WITH nominations now open in the race to take over as leader of Glasgow City Council, three candidates have now entered the fray.
Joining former leader Frank McAveety and education convenor Stephen Curran in hoping to succeed Gordon Matheson is current head of social work at the council, Malcolm Cunning.
The Herald asked all three hopefuls for a quick pitch as to why they are best placed to run the country's biggest city and hold onto power in one of the UK's last great Labour bastions.
Stephen Curran.
The political lead on education for the past three years, Mr Curran highlighted "significant improvements" in nthe service including "striving for more affordable childcare and raising attainment in all our schools".
He also points to a previous role as City Treasurer, "leading service reform, integrating local health with social care and overseeing the budget and scrutiny of policing all while the SNP have been in power at Holyrood".
He said: "All politics should be local. The council leader should be out of the City Chambers much more, supporting the work of colleagues engaging in the local areas they represent. Labour has to be seen as more relevant to voters in communities, that's how we can swing support and trust back towards us in Glasgow.
"Decisions should be made much more collectively, we don't have a presidential-style mayoral system of local government.
"I'm encouraged by the growing consensus from councillors welcoming plans for a more open and engaged Council, where all elected members have their say and there's a clear political strategy in the best interests of communities across the city.
" I already know how to challenge the SNP on funding cuts and policies where we disagree, but I've also shown how to work with them in the city's best interests. Glasgow is our priority not petty party politics."
Frank McAveety.
A former leader of the council for two years before heading to the fledgling Scottish Parliament, Mr McAveety will promote his experience in various ministerial roles including deputy minister for communities and local government, the same position within health and was minister for culture, tourism and sport. Achievements cited include pushing the Glasgow housing stock transfer, the secondary schools overhaul in the city, reduce by half the number of directors at the city council and initiating the development of the National Indoor Arena and velodrome in the east end.
He said: "It's no secret that I love Glasgow. It is my home city. It has shaped and inspired me and I will always put its case. I've always said that if Glasgow prospers, Scotland prospers.
"I believe that Labour can win in 2017 and that every labour councillor can make a contribution to that victory by all of us pulling together and putting the people of Glasgow first.
"Every Labour councillor is a leader in their community and a leader in the city. For me its not just about the support of the majority of the Labour councillors but the role each can play in making things better.
"But more importantly it's about the communities we represent and the aspirations we share for the people oin our communities."
Malcolm Cunning
A teacher by trade, Mr Cunning was first elected in 2003. His major roles have included being chairman of the licensing board and he is currently the executive member for social work, a portfolio not without its challenges. A former student services manager, Mr Cunning was also chair of a disability charity for a number of years.
He said: “Glasgow City Council Labour Group has much to be proud of and a strong record of delivering on our promises. But times have changed and we must now concentrate on our vision for the future and how we can work with the communities we represent to protect the interest of ordinary Glaswegians.
“As a Group, we must use the talents and enthusiasm of all our members to create a radical manifesto which protects the most vulnerable and delivers opportunities for all.
“If elected leader I will work alongside all my colleagues to take our message to every door on every street and win again in Glasgow.”
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel