IT’S clear we cannot continue with things as they are. Scotland is deeply divided. It’s time to park this division and move our focus back to the local issues that matter to you.

East Lothian is the second fastest growing area in Scotland. The speed of development is challenging our schools, our hospitals and GPs surgeries, our roads and our railways. And it’s challenging our local environment: the very thing that attracts so many people to live here.

So, if elected as your MP, I will put East Lothian’s infrastructure first – and stand firm against any attempt by the SNP to force thousands more homes on East Lothian. This will be my number one priority.

Climate change affects us all but it will hit younger residents hardest. As a member of East Lothian Council, I backed the climate change emergency declaration. But it’s vital we match words with deeds. As your MP, I will do that. I am committed to promoting a secure and low-carbon-based economy, supporting sustainable local transport and resources across East Lothian.

I also want to tackle the scourge of poverty in East Lothian. The best way of lifting people out of poverty is to create new, skilled jobs and apprenticeships. That’s why I will push for more investment to create jobs at the former Cockenzie Power Station site and the new Innovation Park at Queen Margaret University.

As your MP, I will work hard for those who work hard. But I will work twice as hard for the poorest and most vulnerable members of our community. I will always stand up for older people and will push for the BBC to reverse its decision to remove free TV licences from the over-75s.

But we cannot escape one simple fact. The SNP don’t see this election as being about East Lothian’s future but instead as an opportunity to mount ‘one final heave’ for independence. And Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour Party is ready to help them do it.

The SNP wants next year to be the year of two divisive referendums. We need to send a clear message to Nicola Sturgeon: we don’t want another independence referendum.

The only way to do that is to vote Scottish Conservative, because Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour Party is simply too weak and divided to win here.

My position is unambiguous: no ifs, no buts, no IndyRef2.

Put simply, I want to go to Westminster to be East Lothian’s voice in Parliament, not remove your voice from it.