THE SNP spring conference took place in Perth last weekend.

Everyone, including SNP MSPs and MPs, can see that Humza Yousaf is a dud. And when the next election comes, people will send him this message loud and clear.

In his speech, the First Minister announced with fanfare that he wanted Scotland to be “Tory free”, which was an insult to the 700,000 people who voted Conservative at the last election.

The First Minister’s shrill and divisive call to arms should be a rallying cry to those who share Conservative views and values.

Yes, I am no fan of this SNP Government. I am no fan of the way they have undermined and underfunded our councils.

I am no fan of their record on schools, hospitals, roads and railways – all of which have got worse under their control. I am no fan of their record on drug deaths, their dangerous gender recognition reform laws, or their botched Deposit Return Scheme. But I respect voters’ intrinsic right to vote for the party they support, including SNP supporters. That’s basic democracy, is it not?

Right across East Lothian, I meet people who share my views and values. They want to repair our roads. They want to end long waits in our NHS. They want to improve our schools. They want us to make Scotland safer. And they want us to cut your tax – which is rising year after year. And, of course, they want us to stop the SNP’s divisive independence obsession.

This is what you can help achieve by supporting the Scottish Conservatives here.

So, as we start to think about the forthcoming General Election, I would encourage every Conservative-minded voter in East Lothian to do this: vote Conservative. Stand up and be counted – don’t let Humza Yousaf’s anti-democratic “Tory-free” bully-boy tactics work in our communities.