GLASGOW is a great city.

It is the place I am proud to call home and even prouder to represent at Holyrood.

Last year, Glasgow showed its friendly face to the world, when we staged the best ever Commonwealth Games.

Warm, welcoming, gritty and gallus, Glasgow is a place like no other.

But our great city still has huge problems and massive challenges.

And for far too long it has been badly let down by many of those elected to represent it.

The SNP in government at Holyrood has been able to address some of those challenges.

Just recently we have seen the opening of the new South Glasgow Hospital, one of the biggest healthcare facilities of its kind in Europe and a demonstration of how the SNP is delivering for the city.

But when it comes to many of the big decisions affecting the everyday lives of people here, power still rests at Westminster.

That's why it is more vital than ever that at this general election, Glasgow and the rest of Scotland unite to elect a strong team of SNP MPs to make Scotland's voice heard and deliver the kind of positive, progressive policies that will help change people's lives for the better.

Electing a large group of SNP MPs to Westminster this Thursday will give Scotland unprecedented power and influence at Westminster.

And if Scotland - including those who have still to decide how they are voting - can unite around that vision, it will mean the voices of families, individuals and communities right across the country will not just be heard, but listened to properly.

The message that so many of those communities here in Glasgow and beyond want to see taken forward and acted on is an end to austerity.

The Tories, Labour and the Lib Dems are all signed up to billions more in cuts, including the punitive slashing of welfare which threatens to hit some of the most vulnerable people and families in this city.

Sending a powerful bloc of SNP MPs to Westminster will give us the chance to stop austerity in its tracks, and instead invest in vital public services like the NHS while also bringing down the deficit in a sensible, measured way.

Labour have let Glasgow down for far too long, and this election is a chance to change that - the blunt, brutal truth is that they do not deserve another chance.

Labour long ago realised it could no longer automatically assume that it would win elections in Glasgow and other places where it has taken people's votes for granted for decades - as we have seen across Scotland at local council and Holyrood elections.

Already, more than half a million people across Scotland who voted Labour at the last UK election are journeying to the SNP on Thursday.

By voting SNP, people across Glasgow can complete that picture and make sure this city gets the kind of representation at Westminster that it deserves - but for which for far too long has been denied.

Labour know that they are not strong enough to govern alone.

But Ed Miliband's suggestion that he would rather let David Cameron walk back through the door of Number 10 than work with the SNP is utterly disastrous for Labour in Scotland.

People across Scotland - but especially here in Glasgow - would never, ever forgive the Labour Party if that is the path they chose.

Miliband has allowed himself to be bullied by the Tories, and his comments suggest Labour's high command in London have simply given up on Scotland, as they know that many ordinary voters here have stopped listening to them.

But his remarks make it even more important that Scotland unites to elect a large group of SNP MPs to make our voice heard and to help lock David Cameron and the Tories out of Downing Street.

Last September, Glasgow became a "Yes city" when a majority of people here voted for independence.

As I have made very clear, this election is not about independence or another referendum, no matter how many SNP MPs may be elected this week.

But that great energy and spirit of the referendum campaign can be harnessed and used to ensure the people of Glasgow - those who voted Yes and those who voted No - get the representation they deserve.

The opinion polls guarantee nothing, and we will work tirelessly between now and Thursday to win people's trust.

If we do, Scotland's voice - and Glasgow's - will be heard more loudly at Westminster than ever before.