As YOU will no doubt be aware, Theresa May has called a snap General Election for June 8, despite saying just a few short weeks ago that she would not be calling an election before 2020.

With this extraordinary U-turn, the Prime Minister has once again put the interests of the Tories ahead of those of the country.

This election will be about who best stands up for Scotland and, in the face of the Tories increasing their mandate in England, it’s never been more important for Scotland and Renfrewshire to reject the Tories and their right-wing, divisive politics.

Since 2015, I have striven to be a hard-working local MP who always stands up for Renfrewshire.

It has been a privilege and a pleasure being the MP for Paisley and Renfrewshire North and I hope that my constituents place their trust in me again to represent them on June 8.

Council Elections

Next week, the Local Government elections will be held and voters will choose who should represent them, their families and communities on Renfrewshire Council.

I am delighted with the gender-balanced field of excellent candidates the SNP has put forward for these local elections.

All of those who are standing for the SNP would make excellent councillors, ready to stand up for their communities.

Renfrewshire Council has been controlled by the Labour Party for the past five years and I think most voters will agree they have failed to effectively deliver the services which are important to local people.

In contrast, the SNP is standing on a positive and ambitious platform which will deliver vital services.

We have published our detailed manifesto, which aims to tackle the challenges facing Renfrewshire and help realise the area’s potential.

We will look to work with our partners and communities to protect public services and empower local communities, ensuring that Renfrewshire Council finally delivers for local people.

Rape Clause

The UK Government has recently railroaded a policy through the UK Parliament which will restrict entitlement to child tax credits to the first two children and force women to prove their third child was born as a result of rape in order to claim child tax credits.

The so-called ‘Rape Clause’ and two-child limit for child tax credits is one of the most poisonous policies ever to come out of Westminster and, even at this late stage, the Tories should scrap it completely.

Forcing women to have to prove that their third or subsequent child was conceived of rape in order to receive vital support for their children would shame most people. However, Ruth Davidson defends this shameful policy with her Conservative party colleagues, ignoring the damage it will cause to survivors of sexual violence and their children.

I have contacted all of the Conservative candidates in the local government elections to seek their views on the Rape Clause.

It’s clear the Conservatives are as nasty and as vindictive as ever before.