LAST week Theresa May broke her promise not to hold a general election before 2020.

Now, on June 8, the people of Scotland will face a choice between the SNP who will stand up for Scotland or an increasingly hardline Tory government that will slash budgets and attack the most vulnerable in society.

Right now, the Tories have imposed the cruel and callous “two-child policy” and “rape clause”.

This means that if you have more than two children and need extra support through child tax credits you will not receive them for the third or any subsequent child.

This is a cruel and vindictive policy that will drive children and families into poverty.

However, it gets worse.

The UK Government has included an exemption so that a third child can receive tax credit support but only if the mother can prove that the child was conceived as a result of rape. Never in my whole time in politics have I encountered such a barbaric and disgusting policy.

While the SNP have opposed this policy from the start, Ruth Davidson and her Tories have not only defended it but have actively supported it.

The reality is that the Tories are the same old nasty party they have always been.

At the moment the Tories only have a small majority in the UK Parliament and one out of 59 MPs in Scotland.

But because Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour Party are so unelectable, voters in the rest of the UK will likely give the Tories a huge 100-plus seat majority.

If the Tories are willing to slash our budget and impose the “rape clause” on Scotland with only a small majority, just imagine the damage an out-of-control Tory government will inflict on Scotland with the huge majority they’re expected to get.

As MSP for Renfrewshire South I’ve had the privilege of working alongside our local MPs Mhairi Black, Gavin Newlands and Kirsten Oswald.

Each of them has worked tirelessly over the past two years for our local communities and for Scotland has a whole.

It’s vital that on June 8 we re-elect Mhairi, Gavin and Kirsten to continue the job of fighting for our local communities and standing up for Scotland.