AS A constituent, councillor and former member of his staff team, I was delighted to see Martin Docherty-Hughes reselected as our Commons candidate for West Dunbartonshire.

I’ve witnessed first-hand the lengths Martin goes to fighting for our community and I defy anyone to find an MP more passionate about the people he represents and, whether it’s individuals needing help or UK Government policies that need opposed, Martin works tirelessly and exceeds what is expected of a good public servant. It will be my pleasure and privilege to campaign for his re-election.

I’d like to thank everyone who’s taken the time recently to give me some positive feedback on our work at the council. In West Dunbartonshire nobody is shy about telling us when there are problems – quite right, too – but it’s nice to hear positivity in our communities.

It’s been too long since I last enjoyed a walk in Dalmuir Park but I received a lovely email telling me the team have done a great job and it’s looking beautiful: I’ll have to make a point of taking a stroll. The roads too are starting to feel much better. They’d been left to get in a terrible state, but our investment is starting to bring rewards.

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I feel proudest, though, when hearing from parents about the positive experiences young people have at school. Once again, West Dunbartonshire has bettered the national average on exam results. We are ensuring more children have more choices for the future and the poverty-related attainment gap continues to narrow.

There are plenty of issues that need resolved but having a positive outlook goes a long way in aiding progress. West Dunbartonshire really is a great place to live and we’re working to make it even better.

At national level, these are unprecedented times: Parliament has been illegally shut down, the UK Government’s Brexit analysis predicts rationing, medicine shortages and rioting, and a referendum on Irish reunification has been mooted.

There will soon be a general election, and Scotland is poised to send a clear message to Westminster that we reject this Tory government’s dangerous game. With Labour crumbling away to nothing and the LibDems cosying up to the Tories, once again only the SNP can be the true voice of our communities, standing up for us against Johnson’s dictatorial tactics.