This is no doubt aided by parts of the UK mainstream media, whose billionaire owners have a vested interest in the status quo as far as the constitutional arrangements of the UK are concerned.

However, when First Minister John Swinney launched his renewed strategy for independence last week it wasn’t to push it up the political agenda to the detriment of issues that I’ve mentioned – it was to highlight it as positive alternative to the increasingly disastrous, right-leaning and authoritarian decisions being made by the UK Labour Government.

Independence in this context is not an end in itself – it is the route to a fairer, more equal, more prosperous Scotland.

Let’s be clear. Labour promised change after they replaced the Tories and formed the UK Government just over a year ago, but we’ve been hit by more of the same. A continuation of Tory policies have seen cuts for the most vulnerable and a rising cost of living.

Labour in London are showing us how little they believe in – and how little they care for Scotland. We are consistently an afterthought in their policy decisions.

I came into politics through the 2014 referendum on independence and as we head towards the 2026 Scottish Parliament elections we are well past the time that Scotland’s people should be making all the key decisions about their future.

The Unionist parties maintain an anti-democratic stance on the constitution – denying us a say on how we shape our future. They tell us ‘now is not the time’. But the reality is that Scotland can’t afford to simply keep mitigating for the worst of UK Labour’s policies.

The time is now.

When Labour MPs from Scotland are being suspended for sticking up for their constituents in the face of devastating UK Government cuts, it is clear Scotland urgently needs the powers to make real change. These will only come with independence.

Take for example energy prices.

Labour came into power promising to reduce energy bills. However, they have point-blank refused a key opportunity to do just that.

The Climate Change Committee’s seventh Carbon Budget, published in February, has a key recommendation to cut electricity costs by 19% by removing environmental levies from bills. What a difference that would make to struggling households in Orkney, where fuel poverty remains stubbornly high, and many have heavily rationed electricity usage in recent winters.

While previous Carbon Budgets have been accepted in full by UK governments, Labour appear willing to maintain a position where heating and hot water for thousands of Orkney folk is anything but affordable.

The SNP has made it clear that they will make Scotland’s energy work for Scotland’s people, not shareholders, in an independent Scotland.

Keep this in mind when you are considering where to put your cross when polling day comes next May.

This is a regular column by SNP MSP Emma Roddick. All Highlands and Islands Regional MSPs have been offered the same space in The Orkney News to share their personal views.