LAST Tuesday, Theresa May announced that she would hold a Westminster vote to secure a UK General Election on June 8. Unsurprisingly, a substantial majority of MPs voted in favour of the election.

With such short notice and council elections on their way, it is absurd that the Prime Minister would choose this time to hold another election. Those running for office will not have much time to prepare, and the public will be exhausted, having just voted for their own local councils.

This from the woman who told us that “now is not the time” to hold another referendum vote. Yet here she is, doing exactly what she’s accused us of.

At this point, I’m not sure whether this election is to “secure the best Brexit deal” for the UK, as she says, or whether, with the polls heavily in her favour, she is putting narrow party interests first. Her decision not to participate in election debates suggests that she is leaning towards the latter. I don’t know what’s more disturbing, the fact that Theresa May is so sure of her party’s overweening success, or the fact that she feels she doesn’t need to put in much work to secure such a victory.

Last week confirmed the hopelessness of the Labour Party as more and more of their MPs stepped down after the snap election was announced. Recent polls show that support of the Labour Party is greatly dwindling, confirming the bleakness of the party’s future. But with the Tories pulling the u-turn of all u-turns, and the Labour Party attempting to save a sinking ship, it is clearer than ever that if you want to protect Scotland’s interests, the SNP vote is the only way to go.

In local news, I was delighted to attend the Earth Day 2017 Botanical Art Exhibition at Queen Margaret University last Thursday. This public exhibition showcased the incredible talents of Dr Kathleen Munro and Lady Ann Fraser, both award-winning botanical artists. My thanks go to everyone involved.