That is the call from SNP candidate Robert Leslie, after the spectre of a deal with Labour was raised last week by Lib Dem leader Alex Cole-Hamilton.

Mr Leslie said that the anti-democratic stance of the LibDems in Orkney was disappointing, but the threat from Cole-Hamilton that he would help usher in Anas Sarwar as First Minister if the chance arose was truly frightening for Orkney.

Mr Leslie said that he was committed to supporting Orkney’s traditional industries for farming and fishing, and working to reduce fuel poverty, food poverty and child poverty in the islands. If elected, Mr Leslie sid he would be part of an SNP governing party that will always work hard to make life better for folk in Orkney and across Scotland.

This, he said, was in stark contrast to policies that have eminated from Westminster under Labour.

Mr Leslie said:

“Farmers in Orkney were clearly angered by Labour’s threats on changes to inheritance tax, and our fishing industry was short-changed by Labour’s allocation of less than 8% of the £360 milling Fishing and Coastal Growth Fund, when Scotland accounts for over 60% of UK fish landings by tonnage and value.

“Labour has failed to act on sky-high electricity prices, leaving many Orkney households deep in fuel poverty. The UK Labour government has also fallen short on support for folk on oil heating – with the Scottish Government having to step in with more cash. We are also seeing soaring fuel prices at the pumps, adding to already crippling bills for households and businesses across Orkney.

“And yet Cole-Hamilton would hand Labour the keys to Bute House. That is a real kick in the teeth to local folk who are suffering at the hands of disastrous Labour policies.”

Asked last week by BBC Radio Scotland Breakfast if his party could vote to nominate Sarwar as first minister, should Labour be in a position to challenge the SNP, Cole-Hamilton replied: “If there’s an opportunity to change the government in Scotland, I think we have an obligation to look at that.”

Mr Leslie said:

“It is beyond belief that the LibDems would consider installing a Labour government after they have treated Orkney and the rest of the Highlands and Islands as an afterthought.

“I would urge voters in Orkney who want to avoid any chance of a Labour government at Holyrood, propped up by the Lib Dems, to end the hereditary backing of that party and put their trust in me and the SNP on Thursday 7th May.

“It was bad enough when Alistair Carmichael and Liam McArthur refused my invitation to sign the declaration supporting the right for everyone in Scotland to decide our future, undermining the stance of the anti-independence parties that Scotland is in a voluntary union. However, voting for the Lib Dems when they are courting the thought of enabling a Labour government would be an act of economic self-harm for these islands.”

Mr Leslie said that the fallout from the last time the Lib Dems managed to get themselves into government should provide warning enough for Orkney voters.

“The Lib Dem legacy in Orkney is the impact of the damaging austerity agenda inflicted on us by the Tories but enabled by Alistair Carmichael and his Lib Dem colleagues in that ConDem Coalition of 2010-15. It is ironic that harmful policies such as the bedroom tax, for which Alistair Carmichael voted, led to the need for a food bank in Orkney, which was opened in 2013 by his Lib Dem colleague Liam McArthur.

“The Lib Dems need to be held to account for their enabling of austerity, which slashed public spending across the UK, and has been proven to have caused hundreds of thousands of premature deaths, and falling life expectancy. These policies resulted in rising child poverty and homelessness, along with the grim phenomenon of food bank Britain. That we need a food bank when Orkney produces so much quality food and drink is shameful. Sadly it remains much busier now than it was when it was opened.

“This constituency deserves a representative that can truly give it a voice in the party of government and help address our island needs. I am chasing every vote in this constituency and on the list. If a constituency win is too big a hill for me to climb then my second place on the SNP list for the regional vote could still give Orkney the opportunity to have a representative from the party that will always put the people of Orkney and the wider region first.

“Sadly, Alex Cole-Hamilton’s willingness to overrule Scottish democracy is shared by the leaders of the other anti-independence parties in Scotland, backed by their bosses at Westminster and the overwhelmingly anti-independence Scottish press.

“All this proves that democracy in Scotland can only be guaranteed with a vote for me and the SNP on 7th May. This election gives Scotland the chance to elect a pro-independence or an SNP majority, either of which would bring an end to the untenable anti-democratic stance of the Lib Dems.”

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Elections to the Scottish Parliament take place on 7 May.

Orkney Constituency – 5 candidates:

• John William COUPLAND – Reform UK
• Jamie HALCRO JOHNSTON – Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
• Robert Fraser LESLIE – Scottish National Party (SNP)
• Mike MACLEOD – Scottish Labour Party
• Liam Scott MCARTHUR – Scottish Liberal Democrats

Highlands and Islands Region – Candidates:

Name of Party	Description of Party	Candidates on Party List (in order to be elected)
Advance UK		1. Matt Sheppard 2. Steve Skerrett
Alliance to Liberate Scotland	Alliance to Liberate Scotland For Independence	1. Brian Nugent 2. Andrew Ross Macdonald 3. Kenneth Mackenzie 4. Laura Hansler 5. Allan Duffy 6. Flora Badger
Independence for Scotland Party	Independence for Scotland Party, Direct Democracy	1. Fiona Nelson
Independent Green Voice	Independent Green Voice – Organic, Local, Democratic	1. Nicola Siddall
Reform UK		1. Vic Currie 2. Max Bannerman 3. Amanda Hampsey 4.Fred Campbell 5.Malcolm McTaggart 6. Jon Whitton 7. John Coupland
Scottish Christian Party “Proclaiming Christ’s Lordship”		1. Donald MacLeod Boyd
Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party		1. Tim Eagle 2. Jamie Halcro Johnston 3. Helen Crawford 4. Ruraidh Stewart 5. George Macpherson 6. Peter Wallace 7. Donald Mackenzie 8. Douglas Barnett
Scottish Family Party	Scottish Family Party – Christian values	1. Kenny Stone 2. Allan MacEachen 3. Rachel Michelle Gibson 4. Eva Morrice 5. Harriet Amelia Mary Woolmore
Scottish Green Party	Vote Scottish Greens – Let’s demand better	1. Ariane Burgess 2. Kristopher Leask 3. Kate Willis 4. Dræyk Van Der Hørn 5.Alex Armitage 6. Anne Thomas 7. Julie Christie
Scottish Labour Party	Scottish Labour – Scotland Needs Change	1. Isla McCay 2. Donald MacKinnon 3. Eva Kestner 4. John Erskine 5. Mike MacLeod 6. Callum George 7. Shaun Fraser 8. David Blair
Scottish Liberal Democrats		1. Morven-May MacCallum 2. Alan Reid 3. Declan Gallacher 4. Angela Margaret MacLean 5. Robert Denis James Rixson 6. Guy Grieve 7. Fiona Bennett
Scottish Libertarian Party		1. Nathan Lumb
Scottish National Party (SNP)		1. Maree Todd 2. Robert Leslie 3. Emma Roddick 4. Hannah Mary Goodlad 5. Eilidh Munro 6. Jérémie Fernandes
Scottish Rural Party		1. Alasdair Fletcher 2. Ruaridh Ormiston
Scottish Socialist Party	Scottish Socialist Party – Independent Socialist Scotland	1. Willie Hamilton 2. Brenda Nicholson
Workers Party of Britain	Workers Party – Scotland	1. Syed Hussain
Independent		Duncan Macpherson; Mick Rice