Mhairi Hunter announced as SNP candidate in Southside Central by-election
We caught up with Mhairi Hunter after she was announced as the SNP candidate for the Southside Central ward by-election, triggered by the death of Labour’s James Scanlon. The Glasgow City Council by-election date is yet to be set.
Photo: Mhairi Hunter Credit: Alexander Belic
By Devon McCole | Photo of Mhairi Hunter by Alexander Belic
The SNP has officially announced Mhairi Hunter as its candidate for the upcoming Glasgow City Council by-election in the Southside Central ward.
A seasoned activist and former councillor, Mhairi previously represented the ward from 2012 to 2022. The by-election follows the passing of long-serving Labour councillor James Scanlon in December.
The other councillors currently representing the ward are: Alexander Belic (SNP), Elaine Gallagher (Scottish Greens), Soryia Siddique (Labour). The ward falls in Nicola Sturgeon’s Glasgow Southside constituency and includes Govanhill.
For more on how local elections work in Glasgow, please see this post from 2022.
While the official date is yet to be confirmed by Glasgow City Council, this by-election will be a key Glasgow battleground seat. Just a few weeks previously, Reform UK got their first in-road into Glasgow City Council after the Scottish Conservative group leader defected.
Candidates are still being announced, but we will release a complete list of the candidates as we have them, and more details soon as the election date is set.
We asked Mhairi Hunter how it feels to be fighting this seat once more…
How do you feel about returning to the council just a few years after your last term ended? What’s changed in the local political landscape in that time?
Over the ten years I was a councillor I worked hard, in partnership with the local community, on issues like poor quality housing, overcrowding, rogue landlords, the growth of short term lets, illegal waste dumping, antisocial parking and many other matters. I think there has been a lot of progress made in this ward on many of those issues but there remain some very significant challenges and I would really appreciate the opportunity to resume work on them.
Your previous work made you a well-known voice in Glasgow politics. What do you think is your biggest accomplishment from your time in office?
While I'm proud of the local work I have done, I think my biggest accomplishment was probably my work as Chair of Glasgow's Integrated Joint Board, particularly in progressing a safer drug consumption facility. I'm so pleased to see this finally happening and the argument for a compassionate and non-judgemental approach to addiction becoming so widely accepted.
In your statement, you highlighted a “fairer, greener and more equal Glasgow” as part of your campaign. What are some specific policies you’d push for at the local council level to make this a reality?
To give one example, cleansing is a perennial issue for Govanhill and during my time as a councillor I worked really hard to try and get a more locally-focussed approach to supplement the council's general service. This will be a priority if I am elected, I guarantee I will be knocking on the leader's door in my first week! There's no point approaching Govanhill as though it was the same as much less densely populated areas. That's neither fair, nor treating residents equally.
Southside Central has a rich, diverse history, and you're clearly passionate about it. What is your vision for the ward over the next 5-10 years?
I think the fundamentals are sound but, like most people, I would like to see an end to austerity and a loosening of the financial constraints on public and third sector bodies. I think that would make a huge difference here. I think a lot of people were hopeful that a UK Labour government would represent a change of direction but that hasn't worked out so far!
Is there anything else you’d like to tell the voters of Southside Central as they head to the polls?
I would simply say that I came into politics because of my support for Scottish independence. Nowhere is the argument for Scotland to decide her own future more compelling than here in Glasgow. Independence would be transformative for our city and wider city region. We would become the economic powerhouse of a newly independent state looking to expand trade, complete the shift to a low carbon economy and return to the EU and the single market.
Southside Central voted Yes in 2014 and I believe the arguments have become even more compelling since then, even as the political context has become more challenging. So a vote for me is a vote for independence as well as to elect a councillor – because I will do everything I can to progress the independence cause each and every day.