STEWART PATERSON

NEXT week the votes will be counted and 85 men and women will be elected to Glasgow City Council. There will be a mix of the same old faces, some who are on their way to becoming the same old faces but also some brand new councillors. There are a host of new young candidates across all the parties, some with a better chance of being elected than others.

It is encouraging to see so many younger people not just getting interested in politics when all around them so many people are apathetic, but to be putting themselves at the heart of local democracy and standing for election.

I’ve met quite a few of them and whether or not you agree with their politics, they are mainly impressive people who want to make a difference.

Good luck to each and every one of them – they have chosen to step on the bottom rung of political engagement.

In local government they have not chosen a glamorous path, but one of endless door- knocking and leafleting in the search for every last vote.

With a General Election following hard on the heels of the council vote and national media dominated by the household names, the council candidates can be seen as the poor relations in politics.

While every household in the country has heard of Theresa May by now and Nicola Sturgeon, how many know any of their local councillors?

But they are the ones who are in charge of the services we use the most on a daily basis and those we probably complain about the most.

Theresa May is not going to get the pothole at the end of the street fixed. Nicola Sturgeon is not going to make sure your local park is properly maintained.

So I would like to make a plea to my fellow citizens. When you go to vote next Thursday and please do vote, don’t vote for or against a party or a party leader. Jeremy Corbyn isn’t standing in any council seat. Corbyn and May will have their day in June. Don’t vote for a party because of its stance on independence or a second referendum or what it says about Brexit.

Instead find out who the candidates are, what they have to say on the issues that matter most to you.

If leadership is your thing – and it is hugely important in setting the direction and priorities of the council – then don’t think about Nicola Sturgeon, Ruth Davidson or Kezia Dugdale. Think instead in terms of Frank McAveety and Susan Aitken – for it is one of them who is most likely to be in charge of the council come next Friday.

What policies are they promoting and what personal qualities do they possess or lack that are required to run a council of Glasgow’s size?

Local councillors matter because of the services they are in charge of, so the elections to the council should focus on them and local issues, separate from the national issues and big political personalities.

So when you go into the polling booth and pick up the pencil, think local.