True blue and brand new
Just as the Conservative Party’s fortunes have been transformed in Scotland, so have the faces of their councillors. Pale and stale no more, they are...
THEY are the Tories you never knew existed. Diverse, passionate and mostly working-class, with not a pair of red trousers or a duck house in sight. Thanks to the Scottish Tory party’s astonishing gains in last week’s council elections, a new generation of Conservatives are taking the reins in communities across Scotland – and shattering every preconception of their party in the process.
From the Nigerian-born research student who joined the Tories less than two years ago to the passionate 20-year-old from Shettleston, Glasgow, determined to give something back to his community; from the man in a wheelchair who campaigns for equality to the young woman in a pair of Union Flag heels who dreams of being prime minister, the new Conservative councillors are as diverse as they are surprising – and not a silver spoon in sight.
With the Tories more than doubling their vote to win an additional 164 seats and overtake Labour, many councils are locked in coalition talks as they seek to hammer out minority administrations. Several, such as Aberdeenshire Council, returned more councillors from the Conservatives than any other party.
As the Scottish council landscape changes irrevocably so, it would seem, has the Scottish Conservative party itself.
Name: Ade Aibinu Age: 28 Occupation: Research student Ward: Victoria Park, Glasgow
GLASGOW City Council’s first black councillor not only has model good looks, he’s also a relative newcomer to the Conservatives, having only joined the party in 2015.
‘I have always been interested in public service and I saw the Conservative Party as the party of aspiration,’ he says. ‘I believe it has a platform which encourages innovation and informed risk.’
Originally from Nigeria, Aibinu moved to Glasgow in 2008 from England and is studying for a research degree at Glasgow Caledonian University focused on understanding mechanisms associated with diabetic neuropathic pain.
He admits that on the doorstep, ‘they see a young candidate from a different background and it takes them aback’, yet it clearly hasn’t been a barrier for Aibinu, who many praise for his natural charm with voters.
He says the fact he was the city’s first black councillor didn’t even occur to him until after he won.
‘There was an significant but predictable reaction from the black community,’ he says. ‘It only speaks of the progressive nature of Glasgow.’
As for his role as a councillor, he says his primary objective is to be ‘a people person’.
‘I love people,’ he says, ‘and I don’t ever want to be caught up in administrative processes.’
His family didn’t really understand what he was doing, – ‘there is always concern due to the public nature of politics’ he says – but have nevertheless been supportive of his political aspirations. Expect his star to keep on rising.
Key quote: ‘I have always felt Conservative in my general outlook. We are trying to appeal to a broad base.’
Name: Meghan Gallacher Age: 25 Occupation: Political aide Ward: Motherwell West
WITH a shock of bright red hair, a flick of black eyeliner and a pair of killer Union Flag heels, Meghan Gallacher swept to victory in Motherwell West last week at the grand old age of 25.
Originally from Holytown, a deprived town near Motherwell, she still lives at home with her parents in an ex-council house and revels in her alternative image (she used to have her nose pierced) and on shattering ideas of what a traditional Conservative should look like.
‘Given my background, the area I grew up, I would never have linked my political views with the Conservative Party,’ she says. ‘I’m not interested in the past, I’m interested in the future and I identify most with the Conservative Party and what they really believe.’
She currently works for Tory MSP Edward Mountain, having previously been a manager at John Lewis, and was first attracted to the Tory party via her grandparents, who encouraged her into political activism.
While studying politics at the University of the West of Scotland, she wrote her fourth-year dissertation on the decline of the Conservative Party in Scotland.
‘I realised the best way to learn about them was to join them,’ she says. At 22, she declared she wanted a career in politics and would like to be a future prime minister. Last year, she stood in the Holyrood election, where she failed to win a seat but attracted plenty of press attention for wearing a pair of sparkly high heels emblazoned with the Union Flag. Finally it seems, they have carried her to success.
Key quote: ‘My friends still tell me on a regular basis my image does not resemble a Conservative… But what does?’
Name: Eric Holford Age: 51 Occupation: Financial adviser Ward: Clydesdale East, South Lanarkshire
THE first time Eric Holford met Ruth Davidson he didn’t know who she was. ‘It was about five years ago and I met her in a pub during a party fundraiser,’ he explains.
‘She’d only just been elected party leader and I chatted away to her, got on well and it was only afterwards someone told me she was the new leader of the Scottish Conservatives. From that moment on, I thought we could succeed in Scotland again.’
The married father of two has stood for both Holyrood and Westminster and was delighted to finally win a seat on his local council.
He is mostly confined to a wheelchair, after surgery to correct two slipped discs in 2004 resulted in paralysis. After nine months in hospital and a further six months in rehab, he was discharged with a life-changing condition known as incomplete tetraplegia, meaning he is paralysed to varying degrees in all limbs and can only walk a few metres on a stick or crutches. For longer distances, he uses an electric disability scooter, which he has jauntily branded with the Scottish Conservative and Unionist logo.
His primary motivation, he says, will be access issues. ‘I know it’s a cliché as I’m in a wheelchair myself, but there are so many issues affecting those with disabilities, the hard of hearing and eyesight, and those with learning disabilities. I’d like to get involved and bring a better standard of life to people.’
Key quote: ‘We need to get motoring and get this country sorted out.’
Name: Thomas Kerr Age: 20 Occupation: Student of advertising and public relations Shettleston, Glasgow
Ward: NO one was more surprised when Thomas Kerr was elected to represent Shettleston on Glasgow City Council than Kerr himself. The fresh-faced 20-year-old confessed:
‘When you stand as a Conservative candidate in the East End of Glasgow, you never expect to win.’
Kerr grew up in run-down Cranhill and, by his own admission, had a ‘really tough upbringing’. He credits his secondary school, Eastbank Academy, with giving him the drive that has seen him elected as a Conservative councillor.
‘The school motto was “aim for stars”. That was always the expectation I had when I was there,’ he says.
He first became engaged in politics at the age of ten when his aunt took him along to a protest against the Iraq war. Initially attracted to the Labour Party as a teenager, he did some campaigning with former shadow secretary of state for Scotland Margaret Curran, but upon being told his views veered to the right, decided to investigate the Conservatives.
He was so young when he joined – just 14 – that he had to get his grandparents to sign the forms allowing him to become a member. Stints campaigning for Better Together and in last year’s Holyrood elections followed, despite surprise from family and friends.
‘They were shocked,’ he says. ‘I had a lot of family asking, “How can you be a Conservative?”.’
Now a fully-fledged councillor, he’s already raring to go on the big issues: the first thing he did after being elected was write a letter requesting a pedestrian crossing be installed at a local railway station.
Key quote: ‘Growing up where I grew up was a really tough upbringing but it gave me something and now I want to give something back.’
Name: Martha Benny Age: 60 Occupation: Retired Ward: Clackmannanshire North
MARTHA Benny only meant to get into politics in order to support her son Neil, a Conservative councillor for Stirling West.
But after joining the Conservatives around 12 years ago and seeing her son elected, the mother of two found herself becoming more and more involved.
‘I set up a coffee morning at our local offices and before long we had 25 women coming in discussing everything from politics to the meaning of life,’ she says.
Although she had started to eye a political role of her own, she did not want to stand in the same council as her son.
‘I decided I wasn’t going to make it more difficult for him by having his Mum on the same council. It could get a bit awkward.’
But when she and her husband moved to Clackmannanshire after her retirement (she used to work for Standard Life), she decided to ‘jump in with both feet’ and was duly elected to Clackmannanshire Council.
Although she took early retirement she still keeps busy working as a volunteer for the witness service, keeping individuals calm before court appearances.
As a councillor, she aims to try to bring her local community closer together, and focus on getting young people more involved.
That way, she says, ‘they can’t be out doing something silly’. Only a fool would try to defy her.
Key quote: ‘Community is so important. It’s what brings people together.’
Name: Ashley Graczyk Age: 40 Occupation: Charity worker Ward: Sighthill/Gorgie, Edinburgh
ASHLEY Graczyk has never let anything hold her back. From becoming a hairdresser to winning a council seat in the working-class Edinburgh area of Sighthill and Gorgie, she has always pushed herself to succeed.
Her determination is all the more remarkable given that the Edinburgh native is profoundly deaf and a lip reader.
She credits teachers at her school, Forrester High School in the Broomhouse area of the city, with encouraging her in all areas of academic life, despite her disability. ‘My family and teachers all instilled in me the determination not to let deafness define my life, to work hard, and to make the most of opportunities in life,’ she says.
She works for a charity, is a trustee of a community centre, a community councillor and also a qualified hair and make-up artist.
‘My passion and drive is to promote local communities that work for everyone,’ she says.
‘I want to improve our public services, and stand up for those who want to give themselves and their families a better life. My aim is to be a councillor who works for everyone.’
With a side line in eye-catching outfits (the red skirt she was photographed in is her absolute favourite, she declares), she will certainly be a noticeable presence in Edinburgh City Chambers.
Key quote: ‘I want people to receive the best advantages and opportunities in life, regardless of background – as I did.’