Policy Research Media Morhamburn

It’s a busy old day in Glasgow north east today. There’s a plethora of candidates from the BNP and the Jury party to the Conservatives and Solidarity. Everyone recognises that the constituency is in need of a helping hand, though the prescriptions differ.

Whilst watching the news or reading stories in the paper over the last few months you cant help but get the feeling of a general air of hopelessness that pervades the community. Yes it has one of the highest unemployment rates in the UK, especially for the resident males, but such negativity about the community isn’t exactly going to bolster confidence in a bright, shiny future. So what does the constituency have to look forward to tomorrow?

Will it be the first Scottish constituency to allow the BNP to make inroads and come in third position? Will it provide a second successive defeat to the candidate of the Scottish Government? Will it be the final nail in PM Brown’s coffin? Or more significantly for the area, perhaps none of these questions will prove to be very important to residents who are not concerned with wider political considerations but rather their attention is focused on how their new champion (whoever he or she may be) will impact upon their day to day lives.

Glasgow north east has been positioned as a tragic figure in this political drama – almost helpless in its ability to pull itself out of its quagmire, needing the helping hand of a knight (or female equivalent) in shining armour. Perhaps a fresh face will reinvigorate the local community and be a stimulus for inward investment and development but their new guardian angel should recognise that their job is not to consider the larger political questions and battles of the next four months in the lead up to the election, but rather to spend that time proving that they can and are making a difference to this community.