Help us shape a Citizens Agenda: What do you want council candidates to be talking about?
Help us to build a citizens agenda: have your say and tell us what issues candidates should be addressing during the by-election campaign in Govanhill and the surrounding Southside.
As an independent, community based publication, we believe in doing journalism differently.
Community is front and centre of our reporting. That’s why we’re asking our readers to set the Citizens’ Agenda for our political coverage of the Southside Central by-election campaign.
We developed a Citizens’ Agenda during the last general election, and produced a voter guide, in which candidates answered questions on the issues which mattered most to our readers. We received overwhelmingly positive feedback from our readers, and our Citizens’ Agenda material became some of our most engaged-with work.
Rather than let the candidates and party machines determine the topics that get coverage, this approach is designed to put power back in the hands of the people that politicians are meant to be serving.
So, with a by-election approaching, we want to hear from you. What do you want the candidates standing in your constituency to be talking about as they compete for votes?
Based on the responses we receive, we will work to develop a constituency-specific set of questions that we will put to each of the candidates standing in the local area. And we will publish their answers to produce voter guides that are based on the issues you have highlighted as being important.
Why do we need a Citizens’ Agenda?
When it comes to elections, too much traditional media coverage focuses on horse-race poll numbers and candidate scandals, which have limited use to citizens when it comes to participating in democracy.
We want to change the power dynamic so that candidates answer to citizens on the subjects that really matter to them, as opposed to the agenda the politicians themselves set out. We want to change that and set an example to other media to do the same.
How can you get involved?
With a by-election taking place on 20 March 2025, political scrutiny feels more important than ever, so if you have something to say about the issues that matter to you or your community the most, share them with us in the survey below.
Once you’ve completed the survey, you can also share this call out with friends, family, neighbours, and community groups so they can add their voice.