WITH the election now just over two weeks away, it is still very clear that it presents Scotland with a fantastic opportunity.

 

The polls all point to a hung parliament.

That means Scotland - if we elect a big team of SNP MPs - can wield real influence.

It would mean, firstly, that the SNP could help Labour do what, according to all the polls, they are simply not going to be strong enough to do on their own - kick out the Tories.

If there are more anti-Tory MPs than Tory MPs, the SNP and Labour together could lock David Cameron out of Downing Street by voting, on a confidence motion, to stop a Tory government even getting off the ground.

I've said clearly that's what SNP MPs would do.

Ed Miliband still gives the impression that he would rather see the Tories back in office than work with the SNP.

But he must surely realise that Scotland would never forgive him if that was the case.

So locking out the Tories would be the first benefit of a big bloc of SNP MPs in a hung parliament.

But it's not the only one.

We could then use our influence to make sure that the Tories are replaced by something better, bolder and more radical - not by a Tory-lite Labour Party.

People in Scotland remember all too clearly the last majority Labour Government - it was elected on a wave of hope and optimism and ended up imposing tuition fees, starting the privatisation of the NHS and taking the country into an illegal war in Iraq.

SNP MPs can hold any future Labour government to account and make sure they deliver the change that Scotland - and the rest of the UK - badly needs.

Right now, Labour is not offering a clear enough alternative to the Tories.

Instead of an end to austerity, Labour has made clear that it wants to impose more austerity cuts.

It says that these cuts will be in 'non protected areas'.

Frankly, that is an attempt to use jargon to mask reality.

'Non protected areas' are social care, social security, local government services and defence.

Cuts in these areas will have a real impact on real lives.

A big SNP voice can make Labour think again.

We will use our influence to bring about spending increases instead of cuts.

These will be modest increases that still allow the deficit and the debt to fall in every year of the next parliament. But in return for taking a couple more years to completely eliminate the deficit, we would have extra money to invest in the NHS, education, infrastructure, job creation and action to lift people out of poverty.

That's surely got to be much better than another round of savage cuts that will undermine our public services, constrain economic growth and drive more and more children into poverty.

Locking the Tories out and replacing them with a better alternative are the big wins Scotland could score if we send lots of SNP MPs to Westminster.

And, of course, regardless of which party is in government, what SNP MPs will always do is stand up for Scotland. We will fight Scotland's corner, protect Scotland's interests and make Scotland's voice heard.

Too often in the past, Labour MPs have been elected and then barely heard of again.

Voting Labour in the past hasn't protected Scotland against Tory governments.

The tired old Labour line of 'vote Labour to get rid of the Tories' has been shown, time and again, to be false.

And, of course, Labour MPs weren't able to stop the Tories imposing the poll tax or the bedroom tax.

We need MPs who will give Scotland a much stronger and a much clearer voice - MPs who will work with the Scottish Government to protect the things that really matter to Scotland.

Too often in the past, Scotland has been sidelined and ignored in the Westminster corridors of power, but that doesn't have to be the case any more.

This time, we can make sure that Scotland's interests are front and centre.

That will be good for all of us who live here but having MPs from Scotland who are arguing for more progressive politics can also be good news for people living in other parts of the UK as well.

So, in short, Scotland really does have a wonderful opportunity ahead of us.

We can, by voting SNP on May 7, win a stronger voice for ourselves and better politics for everyone.

I hope we take it.