SOUTH Lanarkshire Council leader Joe Fagan certainly drew the short straw last night.
The Labour councillor was sat in St Peter’s chapel hall in Hamilton on Tuesday night, in front of 50-or-so locals looking to quiz the candidates ahead of the crucial by-election in Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse on June 5.
But, of course, Fagan isn’t a candidate. The SNP’s Katy Loudon, the Scottish Socialist Party’s Collette Bradley and Ann McGuinness from the Scottish Greens – all sat next to him – are.
This is because Labour’s actual candidate, Davy Russell, didn’t even turn up.
To call it a trend would be an understatement. During the campaign, Russell has not only dodged local hustings but also an upcoming STV debate, radio interviews and the media, in general.
It has led to speculation that he is unable to “string a handful of words together” and claims Labour are simply throwing in the towel to both the SNP and Reform UK, whose candidate Ross Lambie also wasn’t in attendance at the hustings.
Fagan shuffled his papers awkwardly as the Tory candidate Richard Nelson stood behind him and announced he wouldn’t be taking part in the hustings, which was organised by campaign group No Cuts Lanarkshire.
“I don’t think it’s right that I debate the council leader,” Nelson said.
“I would have rather debated with Davy Russell (below), with the actual candidate. So, I’m going to withdraw from here because I don’t think it’s fair that the leader of the council comes on his behalf.”
This led to some claps from the audience. One woman said: “Absolutely.”
One man in attendance then added, seemingly referring to Nelson’s withdrawal: “Shocking. Absolutely shocking.”
The same woman then asked: “Why is it shocking?”
She added soon after: “Can I just ask. This is about candidates. Why is the leader of South Lanarkshire Council sitting at a top table? That shouldn’t be happening.”
The host then brought proceedings back into order, ushering in opening statements.
First up, Fagan. He stands up, papers in hand, and rails against the SNP in a fairly long-winded speech.
“This new term for the Scottish Parliament has to represent a new start. It has to be about turning the page in almost 20 years of SNP this rule,” he said.
The South Lanarkshire Council leader then spends much of this monologue advocating for more Scottish Government funding for councils and arguing that the Strathclyde pension fund should be investing more into the community.
“I want the next MSP for the area to be someone who supports us in those endeavours and brings us a fairer share of public spending to South Lanarkshire,” Fagan adds.
The SNP’s Loudon then steps up and first highlights that she is actually there in attendance. An easy win.
“I take every opportunity that is available to me to be available to you. Whether that’s local hustings, local radio, speaking to people on the doors,” she said.
“Because this by-election, I’m not here to sit and lecture you or read out a multi-page speech. This is about electing a champion for this community.”
Both the SSP’s Bradley and McGuinness from the Scottish Greens, predictably, advocated for a more radical approach including a wealth tax to avoid further cuts.
But the first question, when the floor was opened to the local residents in attendance, was about Russell’s absence.
The same woman who intervened before asked Fagan directly: “How can you stand and say your speech and say about how Davy Russell is going to lead for the constituency, going to stand in Holyrood and speak for the people of this constituency when he can’t turn up to radio interviews, when he can’t turn up to hustings, when he can’t speak without Anas Sarwar by his side?”
Fagan said: “Well, right now, he is at an event on the NHS.”
She then responded: “He’s always at an event Joe.”
It’s a topic that was brought up again by several other local residents, including several highlighting that the NHS event was actually “organised by the Labour Party”.
But the palpable anger I felt in the room certainly wasn’t reserved solely for Russell and his no-show.
Local issues dominated much of the back and forth, with local residents questioning Fagan over the increase to the cost of South Lanarkshire’s leisure and culture pass for older people, as well as concerns over cuts to school bus routes.
One NHS worker took aim at both Fagan and Loudon, arguing there has been too much centralisation in the NHS under the SNP.
He also slammed the Labour policy of decreasing the number of Scottish health boards from 12 to three.
One man, who described himself as a Labour Party member but that he won’t be voting for them this time, said party activists had knocked at his door “five or six times”.
But the local resident said he was concerned that they appeared to be more interested in whether or not he’d be voting for Reform UK than why he wouldn’t be voting for them, which he said gave him the impression Labour are open to drifting even further right.
“I’m not sure that’s possible,” he then added to easily the biggest applause of the evening.
Loudon, meanwhile, was also questioned about a leaflet which, according to a resident, gave too much credit to an SNP councillor for saving a local sports hall.
The SSP and Scottish Greens candidates occasionally contributed, mostly to highlight that these cuts wouldn’t be an issue under their proposals to levy a wealth tax.
But the hustings mostly descended into a combative back-and-forth between Loudon and Fagan.
The one issue everyone agreed on? That Reform UK’s ad targeting Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar was “racist”.
The controversial advert has been condemned in strong terms by Sarwar himself and First Minister John Swinney.
The video claims the Scottish Labour leader will “prioritise” the Pakistani community in Scotland, as it plays clips of the politician urging more people from South Asian backgrounds to get involved in politics.
“When it comes to that kind of politics, if it looks like a racist and it sounds like a racist and it spends hundreds of pounds promoting a race-baiting ad like a racist on social media,” Fagan said.
“It’s a good chance it’s a racist. And I think we have to call out that kind of behaviour.”
Loudon also later called out the ad.
And while both Lambie and Reform leader Nigel Farage have defended it, no one from the party was there to do so again.
After the No Cuts Lanarkshire host brought the event to a close, the local residents – minus a half dozen who walked out halfway through – shuffled out of the hall.
As I waited for my taxi outside, I overheard someone say: “If big Davy was there, he’d have been f***ing mauled”.
You do get a feeling that Labour have simply given up.
The SNP, meanwhile, may win simply by turning up.
And as I’m being driven out of Hamilton in a taxi, I’m greeted by a large billboard of Nigel Farage emblazoned with “Hamilton needs Reform”.
Regardless, the spectre of Reform UK certainly looms large ahead of June 5.
