BEFORE last week’s general election, many people were anticipating a changed political picture across Scotland, however in the end, we didn’t just see change – we saw a complete seismic shift.

For weeks, both I and my Scottish Conservative colleagues had tried to make this election all about the things that really matter to people across Scotland. This means the day-to-day matters which affect all of us, such as Scotland’s public services which have felt so neglected in recent years.

The SNP, on the other hand, decided to do what they always do, and try and make this election all about independence. They made no effort to hide this, with independence being page one, line one of their manifesto. They then spent the majority of the campaign either manufacturing grievances or hiding from their own record in the Scottish Government.

Unsurprisingly, when the polls finally closed last Thursday, and the results began to unfold throughout the night, the SNP quickly learnt that the Scottish public have grown fed up of their independence-at-all-costs narrative.

In seats right across Scotland, the SNP looked on as their constituents gave them their marching orders, as they faced their worst election in Scotland for over a decade.

This election was an opportunity to send the SNP a clear message about their record in government over the last 17 years. It’s safe to say that the Scottish electorate have seized this opportunity with both hands.

Of course, the SNP were not the only ones to have a difficult election night, with the Conservatives suffering many of their own losses across England and Wales.

However the picture for the Scottish Conservatives was far more positive. Following a campaign with a clear and positive message, we managed to successfully hold all but one of our seats.

These were not the only two stories of election night, though. With Labour enjoying much success, we now have a new UK Government and a new Prime Minister in Keir Starmer.

This new government has promised the electorate a huge amount in recent weeks, and time will tell if they are able to deliver on any of these, but if Scotland is not made one of the government’s biggest priorities, then Scottish voters will not hesitate to punish them.

For now though, it is the SNP who need to regroup, reset, and refocus. This means putting their continuous taxpayer-funded independence campaign on the shelf and focusing on tackling the real issues facing people up and down the country.

As election night unfolded, senior SNP figures accepted it was time for them to put Scotland’s interests first, with their Westminster leader admitting ‘we must listen to what the people of Scotland have told us’.

Just as with Labour, the onus is now on the SNP to come good on their promises and alongside my colleagues in the Scottish Parliament, I will continue to hold them to account until we see this happen.