Glasgow: How Labour hopes to repeat Rutherglen win in Scotland’s biggest city

Glasgow is perhaps the key Scottish city Labour needs to win to be on track for a majority in Westminster. Having been wiped out in 2015 at the hands of the SNP, the party is now hopeful of flipping all six seats – along with other parts of Scotland’s Central Belt.

The signs of a Labour resurgence in Scotland’s largest city could be seen two years ago, when the party came painfully close to ousting the SNP on the city council.

On a slightly drizzly day in Glasgow, I travelled to the city’s grand Victorian-era city chambers to meet George Redmond, the leader of the Labour group on the council.

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

“In 2022, an extra 200 votes would have got us an extra four councillors because a lot of the seats were quite close. For some of the Westminster constituencies, in three of the six of them, we were probably neck and neck, and in one we would have probably just been in front.

“The tide is definitely turning and the mood has changed in Glasgow.”

‘SNP lacks direction in Glasgow and Holyrood’

Redmond said the party has been campaigning ever since the 2022 local elections, and he has sensed a growing dissatisfaction with the SNP.

“I think in 2022, they were in the final last chance saloon, and I think people were appalled about Sturgeon and Humza was just all over the place.”

Redmond claimed that the SNP both in the council chamber and in Holyrood lacks direction, with even basic services not functioning enough for local people.

READ MORE: Meet Gordon McKee, the 29-year-old son of a welder vying for Glasgow South

One of the main challenges he highlights is the decline in the city centre – a concern reflected in a recent report, which has shown a huge reduction in visitors to the city centre, with sales collapsing by £60m.

He said: “Buchanan Street was in the top ten shopping streets in the world and the decline has been absolutely huge.

“When the business community here is calling out for help, what the SNP did was actually impose parking charges that went up to 10pm. Rather than provide support, that was another hammer blow.”

‘SNP voters are realising they were better off with Labour’

Redmond said that, when speaking to SNP supporters on the doorstep, amny acknowledge their quality of life has got worse during their time in office.

“Labour actually delivered, they had a clear vision and ambition for Glasgow. The City of Culture, the rebuilding of the whole school estate, the Commonwealth Games, The Hydro – all these things didn’t happen by accident. 

“They’re realising that we were actually much better off with Labour because we actually delivered all these things.”

READ MORE: Sign up to our must-read daily briefing email on all things Labour

With the election drawing closer, Redmond expressed confidence about Labour’s chances in the city and encouraged activists to get out and campaign to make change happen.

“I think the by-election in the neighbouring community of Rutherglen gave you that confidence that what happened there can happen right across Glasgow – and it feels like that.

“We need that final push to actually get us over the line and have Labour MPs across Glasgow and across the rest of Scotland. We’ve been let down by two governments.

“What we need is a strong message that we’ve had enough of that – and the only party that will actually deliver that, the only party that has that knowledge, experience, skill set and ambition for Glasgow and Scotland is the Labour Party.

“We’ll deliver in Glasgow, we’ll deliver in Scotland and we’ll deliver in the United Kingdom.”

‘Labour sound a wee bit better than the rest of them’

Walking down a rather busy Buchanan Street, I met Fiona, a mother of three in Glasgow who is the type of voter Labour will need to convince come election day.

She voted SNP at the last election, and voted for independence in the referendum in 2014. While she praised the SNP’s record on social security overall, she added: “In some aspects, like my child with a disability, they are not great. They don’t seem to put as much help and thought into some things.

READ MORE: Bristol Central – inside Labour’s battle to counter insurgent Green Party

“I know a lot of teachers, and they are all stressed because there aren’t enough teachers. Labour is sounding a wee bit better than all the rest of them.”

If Labour can convince more people like Fiona that the SNP has let them down, Scotland could be braced for yet another seismic political shift.

Read more of our 2024 general election coverage:

Finchley and Golders Green: Can Labour win back Britain’s most Jewish seat?

Small boats and Tory mutineers: Can veteran Mike Tapp win Dover and Deal?

East Thanet: Inside the battle for coastal ex-UKIP stronghold not won since 2005

Sheffield Hallam: ‘Can Labour’s Olivia Blake hold on in Nick Clegg’s old seat?’

Battle of the bar charts in Wimbledon: Inside a rare election three-horse race

Could Labour take ‘non-battleground’ Tory seats across the South West?

Brighton Pavilion: As Starmer visits, can Labour win the Greens’ one seat?

Labour wants a new generation of new towns. Can it win in Milton Keynes?

Revealed: The battlegrounds attracting most activists as 17,000 sign up

SHARE: If you have anything to share that we should be looking into or publishing about this story – or any other topic involving Labour or the election – contact us (strictly anonymously if you wish) at [email protected]. 

SUBSCRIBE: Sign up to LabourList’s morning email here for the best briefing on everything Labour, every weekday morning. 

DONATE: If you value our work, please donate to become one of our supporters here and help sustain and expand our coverage.

PARTNER: If you or your organisation might be interested in partnering with us on sponsored events or content, email [email protected].