Electiontime
Voters in Rutherglen and Cambuslang will tomorrow, Thursday, get their say on the make up of the new South Lanarkshire Council.
With polls opening at 7am, the main parties made a final plea for votes.
Rutherglen and Cambuslang’s 29 council candidates have made a final plea for votes with just hours until the polls open in the 2017 election.
Voters in the two towns will tomorrow, Thursday, select 12 members split over four wards to represent them at South Lanarkshire Council.
Using a single transferable vote system, a party will need 33 councillors across the region to gain overall control.
The SNP used the final days of campaigning to accuse Labour, who are only fielding 32 candidates, of plotting a deal with the Conservatives to retain control of the council.
A joint statement from the SNP’s seven candidates in Rutherglen and Cambuslang, said: “The Tory party is moving further and further to the right, and it would be reckless to do anything that risked putting hard line Tories in charge of our schools, social care and local housing.
“Labour in South Lanarkshire are not even putting up enough candidates to win a majority on the council.
“They are relying on a deal with the Tories to have any chance of retaining power.
“The people of Rutherglen and Cambuslang, and across South Lanarkshire, have a right to know whether local Labour candidates are for or against a coalition with the Tories come May 5.”
Gerard Killen, who is standing for Labour in the Rutherglen Central and North ward, said: “These are ironic comments from the SNP who have spent the last 10 years in government slashing South Lanarkshire Council’s funding.
“Maybe they are starting to hear how frustrated voters are with their spin about protecting public services, while their track record shows that they continue to pass down Tory austerity, preside over a health service in crisis and an abysmal record on education.
“It’s becoming increasingly clear that voters just don’t trust the SNP’s record on schools, the NHS or the economy.”
Cambuslang West and Rutherglen Central and North look to be key battlegrounds. Only Margaret Walker is standing for Labour in Cambuslang West and both the Liberal Democrats and Conservatives are fighting hard in the ward.
“With Eddie McAvoy standing down, all three seats in Rutherglen Central and North could be up for grabs.
The Liberal Democrats will also be confident of seeing Robert Brown returned in Rutherglen South.
Mr Brown said: “This is the most intensive campaign we have run for some time but it seems to be paying off for us. We have talked to literally thousands of local people.
“The choice locally is clearly between a Liberal Democrat councillor standing up for Rutherglen and Cambuslang or an SNP councillor chasing another independence referendum.”
Both the Conservatives and Greens will be hoping to make gains in Rutherglen and Cambuslang.
Taylor Muir, who is standing for the Conservatives in Rutherglen South, said: “With the Labour Party in freefall, voters in Rutherglen and Cambuslang have a clear choice.
“They can elect an SNP councillor who will campaign for a second referendum and who will pursue separation at all costs, or a local Scottish Conservative and Unionist candidate who will prioritise growing our local economy and improving services in our communities.”
David McClemont, the Green candidate for Cambuslang West, said: “Greens at council level are fighting hard to revitalise local democracy, pushing for every community to have a say in council budgets and for councils to have the powers other European towns and cities take for granted.
“While some other parties are shamefully treating the council elections as a proxy for constitutional issues, Greens are clear that local services matter. Communities should be trusted to decide their future, and that local democracy is worth fighting for.”