SINCE 2015 I have been the SNP’s DEFRA spokesperson at Westminster. At every turn, the SNP group of MPs has stood up for the interests of Scottish farming and held the UK Government to account.

We have campaigned tirelessly in Parliament to address the Conservative government's failure to pass on vital EU convergence funding to Scottish farmers, yet, almost two years on, Scottish farmers are still out of pocket to the tune of €230million.

You couldn’t find a clearer example of why powers over agriculture need to flow directly to Scotland with Brexit – we cannot trust a party that has consistently short-changed the industry to shape the future of Scottish agriculture for decades to come.

The Conservative Party’s refusal to honour CAP-equivalent funding beyond the next Parliament is deeply troubling.

Shamefully, almost a year after Brexit, we still have no indication of what system will come to replace CAP, a situation that is understandably leading to an increasing sense of despair, particularly amongst hill farmers in upland areas, including my own constituency in the Borders.

Despite being kept in the dark on their plans for a future system, we do know that many within the party, including DEFRA Secretary Andrea Leadsom, are ideologically opposed to farm support.

Simply hoping for the best is not a strategy, something that rural Scotland knows all too well. This election is a chance to tell Theresa May that her chaotic, cavalier, approach to Brexit simply isn’t good enough.

By voting for the SNP farmers will have the guarantee that there will be a voice in Westminster dedicated to defending their interests, at the most critical moment for Scottish farming in a generation.

Rural Scotland is on the frontline of the Brexit debate. Almost all of the key challenges of the UK-wide vote to leave are amplified when it comes to the Scottish rural economy.

In facing the three great challenges of Brexit – on support systems, market access and freedom of movement – we have to be resolute in demanding of a UK Government, whether Labour or Conservative, the security that our way of life needs in order to be sustainable.

The EU is the UK’s single largest trading partner in agri-food products and is particularly important for Scottish beef and lamb. It is therefore vital that we retain access to the Single Market.

At the same time, experienced staff from the EU are already leaving the UK and this is an issue which must be acknowledged and addressed as a matter of urgency.

Our Scottish brand is a premium product, recognised throughout the world for its provenance and outstanding quality – we cannot let this invaluable asset be gambled away as part of some desperate new trade deal.

I believe the choice at this election is clear – voting to endorse Theresa May will mean an existential crisis for our rural industries; jobs, traditions and livelihoods. Only the SNP, the real opposition at Westminster, will continue to protect the rural economy and offer an alternative to a chaotic hard Brexit.