On Monday, I listened as First Minister John Swinney outlined a future vision of hope over fear, looking ahead to May’s Scottish Election.

There is a lot to celebrate in Scotland – and we have it within ourselves to overcome the challenges we face.

I am proud that the party I represent, the SNP, offers our country the leadership to make us the very best we can be. And this year we are going to inspire Scotland like never before, with hope for a better future.

That starts by reminding ourselves of the progress we are making. 

Look at our health service, with waiting times and waiting lists falling all over Scotland. 

Looking at education, last year young people achieved truly outstanding exam results. Literacy and numeracy in schools are both at record levels. 

And look at Scotland’s economy. Think of all the headwinds businesses in Scotland have faced in recent years. But business investment in Scotland has reached a 20-year high.

Scotland is the only place in the UK where child poverty is falling. The poverty-related attainment gap in schools is at a record low. Unemployment is significantly lower than the UK average.

As folk in Orkney know well, our renewables industry continues to grow and grow – powering our green economic future. 

Scotland is by no means a perfect country, but it has strong foundations for the future under SNP leadership.

This year’s election is not just about the next five years. It is about taking the next steps for the best possible future and empowering ourselves to fundamentally address the biggest long-term issues facing us. 

I have heard the same messages as I have gone around the doorsteps in recent months – and I know Robert Leslie in Orkney is hearing the same thing. 

• The UK economy is broken
• Living standards are flat as a pancake
• Far too many people are living in poverty
• Far too many people are struggling to make ends meet
• Energy costs in energy-rich Scotland are scandalously high

Anyone claiming this can be addressed with the current powers of the Scottish Parliament is not being with straight with the public.

The truth is that Westminster is ever-more distant from offering solutions to Scotland’s challenges. Bad decisions like Brexit and the austerity cuts are leaving us all worse off. 

We will stand up to those who will seek to divide us as they lurch to the right.

We will offer a vision for a very different future for Scotland. 

The Scotland we believe in is a modern, progressive, socially democratic Scotland at the heart of Europe. 

That’s what the powers of independence offers Scotland – and that’s why the SNP is offering the chance to vote for independence in 2026. 

There is hope for a better future for Scotland – but we have to go out and vote for it on 7th May.

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