The Southside Central By-Election: 10 things I learned as a first-time candidate
Green Party candidate, Laura Vroomen, shares some insights from her campaign to be councillor in the Southside Central ward by-election in March. From knocking on strangers doors in February to canvasing outside the local high school, Laura sheds some light on her experiences and what it takes to build a strong campaign during a local election.
An ‘accidental’ all-female campaigning session for first-time Glasgow Green Party candidate, Laura Vroomen.
By Laura Vroomen
I should probably start with a disclaimer. Technically, I wasn’t a first-time candidate, but this was my first time standing in Glasgow and actively campaigning on my own instead of a colleague’s behalf.
Here’s a list of the things I learned during the six weeks leading up to the Southside Central by-election on 20 March.
1. It takes an entire branch to stand in an election.
Sure, I may have had my name on the ballot paper and my face on the campaign leaflets, but I couldn’t have done it without the support of the entire Glasgow Greens branch. From the organiser planning my canvassing sessions and current Green councillors sharing their knowledge to the fellow activists chapping doors and party members donating to fundraisers for campaign materials – they’re all essential if you want to get your message out.
2. Speaking of those campaign materials, it’s profoundly weird to promote yourself and hand out leaflets bearing your image.
I’m not used to that. I’ll never get used to that. But it helps to remember that you’re doing it with a team behind you and for something you believe in. And after a while you get into the swing of things and some of your team’s confidence begins to rub off on you.
3. It takes a very specific mindset to head out on a dark February or March evening and knock on strangers’ doors.
You never really know what to expect. For me, the hardest thing to get my head round was the language barrier that made communication difficult at times. It made me realise that as a party we need to do much more to be truly inclusive. At the very least, we need to be looking at producing leaflets with information in multiple languages and perhaps even learn a few phrases in some of Govanhill’s most commonly used languages.
4. While some may be excluded from the democratic process for linguistic reasons, others have effectively chosen not to take part.
While it wasn’t a surprise, it was still a shock each time I spoke to people who told me they wouldn’t be voting.
This disenchantment with politics was reflected in turnout on polling day, which, at 18.7%, was disappointingly low. This should be a wake-up call for everyone in local and national politics.
How can we regain voters’ trust? How can we change the way we communicate as well as the tone of our message? I think the Greens should play to their strength here and strike a positive note by emphasising that change is possible and within reach.
5. Climbing all those tenement stairs is great for your fitness levels!
But getting to see inside so many closes provides a stark reminder of the inequalities that exist in Govanhill. Some are not in the best state of repair, blighted by damp or lack of maintenance. A lot of works remains to be done to get them up to the same level as the beautifully refurbished or even retrofitted buildings that may be next door.
6. Hearing someone tell you that they’re going to vote for you – either on the doorstep or outside a polling station – is extremely gratifying, a real boost.
Yet I find that it’s often the conversations with sceptics and critics that stick in the mind. These are people who engage with what’s happening in the world and while I may not agree with their opinions, I really appreciate them taking the time to talk to me and providing me with food for thought.
7. Waste and fly-tipping are by far the most frequently raised issues, trans rights the most divisive.
With the Scottish Greens a staunch LGBTQ+ ally, this prompted some harsh words and heated exchanges on the doorstep and outside polling stations. That’s never easy, but an essential part of the democratic process.
8. Another vital source of information about the local area and its issues are community councils.
They usually meet once a month and are open to the public. It seems to me that at the moment the community councils in the ward don’t fully reflect the diversity of Southside Central, and I would love to see better representation and attendance, also of and by younger people.
9. Speaking of which: while standing outside Holyrood Secondary on polling day, hoping to win over a few more voters, I discovered that very few of the students – for whom it was a regular school day – were aware of the by-election.
Many of them were old enough to vote too! This may have been a missed opportunity, but it’s not too late to encourage teenagers to register to vote in next year’s Holyrood elections, so they can have a say.
10. Greater Govanhill really lived up to its aim of encouraging people to engage with the democratic process by publishing several pieces about the by-election, including a Q&A with all the candidates (or six out of eight, anyway).
While referring undecided voters to this article, I learned that a surprising number of people don’t actually know the magazine! So perhaps my election campaign won the Greens some new voters and the magazine a few more readers. No matter how well you pace yourself, after six weeks of increasingly intense campaigning you’re going to be exhausted.
So yes, I’m pretty tired now. But also proud of all the work that I put in alongside my fellow Greens. The whole process has taught me so much – about my neighbourhood, about the people who live here and about myself. I’m even fonder of Govanhill than I was before.