THIS is an unnecessary election, called three years early simply to give Theresa May a super majority.

Yet Mrs May is anything but a strong leader: she wobbled on the dementia tax promised in the Tory manifesto but abandoned only days later. A huge Conservative majority at Westminster will be arrogant, driving the economy off a hard Brexit cliff and threatening untold jobs.

The antidote is to re-elect myself and a strong contingent of SNP MPs. We’ve been the real opposition to the Tories.

Conservatives accuse the SNP of being obsessed with independence. Their election literature mentions little else. Why? Tories are scared to defend their poor record in government.

Re-elected, I will oppose the living hell of Universal Credit, which forces people to use foodbanks. I will oppose personal independence payments for the disabled, which uses a humiliating interview system to rob folk of their dignity and mobility. I will oppose the odious ‘rape clause’. I will fight for justice for ‘WASPI’ women – those born in the 1950s whose retirement age was raised without proper notification. I will defend the triple lock guarantee on the state pension, which is already too low. I will oppose £100bn of public money being wasted on an unusable new Trident nuclear deterrent – money that should go to the NHS. Sadly, Labour has now decided to keep Trident.

Last year I spoke in 69 debates compared to 32 by my Labour predecessor. I’ve held face-to-face surgeries in 47 towns, villages and estates. At Westminster, I helped lead opposition to the privatisation of the Green Investment Bank. I’ve led the national UK campaign to get financial justice for small businesses mis-sold by the big banks.

As MP, I will champion East Lothian’s needs before party: better public transport, local control over planning decisions, more resources for our schools, and new inward investment. I’ve lobbied BT incessantly to get better broadband coverage in the county. Re-elected, I will introduce a private members Bill to stop banks closing local branches without approval. I’ll fight to bring control of farming and fishing back from Brussels to Scotland – not London. I’ll protect animal rights.

This election is about preventing a hard Brexit. The task now is to secure a deal with Europe that does not cost Scottish jobs. Only a strong SNP group at Westminster will deny Theresa May a blank cheque and make her listen to Scotland’s (and East Lothian’s) voice in the Brexit negotiations. If these turn out a disaster, only then will the SNP seek to give the Scottish people another choice about their future in a referendum.

On June 8, the issue at stake is giving East Lothian an experienced voice that is heard loudly at Westminster.