A fairer, greener, wealthier Scotland. It’s what I and many others in the SNP work tirelessly day in and day out for. For our families, neighbours, and constituents.

As we draw closer to a General Election, Scotland will once again reach a crossroads and have the ability to choose what direction our nation takes.

With this in mind, the direction toward a wealthier and fairer Scotland set out by First Minister Humza Yousaf this week could not be clearer.

In his speech, the First Minister spoke of his personal motivations, focusing on what really matters to people in Scotland; fostering economic growth in tandem with social spending that places children at the heart of the Scottish Government’s driving missions.

Like many parents across Glasgow, and as a parent to young children myself, it was refreshing to see the emphasis placed on the importance of childcare and early learning.

I know that a lack of childcare is a real concern for many households, so this Programme for Government means that for many families across the East End of Glasgow, children will receive access to high-quality funded childcare, they won’t go hungry at school, and they have a government committed to ensuring they thrive.

However, we mustn’t underestimate the importance and significance of the Scottish Government’s focus on early years provision.

Expanding access to childcare is crucial to building a fair and prosperous country.

High-quality early years education and childcare are critical equalisers. By ensuring that all children have access to high-quality childcare, Scotland can continue to bridge the social and educational gaps that can often start before a child enters school. In the case of our Nordic neighbours, who have shown that by adopting progressive approaches to early learning and childcare, levels of social inequality can drastically improve.

Already as a country, Scotland has the most generous and high-quality early learning and childcare offer in the UK.

Every child deserves the best possible start in life – it’s something any parent or political party can agree on – and under the SNP’s Programme for Government, it’s not just another policy pledge, but the very ethos its mission centres around.

Valuing our children and early years staff are important value that inform Scotland’s national identity.

The foundations of a prosperous society rest on investing in children from the very beginning, not least taking into consideration the long-term economic benefits of this investment in our children. Investing in childcare and early learning is not just a choice, but a cornerstone of building a thriving, equitable society.

But in light of this, it poses the question about the future of Scotland, and how we progress as a nation.

As part of the union, we are a country that places children and their development at the heart of our agenda, whilst families are simultaneously subjected to harmful Westminster policies like the two-child cap or the cruel sanctions and deductions regime.

We live in a Scotland where our NHS workers are valued, our children don’t go hungry at lunchtime, and where their development and wellbeing are prioritised from the moment they are born. But all of this remains under threat at the mercy of Westminster politicians.

We need to focus on what really matters to people in Scotland. Not to Westminster politicians who couldn’t place Shettleston on a map. What matters to people in Scotland and to the Scottish Government is the expansion of free school meals; increasing social security spending by almost £1 billion, and increasing the number of children helped through the Scottish Child Payment.

This is a Scottish Government committed to alleviating poverty, with an estimated 90,000 children having been lifted out of poverty as a result of the Scottish Child Payment. This is a far cry from the support (or lack of) put in place by the Tories in Westminster.

But the Scottish Government takes these ambitious steps, all with one hand tied behind their back.

While many households across the East End of Glasgow will feel the benefit of its progressive actions, the reality is it that it is nowhere near what could be achieved if Scotland had the full fiscal autonomy and decision-making powers of independence.

I want to ensure the decisions that are made for our children can be made in Scotland, without fear of Westminster interference, or harmful policies like the two-child cap that torpedo any positive steps taken toward alleviating poverty.

It’s the values, that I and many of you agree with, that form the bedrock of Scotland’s identity which set us worlds apart from the broken Westminster system.

As the Programme for Government lays the path toward a more prosperous, equal and forward-thinking nation and away from cruel Westminster policies, I can only hope that it will result in a healthier happier Scotland, for our children, and children after that.