Following last Thursdays by-election in London, Rishi Sunak has been very active on environmental issues. He Tweeted (or X’d) about how delighted he was to be sitting in Margaret Thatcher’s old Rover car.

The Tories are getting desperate and they now think it is time to remind people they are the party of Thatcher. Not content with completely trashing the UK economy, their focus has moved to rolling back green policies and awarding more oil and gas production licences in the North Sea. They are not focusing on the issues that have brought hardship to the people of Scotland.

Last week, British Gas reported record half-year profits of £969m and Shell announced that profits fell to £3.9bn in the last three months. However, salaries have increased by an average of 4 per cent, interest rates have risen to a 15-year high and gas prices have more than doubled. How can it be fair that UK energy companies are raking in enormous profits while ordinary people are struggling to keep up with their bills?

To add insult to injury, as we are beholden to the UK energy market, the people of Scotland pay more for their energy than households down south.

Energy policy is a UK reserved matter. Scottish independence could pave the way to a fairer and greener energy system, putting people’s needs before corporate greed. Scotland currently produces renewable electricity equivalent to its annual consumption.

While summer in East Lothian has become wetter, many of you will have experienced the extreme heat and terrible wildfires that have ravaged parts of the Mediterranean.

The concerning words from the UN chief are, “Climate change is here. It is terrifying. And it is just the beginning”.

The people of Scotland can decide what sort of energy future they want and what importance they want to put on environmental issues. Scottish Independence can deliver a fairer, greener and cheaper future.