Your Questions Answered - by Local Election Candidates
A little while ago, we asked you to send in your questions for candidates standing in the council elections to represent the Southside Central ward - which includes Gorbals, Hutchesontown, Govanhill, Queen’s Park, Crosshill and Oatlands. Here’s what we heard in response…
By Rhiannon J Davies and Jack Howse
The questions we put to all 10 candidates
These were either written directly be readers or compiled from a number of questions sent int
What are you going to do to ensure local people have a real say in local decisions? And how would you address any barriers to participation in decision making that they may have?
Do you think that the council's domestic refuse uplift and recycling services work for the people of Govanhill? What do you intend to do to improve these services in tenemental areas of the city, like Govanhill?
What are your thoughts on the fact that our public transport system is not fully integrated? What would you do to improve public transport for all?
In what ways will you work to make the local streets more accessible and safer for all?
What are your thoughts on the development of the recently released Locality Plan for Govanhill (Collective Leadership, Co-production & Accountability) and how are you going to ensure that the plan gets implemented?
Given how hard the current cost of living crisis will affect many in the area, what actions are you going to take up in order to secure a more affordable living for all?
Is your party willing to continue to channel public monies for housing improvements to the pre-1919 stock in Govanhill and especially in SW Govanhill beyond 2023? If not, why not?
What are three things that you would do to keep Govanhill clean?
The issues you told us you cared most about
The answers sent to us by candidates
Elaine Gallagher
Poet, writer and bus driver Elaine Gallagher is standing as candidate for the Scottish Greens and has been a co-convener for the Rainbow Greens LGBTI+ group. This is her first time standing for local election in Southside Central having previously stood for the General Election for Glasgow Central.
Elaine says that her first priority is listening to what people of Govanhill want. This, to her, means going to people’s doorsteps and listening to their perspectives so that “decisions that affect them are made with them in mind”. As there is such a variety of languages spoken in the local area, Elaine sees it as imperative to have all communication translated and circulated through different community groups so that everyone can have their voice heard.
The current waste services “don’t work” in Elaine’s opinion and she will “push for additional funding to have more workers in the back court teams for regular uplift”. Furthermore she would “restore the street recycling bins that were removed” during COVID and display all information on waste services (including prosecution for fly tipping) in different languages.
Local streets becoming safer is also a priority for Elaine with an aim “to improve on the mandatory minimums for accessibility and safety on building and road designs” including pushing for more street lights and less potholes. Elaine would also increase public funding for pre-1919 tenement stock as this is “far less wasteful of energy and materials” than building new houses.
The cost of living crisis is of course at the forefront of many resident’s minds and Elaine sees supporting “small businesses in paying a living wage'' as one way of combating this, as well as pushing for a universal basic income. Furthermore, Elaine would seek to support capping rent and energy bills.
Jamie Dyer
Jamie Dyer is an independent candidate. A trained sculptor, whose work has exhibited in Glasgow and Edinburgh, this will be his first time standing for election.
Jamie sees the local council elections as the “most important election date” for people experiencing the city day-to-day. As such, Jamie thinks that there should be more independent candidates that do not have to adhere to parliamentary party rules and games and instead deal with the real local issues. As an independent, Jamie would have an advisory vote on every change he suggests before it goes to a final independent committee.
The current waste collection system, to Jamie, is “not fit for purpose”. Since COVID, Jamie believes that the council have prioritised profit over a clean and safe city and paying workers what they deserve. There needs to be a wider consultation on waste management and public services like transport and accessibility to create an integrated and affordable infrastructure for all.
Jamie believes that a universal basic income for all would help in the fight against the cost living crisis. This would also recognise the hard work that many volunteers do.
Mhairi Hunter
Mhairi is an incumbent SNP councillor for Glasgow Southside having first been elected in 2012. She was appointed in 2017 as City Convener for Health and Social Care in the SNP City Government.
Mhairi believes that local residents “should not just be consulted on decisions but be a part of them” and that local panels should work alongside the council. She says that Thriving Places, of which she is a chair of the board, have been making leaps and bounds on reaching out to people from all the different communities and languages of Govanhill. She also believes that their locality report has done well on setting a template for collaborative working and creating genuine partnerships and accountability.
Mhairi says that the SNP council have been making progress on the waste management problem in Govanhill through local cleansing and expertise of local people but recognises that there is a long way to go. She believes a decentralised approach to the problem is best as the problems are very localised. She says that the SNP have promised that they will modernise the whole system and invest in new ways of working, vehicles and recycling. She sees prevention, education and enforcement as the key ways to keep Govanhill clean.
Mhairi views tenement flats as the most important built heritage in Glasgow and therefore wants to make sure pre-1919 stock is still cared for and protected. Local streets can be made safer by enforcing parking zones around schools and fining those who park on pavements.
The cost of living crisis is, at its heart, a Westminster responsibility. The SNP, Mhairi says, will continue pressuring the Tory government to act and continue spending £600 million a year mitigating Tory legislation. The Scottish government is also looking at extending the free school meals program to all primary age children and bringing in rent controls for 2025.
Mhairi, who only uses public transport herself, believes that all fares should be capped and that the public transport system should be fully integrated. The SNP are also looking to nationalise and operate a publicly owned bus service.
Tariq Parvez
Tariq Parvez is the candidate for the Conservative and Unionist Association, this will be his first time standing for local election. He was made to apologise earlier in the election campaign for tweets he wrote, which were described as “deeply disturbing” and misogynistic.
Tariq believes that the public needs to have a direct voice beyond voting every five years and that the public should be at the heart of decision making. This includes community organisations working hand-in-hand with councillors to improve the local community.
Tariq owns some properties hims and says Tory plans on how to combat the waste problem in Govanhill include getting rid of bulk uplift charges, investing £10 millions into frontline refuse workers, return Glasgow to a fortnightly collection and prosecuting flytipping.
He also recognises the problem with public transport in the local area and how expensive it is, especially for families for whom it is sometimes cheaper to go by taxi. Also Tariq says that buses are not accessible to those who do not live near main roads. As such, Tariq thinks that there should be more small buses going on routes around smaller streets so everyone is closer to bus routes.
In terms of making local streets safer, Tariq attests that streets are not safe at night and that he believes more police presence and more security cameras would help to combat this issue, along with groups in the community keeping an eye on things.
We only received video answers from four of the 10 on the ballot paper. The full list of names is as follows:
Alexander Belic - SNP (incumbent)
Kamran Butt - Alba
Paul Robert Donnelly - Scottish Socialist
Jamie Dyer - independent
Elaine Gallagher - Green
Sam Glasgow-Jackson - Liberal Democrats
Mhairi Hunter - SNP (incumbent)
Tariq Parvez - Conservative
James Scanlon - Labour (incumbent)
Soryia Siddique - Labour (incumbent)
What you need to know about the Glasgow council elections
The vote will take place on the 5 May. Polling stations are open from 7am until 10pm. You don’t need your poll card or any form of ID. You just need to provide your name and address - and to have registered before the 18 April deadline. You can find your nearest polling station by clicking on this link.
Which Glasgow City Council ward do I live in?
Southside Central ward includes the Gorbals, Hutchesontown, Govanhill, Queen’s Park, Crosshill and Oatlands. If you’re not sure which ward you are in, you can check by entering your address using the button below by clicking on which ward am I in?
How are the votes counted?
The votes will be counted on 6 May, when an electronic counting system will be used and dedicated Count Centres will be in place for each of the 32 Councils in Scotland. The counts are expected to be completed by late afternoon on 6 May.
Members are elected as councillors using the Single Transferable Vote (STV) system. The quota for each ward is worked out by dividing the number of valid ballot papers (total votes cast minus any rejected papers) by one more than the number of vacancies plus one.
So in the case of the Southside Central ward, if 7000 valid votes were cast, and there are four seats to be filled, the quota is (7000/4+1)+1, which would make a total of 1401. So in this instance, if a candidate reached or exceeded 1401 seats they would be elected. The value of the surplus votes (above this number) for elected candidates would be transferred to next valid candidate in order of preference on each individual ballot paper.
For more information, see this guide.