We need MSPs who put the country before party interests - Suan Dalgety

I already know who I am voting for and regular readers may not be surprised that it is Scottish Labour that will get my support.

The future is in your hands on election day May 7 by placing a crossed ballot paper in a box

The polls suggest the Scottish Green candidate, Lorna Slater – the woman who, as a government minister, made a such a botch-up of the national bottle deposit scheme that it had to be abandoned – may beat the incumbent, Angus Roberston of the SNP.

I don’t want either of them to win, not least because the SNP, with a little help from their friends in the Scottish Greens, are hell bent on making the next five years a prolonged row over another independence referendum.

There are far more important things Holyrood should be focusing on: the housing crisis, drug deaths, the cost of living, the climate crisis, to name but a few.

Instead, nationalists want a fight with Westminster. John Swinney may have all the appearance of a dour bank manager, but he dreams of being Scotland’s 21st century Braveheart – the man who gave us fr-e-e-e-e-dom.

A tactical voting website, unsurprisingly called ‘tactical votes Scotland’, offers an online tool that advises you which party to vote for if you want to stop the SNP (or Greens). Its suggestion for Edinburgh Central is to vote Labour, and for the regional list seat – where you also have one vote – it suggests you vote for any party you like, “just don’t give it to the SNP or Greens!”

The regional list ballot paper for Edinburgh and Lothians East – which is a pretty peach colour – has more entries than my monthly credit card statement. There are over 20 parties and independents listed, ranging from the usual suspects to the Scottish Workers Party of Britain, the Communist Party and the Animal Welfare Party.

Stuck way down the bottom of the ballot are four independent candidates, including two who were excellent MSPs in the last session of the parliament: Jeremy Balfour and Ash Regan.

I have written in praise of Ash Regan before in my column. She has been a fearless defender of women’s rights in recent years, even resigning her ministerial position because she could not vote for Nicola Sturgeon’s gender reform bill.

Her recent campaign to make the purchase of sex illegal was an excellent example of how an independent MSP can make a real difference to people’s lives. Her Unbuyable bill only failed because the SNP refused to back it – instead they promise to introduce similar legislation if they retain power after May 7.

Ash Regan is exactly the type of person we want to see in Holyrood. Someone who, like Jeremy Balfour who resigned from the Conservatives, puts country before party.

We need our MSPs to think for themselves and do the best for their constituents and the wider community and not just what their party whips tell them.

You will make up your own mind on who to vote for next month. I have already decided where both my X’s will go.