When Rishi Sunak chose to announce the long-desired General Election, it was the first day of rain in a week of glorious sunshine. 

Watching him getting soaked to the sound of a jeering crowd, it was the perfect metaphor for a washout of a premiership that has been forever out of touch.

The biggest regret is that it has taken so long, but on July 4 we can finally close the door on 14 years of Tory misrule and chaos. 

A cost-of-living crisis that has plunged children into poverty, a disastrous Brexit that Scotland opposed, years of dodgy deals and shady contracts and relentless campaigns to scapegoat, demonise and punch down against some of our society’s most vulnerable groups. 

The only ones who have benefited have been the Conservative Party’s multimillionaire friends and donors.

History will not be kind to the five Tory Prime Ministers we have endured in that time, and their legacy of lies, loutishness and – of course – the lettuce that outlasted Liz Truss.

Like most people in Glasgow, I will very much enjoy watching all the blue seats on the map disappearing on election night. But that alone is not enough. What replaces them will really matter.

When I see Keir Starmer speaking, I don’t feel like I’m watching a Prime Minister in waiting.

I feel like I’m watching a man who is terrified of his own instincts and is desperately trying to avoid taking any kind of memorable position on anything.

We’re at a critical moment for our country and for our climate.

This is exactly the time when we need big ideas and bold thinking, not tepid ideas and business as usual.

That is why the Scottish Greens will be standing more candidates than ever before across Scotland, including in constituencies here in Glasgow.

We have shown the impact that Scottish Green voices can have. 

It is Scottish Green MSPs that have led the change in our Parliament, both as a positive and constructive party of opposition and when we were a part of government. 

We have worked to deliver real and practical action, with free bus travel for everyone under 22, an emergency rent cap and protections for tenants paying sky-high private rents, the biggest expansion of the real living wage since devolution, scrapping school meal debt and delivering record investment in walking, wheeling and cycling infrastructure to ensure greener and safer streets.

Similarly, the 11-strong group of Green councillors in our City Chambers have had a huge impact: establishing a landmark climate fund and extra funding to bring empty homes back into use, giving support for safer, greener streets with low-traffic neighbourhoods, protecting local services, and investing in recycling and our green spaces.

This is exactly the kind of fresh, bold and ambitious thinking that has been missing in Westminster for so long. 

All too often, when there aren’t Greens around the table there is nobody else speaking up for our environment or setting out how we can do things differently.

This is a crucial election. It is our opportunity to reverse years of damaging Tory policies, and our last chance to put right the decades of climate inaction and protect our future.

Whoever is in Downing Streets needs to seize the opportunity to invest in the green industries that will make a difference, build a more equal economy and end the scandal of poverty once and for all.

A strong vote for the Scottish Greens will send a loud and clear message that things can’t go on as they are, and that social justice, equality and climate action must be at the heart of our politics and our recovery.

I am looking forward to campaigning alongside our candidates in Glasgow and beyond, and to presenting our vision for a fairer, greener future for our city and for Scotland.