GLASGOW will vote to send seven MPs to Westminster on Thursday.

There is a lot of noise about Brexit and a second independence referendum and candidates and party leaders are shouting back and forth their election slogans and repeating their key messages until they stick in the heads of the voters.

No doubt that will continue after December 12 when MPs return to Parliament but meantime there are many pressing issues affecting the daily lives of people in Glasgow.

Whether we are in or out of the European Union or whether we have a second referendum on independence these issues persist.

So, at the Glasgow Times we are asking the candidates to address the following issues that repeatedly come up in our stories and we believe are of serious concern to our readers and the people of Glasgow.

1 Universal Credit

Since the roll out last year, 18,000 emergency payments have had to be made totalling more than £6m. Food banks are stating the benefit is a major cause of rising demand and Citizens Advice has dealt with thousands of concerns

Our call: End the five week wait for a first payment that is pushing thousands into poverty and reform or scrap the system to make it fair for all.

2 Jobs

Glasgow has an unemployment rate of 5.5%, which is higher than both the UK and Scottish average. The city has been blighted by long term and intergenerational unemployment and has almost 50,00 people on ESA or Incapacity benefits.

Our call: Invest in skills programmes to ensure Glasgow has the right workforce to meet the changing needs of the modern economy, and to reduce the number of working-age economically inactive people.

3 Living wage

Glasgow has many firms accredited as Living Wage employers but still, an estimated 64,000 workers in Glasgow are paid below the living wage. Younger workers are also hit by the age bands for the National Minimum wage.

Our call: Commit to the real Living Wage of £9.30 per hour and end the over 25 rule for the upper level of the National Minimum Wage.

READ MORE: Trade union puts pressure on Glasgow colleges to pay staff a Living Wage

4 NHS

Glasgow has longstanding health issues and many people are dependent on healthcare and depend on it being free and available.

Our call: Invest in staff and facilities and protect the NHS as free at the point of use, in line with its founding principles.

5 Benefit freeze

Glasgow has around 80,000 people of working age on out of work benefits.

Many families are dependent either short term or long term on the welfare state.

Glasgow is estimated to lose £120m by 2021 in welfare cuts taking money from families and out of the economy.

Our call: Commit to ensuring the end to the benefit freeze, which is due in April 2020, actually happens.

6 Drugs

Last year 280 people died of a drug-related death in Glasgow, a shocking rise of more than 40% in one year. The 2019 figures are expected to be even higher.

Our call Give Glasgow the power to open a supervised drug consumption room as part of a wider package of measures to reduce the rising drug death toll and invest in more residential rehab to give people the second chance they need.

READ MORE: Glasgow saw 45 homeless deaths in one year, figures show

7 Shipyards

The yards on the Clyde are not just an iconic part of Glasgow’s history but a crucial driver of the present economy. Thousands of men and women are still employed in the Govan and Scotstoun yards and thousands more in the supply chain.

Our call Ensure a long-term shipbuilding strategy with investment in the yards that gives certainty to the Clyde yards workforce.

8 Pension age

Ian Duncan Smith argued that the state pension age should rise to 75 because people are living longer. Life expectancy in Glasgow for men is 71 and in the poorest areas is even lover, below 70. Many people would not reach retirement age under Duncan Smith’s plan

Our call Vigorously oppose any attempts to increase the state pension age to 75.

9 Asylum

Glasgow is home to more asylum seekers than anywhere else in Scotland. The city is generally welcoming to people fleeing violence and persecution but many have found themselves in a precarious situation because of Home Office rules and private housing provision.

Our call: Ensure a fair system of housing and service provision for those who are dispersed to Glasgow and prevent anyone being made homeless and destitute putting greater pressure on social services.

10 Environment

Glasgow has poor air quality. People in the most deprived communities are disproportionately affected. Even though these are areas with lower car ownership, children are more likely to be suffering respiratory problems as a result of emissions.

Our call: Commit to a package of measures that will improve Glasgow’s air quality.