I CAME through the Scottish Indyref wars and have the battle scars to prove it, like many a Scottish activist.

I was relieved and excited in 2016/17 to finally be getting back to the issues that affect people’s lives and our communities, talking about what we do with powers to help people, rather than arguing about where those powers sit.

Then bam! Brexit.

Labour has taken the right position in this conundrum. We see others rushing to polarise and divide the country, but we on the other hand have pushed a message of unity and the need to bring the country back together again.

Beyond Brexit, only Labour has a plan to invest in our people, communities, public services and industries.

As a movement we are passionate about many things. We understand the concerns of those who voted Brexit — many who felt so disconnected from the political bubble, and who felt their communities were forgotten about.

But we also understand the concerns of those who voted Remain, and we share their worries about the impact of Brexit.

Both views are valid, and they aren’t mutually exclusive. That’s why we have had our strong, nuanced position which sought to unite the country, not sow further seeds of division.

We have throughout played a constructive role in respecting the result but seeking to ensure that leaving the EU does not affect jobs and the economy and all the protections that people currently enjoy.

As a movement, our members backed this and decided our policy that if faced with no deal or Theresa May’s disastrous deal, we support another public vote.

Looking back to the 2014 Scottish independence referendum, the SNP were on one side with their “everything will be better under independence” simple messaging, and the Scottish Tories on the other telling voters we have it best under the current system, don’t rock the boat — stick to the status quo.

These simple arguments were easy to make and a dream for branding. But sadly, they both sold people short and didn’t address any of the reasons why people were attracted by independence.

But Labour took the right position, which again was not a shiny simple one-word silver bullet but a nuanced position recognising that, yes, the union has many issues and, yes, things can and should be reformed so they work in people’s best interests — but that the answer isn’t independence.

And here I am again, faced with the same problem. We accept that our position has not always been easy to argue against “Stop Brexit” or “Leave Means Leave.” And this is the position that we have come into the EU elections with.

Those others with their simplistic black-and-white positions have sought to turn these elections into a proxy second referendum.

This has been a unique election campaign. No-one expected these elections, and many people I speak to on the doorstep aren’t sure what the point is.

Many people who are determined to make their thoughts known at the ballot box in this election are also passionate about one of these polarising Brexit positions, so the results won’t bear evidence on how popular a broad policy programme is.

People I speak to who care about day-to-day issues are turned off and fed up of this never-ending Brexit chaos, and I fear some of those will be so turned off they didn’t vote.

Passionate Remain supporters may have decided to give their vote to the Lib Dems, even though they would usually condemn them for jumping into bed with the Tories and helping to bring austerity to our communities — austerity that has left our communities with hunger, homelessness and rising child poverty.

And passionate Leave voters who are feeling like their vote in 2016 is being ignored might have chosen to give a vote to a party whose aims and dangerous rhetoric brings more harm and divisions to their communities.

Labour is the only party focused on the issues beyond Brexit with a genuine policy platform that will transform society, invest in our people, rebalance the economy, prioritise the environment and tackle the climate emergency, and end the cruel and callous Tory/Lib Dem austerity programme.

Our policies have people at their heart, and it’s these policies that will give people hope in a general election.

A general election will be different and we have a leader in Jeremy Corbyn who we know can fight an election with energy and enthusiasm and persuade people to vote Labour with a brilliant programme of policies.

And in Scotland we have a leader in Richard Leonard who is developing a radical programme of policies that no other party offers, despite the biting impact of austerity.

Our policies will unite communities and inspire people to join our movement and work with us to build a fairer society.

That’s the Labour aim and it’s vital that we do not deviate from that objective and that we unite so as to help the people out there so desperate for real change and a Labour government that will deliver that change.

Our policies, presented to voters through our people-powered movement, will see Labour in government, and Corbyn in power — not for himself but to send that power right back into the heart of our communities.

Danielle Rowley is Labour MP for Midlothian.