Meet NHS doctor Zubir Ahmed, fighting one of Scotland’s tightest marginals

As Labour gains in the polls in Scotland amid a collapse in support for the SNP, there are hopes that the so-called Central Belt could turn red once again. Some polls forecast Labour could win back its old heartland of Glasgow, a city that has had historic links with the British labour movement.

One of the candidates hoping to win on July 4 is Zubir Ahmed, standing for Labour in Glasgow South West – a seat where the party came within 60 votes of winning in 2017.

Labour requires a 6.43% swing to win in the constituency, one of the 126 the party needs to secure a majority in the House of Commons. On a sunny Monday afternoon, I met up with Ahmed at his favourite cafe, The GRIND House, following his shift working for the NHS.

‘We’ve got ourselves into a winning position’

While saying nothing could be taken for granted, Ahmed expressed some confidence that Labour is on the verge of a breakthrough.

“I think we’ve got ourselves into a winning position, which in itself is a remarkable feat considering where we were only a few years ago. To do that in one electoral cycle is probably unprecedented – both on a national level but also in this constituency.

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“I think that speaks to the strength of feeling that is resonating across the whole constituency with people.

“What’s really refreshing about this set of elections, especially for Labour candidates, is if you look at the candidates even in Glasgow, we come from a very diverse set of backgrounds, not only in terms of our ethnic or religious backgrounds, but actually perspectives.” 

‘The mask has slipped from the SNP’

Glasgow narrowly voted for independence in the referendum in 2014 and has backed the SNP for Westminister ever since (with the exception of Glasgow North East which briefly backed Labour in 2017).

However, Ahmed said that voters in Glasgow South West had seen that “the mask has slipped” from the SNP and explained: “The veneer of progressive politics is now decoupled from the SNP machinery, because they have quite clearly demonstrated themselves to be completely and utterly self-absorbed – to even I would say Tory levels of selfishness.”

He describes the affliction that the SNP is enduring as the “same disease” as the Conservative Party. “It’s a lack of focus, it’s a lack of prioritisation, and it’s arrogance, fundamentally.”

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While he said there are still pockets of SNP in the constituency he is fighting, they are few and far between. 

“More often we hear from independence supporters dissatisfaction with the SNP, and it’s dissatisfaction with the fact they had an opportunity to make their argument for independence through improving the lives of people and the reputation of Scotland on the world stage. Instead, they have taken the road of grievance and managed decline – they’ve not only failed in their destination but they have also failed on the journey and left many people on the scrapheap in the process.”

‘The crisis in the NHS is unprecedented’

One of the main issues coming up on the doorstep is the state of the health service, something which Ahmed, has seen first-hand.

Ahmed, who joined the NHS as a junior doctor nearly 20 years ago, said the crisis in the health service is “unprecedented”.

“Everything is fragmented. There’s a complete lack of strategy when it comes to workforce planning and a complete lack of strategy when it comes to digital health. Those two aspects pervade both NHS England and Scotland and most of that is a complete lack of cooperation between the two – because it suits both nationalist governments to decouple themselves even when there’s an opportunity to make patients lives better.

“What’s particularly striking for me is the number of times doctors have to ask health boards to call major incidents even in non-winter months.”

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While there haven’t been NHS strikes north of the border, Ahmed said there have been equal numbers of experienced staff leaving the health service, including some of his own colleagues.

“Especially juniors, which is sad to see – people that were in my position 15 or 16 years ago, when I was really looking forward to a lifetime career in the service.

“They say ‘I’m going to Australia’ – and the irony is they go to Australia and then we import doctors from the Indian subcontinent. It’s like a worldwide factor we have created – it’s like a supply chain and we’re not retaining our brightest and best, and I think that’s a real worry for the future of the quality of healthcare in this country.”

On Gaza

On my way to meet Ahmed, I noticed a number of stickers affixed to lampposts promoting protests about the ongoing Israel-Gaza conflict. Has the war been a topic of discussion on the doorstep in this diverse community?

Ahmed said: “It’s a horrible situation. We need to get to a piece process, we need the Rafah invasion to stop and we need to now start holding this deeply unsettling extreme right-wing government to account. If we are fortunate enough to be in power, I will certainly be doing that.”

While he says the issue does come up when speaking to residents, he accused the SNP of playing a “very cynically manipulative game” over Gaza.

Ahmed said: “Please do not stereotype me as a Muslim or my whole community and racially profile us as this is the only thing we care about. Of course it’s a major issue for many of us, as it is for me, but it is not by any means the only issue.”

‘Potential for city to be represented inside Labour government’

With less than two weeks until voters go to the polls, Ahmed said he takes polls predicting an SNP wipeout with Labour as the largest party with a pinch of salt, but adds they are something to aspire to.

“I think if we put in the hard work, if we demonstrate to people that we are earning their vote and simply not taking it for granted or assuming it is coming to us because they don’t want to give it to the SNP, I think the potential for this city to be finally represented inside the corridors of power and inside a Labour government.”

What does Ahmed love most about the city he hopes to represent in Parliament? “It’s self-effacing nature, we’re always very quick to be self-deprecating. There’s a purity of personality about that.

“Going on from that, its ability to never let you get above your station, regardless of what you think you have achieved, or who you are, or what you’ve done. There’s always someone there to kind of keep you in check and bring you down to ground level.”

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