourself, how would any of that be helped by electing more SNP MPs?
The fact is, this is what the election is about in Scotland. It’s about whether the SNP win or not, and more Nationalist MPs would only make things worse, not better. And be in no doubt the SNP could still win in key seats up and down the country. Many people think it can’t happen, but that’s just plain wrong. The danger is very real.
The SNP are down, but they’re not out. We know for a fact that their national HQ in Edinburgh is pouring money and resources into seats from the Borders to the North East where it’s a straight fight between the Scottish
Conservatives and the SNP. You can be sure that many nationalist voters will be convinced at the last minute to go out and vote by a rallying cry for independence from John Swinney.
That could be enough to just scrape over the line and get enough votes to win many seats.
So, to stop that from happening there’s only one thing to be done. Only a vote for the Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party in key seats across Scotland can stop the election of an SNP candidate.
I know some people might be tempted this time to vote for other parties – or perhaps not to vote at all. Please don’t because the stakes are just too high.
Your vote is a powerful thing. It really can change the course of a whole country – and not using it can do the same thing. If pro-UK voters don’t use their postal ballot or sit at home, then nationalists who go to the polls will win.
And if pro-UK votes are wasted on parties that just can’t win here – like the Reform Party – it’s those who want to see the UK broken up who will be celebrating on July 5.
This election is a huge opportunity for pro-UK voters. It is the chance we have been waiting for over the past decade. We can finally get rid of the SNP in seats up and down Scotland. We can end their demands for independence – for good.
We can finally move Scotland forward and get away from the divisive independence debate, once and for all.
The SNP are adamant July 4 will be their ‘independence day’. But you can make it the day Scotland is free of the SNP. That’s the prize on offer if you vote Scottish Conservative in key seats. Just think for a moment what could happen if it goes the other way.
On the night of the election, Nicola Sturgeon has already agreed to be on your TV screens as a commentator and panelist.
Can you imagine how infuriating it will be if we have to watch her celebrate SNP victories? How quickly do you think she would turn those wins into a debate about independence and a demand for the SNP to get their way?
I don’t want to give her that satisfaction. I want to switch on the telly that night and see her face as she realises her push for independence is finished.
So this is a personal appeal to please use your vote to beat the SNP. Don’t leave your postal ballot on the kitchen worktop and forget about it. Don’t throw it away because you’re sick of all politicians. Don’t let this chance pass us by.
The opportunity in Scotland to move on from the SNP is too good to miss. Stopping an SNP win in key seats up and down Scotland really does need your vote for the Scottish Conservatives.
It’s as simple as that.