ONE of the trials of being a candidate in an election is not being able to see how the various messages of each political party are playing in the media, only seeing how they are impacting on the doorstep and often having to respond to events which the poor candidate hasn’t seen. 

However, one of the more ironic features of the campaign so far has been Boris Johnson trying to whip up hysteria at the prospect of, in his words, “a Corbyn/Sturgeon deal,” with the public being asked to believe that. 

How can two level-headed politicians be such a threat to the voters that the prospect of a Prime Minister who behaves as a man-child is the safer option? Any rational elector will realise this is just plain nonsense.

It beggars belief that a Prime Minister who takes the huff when opposition politicians, and his own backbenchers, decided that there should be more time to scrutinise government legislation on his EU Withdrawal Bill is trying to portray himself as the moderate option. 

The name-calling, of course, doesn’t stop there, with anyone critical of Tory policy labelled a Marxist. 

As I said in Parliament last year, this is the political party that believes Captain Poldark is a Marxist-Leninist. 

We must be clear that a Tory majority government is the most dangerous option facing the electorate in this election. Johnson is no buffoon or clown, but a devious and dangerous politician.

There is something sinister about the message that other people in these islands should fear SNP or even Scottish involvement in policy decision-making at a Westminster level. 

It has of course been a trick which has been deployed before in previous elections, though on this occasion I do not believe it will work. This time electors across these islands have seen a bloc of SNP MPs holding.

Since being elected in 2015, I can only reiterate my experiences that cross-party co-operation and engagement is carried out on a weekly basis as opposition political parties have endeavoured to stop the Tory programme in its tracks. 

To develop ideas to amend trade union and workers legislation, fix our broken social security system, address injustices such as the plight of 1950s-born women being asked to work longer, and the historic scandal of blacklisting, co-operation and discussion exist. 

It has been such co-operation that has in a hung parliament left the Tories limping along without any meaningful domestic programme.

One of the key issues in this campaign is rebuilding and fixing the UK’s social security system. 

At the end of the last session of Parliament the Department for Work and Pensions select committee published a withering report on the two-child limit for tax credits arguing for its abandonment and demonstrating its effect on increasing child poverty. This should be among the first actions of any incoming Westminster government.  

The first payment of universal credit should be shorter than five weeks, and the so-called advance payment — which is in effect a loan — should be the first payment.  Our priority must be to build a system that delivers respect to those in need.

Another aspect of cross-party working is over tackling corporate misconduct. There should be no more Carillions. There cannot be a further situation where shareholder dividends are higher than what a company puts into the pension pot of workers.  

SNP MPs will support the reinstatement of the reverse burden of proof which, before being removed by the Tories, required senior bank managers to demonstrate they had done the right thing where wrongdoing had emerged on their watch. 

We must also arm HMRC with the resources to tackle head-on tax avoidance and evasion. The numbers being employed by the state to go after the avoiders and the evaders should be – at the very least – the same as those employed to chase social security fraud.

There will be much agreement on workers’ rights, as suggested by the support of John McDonnell for my Workers (Rights) and Definitions Bill. 

Our society demands an end to bogus self-employment, an end to zero-hours contracts, and wider access for trade unions in the workplace. 

The recent court judgement on the Royal Mail dispute strengthens the case for the repeal of the Trade Union Act.  Trade unions should be given access to secure online and workplace balloting for industrial action ballots. The next government requires a mature relationship with the trade union movement.

The current general election campaign requires us to take head on the myth behind the Tories’ plans for Brexit. The simple message that to “get it done” hides their intentions, in respect to workers, environmental and consumer protections, as well as the risk of public services being at the mercy of multinational companies in future trade deals.  

The Tory outsourcing agenda must be brought to an end as the recent judgements on Serco and its shameful treatment of asylum-seekers make clear. Private companies working on state contracts should not be exempt from human rights legislation.  

The prospect of a majority Tory government is a dangerous one for the future of working people across these islands, as well as those relying on state support. 

An outcome in which Labour has to rely on SNP support to pass its legislative programme will be based on a mature relationship in which much common ground exists. It is not the scary prospect Johnson claims it is. 

I am contesting this election on many of the issues above as well as giving the Scottish people the right to choose their own future. It’s a better offer to the electorate than anything the Tories can make. 

Chris Stephens is the SNP candidate for Glasgow South West.