A young Tory candidate from the East End of Glasgow says he contacted police after a campaign leaflet smeared with abuse was posted through his aunt’s letterbox.
John White, 19, who suffered death threats at school for being a ‘working class Tory’ said he phoned the police after his relative was shaken by the incident.
The leaflet, which was defaced with rude and offensive language, was found by his family member on Monday night in Shettleston. That is a 20 minute bus ride from the North East ward, where Mr White is standing in next month’s council election.
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He said: “It was weird how it went from my ward to this house. My auntie was shaken. Someone went to a lot of effort to post the leaflet. The police are going to check CCTV. I felt a bit on edge over it.”
The law student, who was raised in Shettleston, has also endured vicious verbal attacks over his political beliefs as a school pupil.
After he posted a photo of himself standing beside Prime Minister Boris Johnston, pupils made threatening comments including ‘Die ya tory f*g’ and ‘kill, kill, kill.”
Mr White said: “That is the first time I had abuse that bad for being involved in politics.
He added: “I come from a working class community. But someone told me at the weekend that because I am a Tory I am not working class.
“We are all people, I don’t think it should be working class, middle class or upper class. This is 2022.”
One of his pledges if elected as a councillor in the North East ward is to encourage more community police officers on the street to tackle anti-social behaviour.
He also wants to clean up the area, deal with fly tipping, return to a bi-weekly bin collection, scrap the bulk uplift charge and get potholes fixed.
Mr White continued: “Being young I also want to work to ensure more employment and training in the ward. Young people are not motivated and supported enough.”
He decided to try and become a politician “as it is the only way to make a difference.”
He said: “I can’t stand back any longer and see the damage the SNP are doing to an area I grew up in.”
Other candidates standing in the North East ward include Labour's Maureen Burke, and Sharon Greer, Iain Mclarty from Scottish Greens, Cam Milne from Scottish Libertarian Party, and Annie Mcallister from the Scottish Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition. Standing for the SNP are Ruairi Kelly and Mandy Morgan.
