NO one in Wigtownshire needs lectures on the importance of the A75 and A77, or how unsuitable they are in the 21st Century.
We all use them at some point, and – even if you don't drive – so much of what we buy and the services we use, come along one or the other. Our main hospital is 75 miles distant down the lorry-choked A75.
We know how often there are awful accidents with horrific consequences for families. And when the roads are closed, there are simply no good diversions.
It took the Conservatives to recognise the roads' significance for Britain as a whole. Acting on Sir Peter Hendy's Connectivity Review, we made UK Government money available – £8m to start – to eliminate pinch points, starting with the bypassing of Springholm and Crocketford.
Transport is the responsibility of the Scottish Government at Holyrood, and we had to overcome considerable opposition from the SNP.
There were howls about power grabs, and accusations we were trampling on the devolution settlement. Such was the lack of co-operation from then transport secretary Michael Matheson, that Sir Peter was reduced to 'driving' the A75 on a computer using Google Streetview.
Now, we are pressing for a comprehensive feasibility study looking at fully dualling the A75 and A77, with costings and timescales.
At the very least, such a study would identify areas for improvements, making the roads safer and more environmentally friendly.
The Conservative manifesto already commits us to investment to fund work on pinch points on the A75, and we back Sir Peter's recommendation that the Scottish Government be encouraged to improve the A77 between Cairnryan and Ayr.
Having finally overcome SNP resistance, and with money from the cancellation of the HS2 rail project, I am confident we can see real improvements to roads of pivotal importance to communities right along the A75 and A77 - as well as to the UK as a whole.
A joint report by Dumfries & Galloway, South Ayrshire, and Mid and East Antrim councils put the economic benefits of full dualling at £5bn, a huge shot in the arm for the UK economy, and something that could produce vital jobs right here in Wigtownshire.
I am proud that it was the Scottish Conservatives who did so much of the work to draw attention to these roads, and who got past the SNP roadblock when Nationalists chose grievance over doing the right thing for the people of Dumfries and Galloway.
And I am pleased that during my time as Editor, I publicised these issues via the Free Press, and worked on the response to the Hendy Review as a Special Adviser at the UK Government's Scotland Office.
As an election candidate, I have also pushed to secure rails services via Stranraer and Barrhill, and if I become your MP, will always fight for too-long-overlooked Wigtownshire.
