Patrick Harvie MSP

Scottish Green member for Glasgow

I am sure the people of Rutherglen and Cambuslang were as shocked as everyone else when Theresa May announced she intended to press for a UK general election on June 8.

The Scottish Greens say this recent announcement by the Prime Minister shows that Scotland continues to suffer at the hands of a hard right Tory party.

Brexit is a mess of the Tory party’s making, and they are calling this election for much the same self-serving reasons as the EU referendum itself.

Since June they have also consistently ignored voters in Scotland and elsewhere who chose to stay in Europe and the single market.

The government that is elected on June 8 will still be faced with that question – if a majority of voters here back candidates who are pro-EU and pro-single market, the Prime Minister must finally acknowledge the right of Scotland’s voters to be respected.

I am sure that voters in Scotland will not allow this election to satisfy the whims of a dangerous hard-right party determined to damage our economy, public services and threaten our EU friends and neighbours who have made Scotland their home.

Instead we must reassert our choice for a fairer and more equal society, and our decision to remain part of Europe cannot be allowed to fall on deaf ears.

Theresa May should be focusing on trying to undo some of the damage her disastrous approach to Brexit has done and enabling us in Scotland to have our voices heard.

She has, instead, opted to compound her previous mistakes with this move.

When the spotlight falls on her unyielding and hate-filled politics, I am confident that this move will backfire.