Power to the people who make Glasgow
ELECTIONS are held up as the very essence of democracy. Choosing who governs and having the ability to elect and then reject if they don’t live up to their promises or fall short of expected standards.
But they only come around in cycles and that single moment when you mark your cross in the box in the ballot paper is the only time in this process that people really have a choice.
But it is our choice, and we should all use it this week to elect who we want to represent us in Parliament and to form a government that works for us.
There is another tenet of democracy that is equally, if not more, important than free elections.
Protest.
When done right it can be the most powerful weapon in a democratic society.
And Glasgow has a long history of protest.
Many of our politicians past and present came to prominence as a result of protest. Many got involved in politics as a result.
From the rent strikes of 1915 when the city’s women stood up to landlords trying to exploit them.
Profiteering landlords thought the fact the men were mostly fighting in the war meant they could ride roughshod over the women. How wrong and naive they were. A Rent Act was the result.
The Red Clydeside era opposing the war and fighting for improved working conditions galvanized the labour and trade union movement, inspiring generations to come.
Industrial disputes through the decades saw street protests, famously the 1971 work-in at Upper Clyde Shipbuilders.
In later years, Glasgow was at the heart of the poll tax protests that would lead to the scrapping of a hated policy and contributed in no small way to the end of Thatcher’s government.
Direct action to stop warrant sales took place across the city.
Environmental protests have taken place with the campaign to stop the M77 motorway from carving through Pollok woodland.
The anti-Iraq war campaign saw one of the biggest marches outside London move through the streets of Glasgow, as people let Tony Blair and George Bush know the war they waged was “not in my name”.
Localised protests and campaigns have been staged, from saving hospital facilities like Lightburn in the East End to protesting school closures in communities.
Even more recently, protests to stand up for the human rights of asylum seekers are still happening.
And individual direct action has taken place on that issue as well with the Glasgow Girls at Drumchapel High taking on the might of the Home Office and the UK immigration system.
There are campaigns about housing conditions and fair rents. There have been vigils and street walks to protest the rising number of drug deaths.
Peter Krykant’s Overdose Prevention Site in the city centre is a protest, and one which is saving lives. Taking action where others fail.
People have taken to the streets to demand the right for women to be safe when alone in public.
A protest is ongoing in the Valley in Maryhill over plans to sell land to a private developer.
The list goes on and on.
And it’s not just their own rights that people in Glasgow will stand up for.
People in Glasgow will protest on issues far away from our own lives.
The city was prominent in the anti-apartheid movement, so much that Nelson Mandela came to visit when he was free.
The murder of George Floyd in the USA sparked protests in city streets and parks.
Currently there are protests going on to save libraries.
There is a feeling among some that the Covid crisis is being used as a cover to get rid of some venues that are seen as costly and old buildings like Maryhill and Whiteinch libraries are among them.
The council says that no libraries will close. The protesters do not have faith in those statements.
In Whiteinch and in Maryhill local people want the libraries to stay in their current buildings where they have been for several decades.
Protest in Glasgow takes many forms.
It can be loud, colourful, at times it can become violent.
The current library protest is more subtle.
Artwork is being used on railings to get the message across.
There are read-ins across the city outside libraries.
In the Whiteinch case there are posters in windows all over the area.
In an election week there are very few posters visible for political parties, but the Save Whiteinch Library posters can’t be missed.
So, we should all vote on Thursday.
Vote for whoever you think best represents your priorities and values.
But those who are elected should know that they will not get a free ride for the next five years.
People in communities all over Glasgow will not stay silent.
When the people in Glasgow are not happy, they soon let those in power know all about it.
When they are angry, they cannot be ignored.
Power to the people who make Glasgow.
Those who are elected should know that they will not get a free ride