In a period of such chaos at Westminster, just about the only certainty – if there is such a thing – is that a General Election is coming sooner rather than later.

Last week it looked as if it would be very soon, but no one who has followed the actions of Boris Johnson over recent days would trust him to hold to his suggested date of October 15.

SNP MPs have been tirelessly standing up for Scotland, leading the fight against Tory austerity and working to stop Scotland being dragged out of the European Union against our will.

Over the next few weeks, the MPs battling against a no deal crash out of the EU will continue to work together to secure a General Election, offering voters the opportunity to have a choice over Scotland’s future.

Rather than fall into the trap of voting for an election on Boris Johnson’s terms, the SNP MPs want to secure a vote on the right terms. Supporting Monday night’s Commons vote would have run the risk of dragging Scotland off the cliff edge with a no deal Brexit. He simply cannot be trusted.

But make no mistake, an election is coming, and now is the time for the SNP to mobilise and get out campaigning.

The fight to stop Brexit, Boris, and the Tories, must be taken to every door in Scotland.

And that fight will start straight away. An SNP day of action is coming on Saturday and I know that Orkney SNP members have been out on the streets in Kirkwall already this summer, and are now ready to take the pulse of the Orkney electorate ahead of any imminent vote.

It has been really telling that the Tories have been preparing for an election, and the latest effort to pull the wool over the eyes of Scottish voters was to dress up the delayed handing over of £160 million meant for Scotland’s farmers as new money. Six years ago the EU provided an uplift in funding as farmers and crofters in Scotland receive less per hectare than the EU average – but the Tories failed to pass the uplift on in full, short-changing Scotland by that £160 million.

It was with much incredulity then, that SNP politicians, having campaigned to have the cash handed over for the past five years, watched the Tories attempt to pass it off as a gift to Scotland’s farmers, who have seen through the charade and rightly described it as a ‘back payment’.

While it is important that the past monies will be repatriated, we also needed to stop the unfairness to Scotland continuing into the future. The findings of Lord Bew and his review panel, which call on the UK Government to increase future funding by up to €60 million over two years are very welcome in this respect. Scotland’s farmers no doubt look forward to this call being answered in full, and the SNP will be making every effort to ensure it is.

This is an article by local MSP Maree Todd, SNP. The Orkney News welcomes the views of all list MSPs from the Highlands & Islands.