Glasgow poised to be key Holyrood battleground between SNP and Labour as Reform set sights on city
Amid a hostile campaign in a city renowned as being welcoming, Glasgow is set to be a key battleground as the SNP aim to reclaim public support lost two years ago in the UK general election
Labour turned Glasgow red two years ago - but the SNP, which has dominated the city’s political landscape for more than a decade, believes the UK government’s severe unpopularity could see the party recapture Scotland’s largest city and form a key part of their push to secure an elusive Holyrood majority.
But with Reform UK setting its sights on the city amid a toxic war of words, Glasgow is poised to be a hugely important battleground as voters head to the polls.
At the 2024 general election, Labour took all Glasgow seats from the SNP - but has failed to win a single Holyrood seat in the city since 2011. But several of the city’s constituencies are thought to be on a knife-edge with crucial margins at play on polling day.
Glasgow city centre, at first glance, looks like it has seen better days. The Union Corner fire earlier this year was another devastating blaze in a city all too familiar with that scenario.
Stuart Patrick, CEO of Glasgow Chamber of Commerce, said that “the recovery of the city centre continues to be a priority”.
He added: “Transport and connectivity remain key concerns for Glasgow’s business community.”
The SNP’s Alison Thewliss, is standing in the new Glasgow Central constituency.
For Ms Thewliss, who represented Glasgow Central at Westminster for nine years, 2024 was a painful moment, being one of several SNP MPs who lost their seats to Labour in Scotland’s largest city.
“Lots of people are really disappointed with Labour”, she explained.
“They gave Labour a chance in 2024 and folk are furious.
“They are not really seeing a UK government riding to the rescue when everyone is finding things so, so hard. Everything is a real struggle.”
Ms Thewliss recognised that opponents are quick to highlight the transformation the city centre is undergoing, arguing that a lot of the criticism “doesn’t stand up”.
She pointed to “a city centre regeneration agency which will bring everybody together in a cohesive way”.
Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar, is standing in the Glasgow Cathcart and Pollok constituency, as well as his party’s top list candidate in the city.
“If you walk around Glasgow, particularly the city centre, and you talk to people, I think they can feel and see the neglect”, he said.
“It’s as if Glasgow has been a pretty forgotten city by the SNP here and nationally. It feels as if Glasgow City Council under the SNP doesn’t have a coherent economic strategy or plan for the city.”
Mr Sarwar pointed to “a lack of integrated public transport” as well as “not enough new homes being built” and “rising violence in schools”.
Glasgow has been one of Reform’s biggest target areas. In inflammatory comments last year, Nigel Farage highlighted how nearly one in three pupils in the city speak English as a second language, which he described as the “cultural smashing of Glasgow”. The party has also seized on concerns raised by Glasgow City Council about the financial pressures that Home Office asylum and refugee policies are placing on local budgets.
Reform candidate for Glasgow Baillieston and Shettleston, Thomas Kerr, told The Scotsman voters were turning to his party because “we’ve seen our city collapse” under the SNP and Labour.
He added: “The city is at breaking point due to mass illegal migration and I'll make no apology for raising that issue and standing up for my people.
“We've seen a huge rise in sexual assaults and violence, alongside a housing crisis which has been made worse by SNP ministers prioritising strangers over Scots."
But Mr Kerr and Reform’s assessment of Glasgow’s challenges has drawn scorn from charities working to protect people.
Colin Macfarlane, director of external affairs at the Scottish Refugee Council, said he was “deeply troubled by the dangerous and divisive narratives and disinformation that we have seen from some political candidates”.
He added: “Refugees are not to blame for the housing crisis. It is the result of systemic failures by successive governments which have resulted in a chronic social housing shortage.
“The ‘jumping the queue’ trope is completely fictional. People seeking safety have the same housing rights as any other person in Scotland.”
Around 95 per cent of reported sexual offences in Scotland are carried out by men. From that, more than 90 per cent of rape and sexual assault survivors know their attacker and more than 20 per cent of survivors have been assaulted by a partner or former partner.
Nicola Love, external affairs manager at Rape Crisis Scotland, said: “These men come from all backgrounds and walks of life and, unfortunately, most perpetrators of sexual violence are already known to the women they harm.
“It’s been disappointing and incredibly frustrating to watch politicians exploit fears about violence against women and girls, and spread lies about who is responsible for it, to divide communities and further their own popularity.
“Any candidate who only talks about violence against women and girls in a racist and anti-immigration context is doing a real disservice to survivors of rape and sexual violence.”
Scottish Greens candidate Patrick Harvie said that his party’s campaign is focused on “standing up for the open, inclusive Glasgow that we believe in”.
He added that “in some of the most diverse areas like Govanhill on the city's Southside, our message is going down well”.
The Greens are expected to perform strongly in Glasgow and could even be competitive in two of the city’s constituencies, Glasgow Kelvin and Maryhill and Glasgow Southside where victory would be historic.
Scottish Conservative candidate for Rutherglen and Cambuslang Annie Wells, and top of the regional list for Glasgow, warned that the city “has seen a sharp decline due to the gross mismanagement of the SNP at both a national and local level”.
Daniel Khan-O’Malley, the Lib Dems lead regional list candidate, and also contesting the Glasgow Kelvin and Maryhill seat, pointed to the “scunner-factor” on doorsteps across the city.
“People are fed up of 20 years of the SNP”, he added. “They’re fed up with two years of Labour in Westminster. They are just looking for that alternative.”
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