The First Minister recently announced that another independence referendum will be held before the next Holyrood elections.

This announcement is against the wishes of the Scottish people, who show no appetite for another referendum so soon.

Constituents have repeatedly told me how sick they are of elections. They want more focus on job creation, health and social care services, education and the environment.

The timing of the First Minister’s announcement was for the benefit of the SNP grassroots who are agitating for a new independence drive and was designed for party purposes ahead of the SNP conference.

It is beyond logic to plan a new referendum with the chaos of Brexit continuing. Of course Scotland voted to remain in the EU and it also voted to remain in the UK two years prior. A once-in-a-generation referendum was promised and I hope the SNP don’t break that promise like they did when they failed to scrap the council tax.

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A continuing problem for the First Minister and the independence movement is the question of currency. The SNP leadership were forced by hardliners to dump the pound. This would be a disaster for Scotland.

An advisor to the SNP’s growth commission has said that a new currency could wipe out the savings of 45,000 households within weeks of adopting a new currency.

Despite the incompetence of the Tories and the chaos of Brexit, Scotland continues to benefit from being in the UK. Family savings, mortgages and pensions are secured by the pooling and sharing of UK resources.

Despite my concerns surrounding independence and Brexit, the greatest threat to our future is climate change. That’s why I support the declaration of a climate emergency by the UK Parliament.

If we do not change our way of life, the existence of our planet and all inhabitants are in danger.

Scotland can lead the way by tackling climate change and Labour would harness the vast potential Scotland has for renewable energy and create 50,000 jobs.

Scottish Labour’s Richard Leonard has called for the establishment of a permanent council, made up of business and trade unions in the low carbon and renewables sector, to ensure Scotland gets the high quality, well paid jobs that should be delivered as a result of a low carbon economy.