“We’re embarrassed by our politicians”: on the campaign trail in Aberdeen

Voters in one of Scotland’s closest seats vent their fury ahead of the Parliamentary elections on Thursday in this exclusive report for the Guardian.

The Guardian reports from the four-way marginal of Aberdeen.

Meta Note: This article’s contents were cleared by Devolved Hedgehog Comped.

On Thursday, voters across Scotland will head to the polls in the fifth Scottish Parliamentary elections since the organisation was restarted a few years ago. The left-wing, nationalist Scottish Greens, led by Alajv3, who have dominated the last four Parliamentary elections, are set to face their toughest challenge yet, with the most recent polls giving them just a 4-point lead over Duncs11’s centre-right, unionist Classical Liberals.



The elections are also set to be a good night for the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats. The former remained stagnant on 2 seats at the last election but are expected to catch up with Scottish Labour – support for whom has dropped over the last 6 months after a strong showing in November – while the latter look set to re-enter the Parliament having lost their only seat 6 months ago.



No seat represents the battle at the heart of this election like the north-eastern seat of Aberdeen. At the last election, Aberdeen was a four horse race. It was ultimately won by Classical Liberal candidate, and current MSP Tommy1Boys, with a majority of just 3,746 – the second tightest victory in the country, behind only Highlands and Islands MSP ContrabannedtheMC and their 717 vote majority. The gap between the victorious candidate and the last place Green Party was just 8,499 votes, with the Tories and Labour finishing second and third respectively.



At this election, Tommy1Boys is fighting to be re-elected as the area’s MSP and is being aided by a strong swing away from the Green Party and a gradual rise in support for his Classical Liberals. He is up against Scottish Labour’s Deputy Leader ARichTeaBiscuit, former Scottish Conservative Leader aif123, and Scottish Social Democrats candidate HKNorman. It is not clear whether the constituency will be as close on this occasion as in November.



Aberdeen city, like much of Scotland, voted strongly against independence in 2014, with the city council area voting 58.6% for no and the wider county also voting against independence, but with a slightly larger 60.4% of the vote. However, unlike in recent Scottish elections where the key fault line has been around the issues of the union of nations that is the United Kingdom and the possibility of a second independence referendum, the issue has barely featured in national or local campaigning by the mainstream parties, with the much-criticised performance of the Green government in Edinburgh taking centre-stage.



The fire of the Classical Liberals and Scottish Social Democrats has been turned firmly on the Green Party’s conduct and policies in office, and in the case of the former party, led by Mr 11, any party that would support the Greens is also fair game. The party’s national campaign has taken aim at broken Green promises, the government’s breach of the law over the Edinburgh-Perth railway bill, the Green’s proposed car tax, the conduct of the First Minister and cabinet secretaries, and the Labour Party and Liberal Democrats over support for the Greens. Gone is the controversial promise to rename the government to the executive from a front line role – a symbolic move in support of the union – and a pitch focused at taking unionist voters from Labour.



This election feels much more like a traditional, pre-2014 race, with mentions of the union now taking a backseat. Where in previous elections the Classical Liberals made Green nationalism and Labour’s supposed lack of principle in protecting the union front and centre, in this campaign those are replaced with the Green Party’s record on other issues and Labour’s failure to commit to stopping them. Labour, meanwhile, has focused on promoting their manifesto policies and they have so far avoided mentioning the Greens, who have, for their part, been running a practically non-existent national campaign, with the First Minister instead focused on local campaigning in seats across Scotland. It feels like, for the first time in years, the Greens are in real trouble, and the Classical Liberals, who have broadened their pitch beyond the constitution, now have a fighting chance of being the largest party.



Perhaps Aberdeen tells the strongest story about the state of the Green Party, who have endorsed Labour here despite a very close fourth place finish just 6 months ago. But speaking to people here another truth becomes very clear, and it is one which is up all over the constituency on Social Democrat posters, asking voters: “Fed up of the same old parties?” While this is something you expect to hear from an upstart party hoping to win their first seat in any election it is one that resonates with an electorate in Aberdeen who are fed up with a political scene dominated by negativity, poor conduct in their Parliament by their MSPs and constant, tiresome bickering.



Angie, a retired woman, speaks with visceral anger as she says that she will not be voting in this election. “They’re all the same” is a refrain that political journalists hear repeated often when they vox pop people in the street, but Angie sounds genuinely furious and exasperated. “We have a First Minister and cabinet calling MSPs and 55% of the country names, we’ve got Classical Liberals that is just bashing, bashing, bashing, crying out how hurt they are by the First Minister’s name calling rather than talking policies, we’ve got a Labour Party who are wrapped around the Greens little fingers, and I am never voting Tory. I’m sick of the lot.”



What about the Social Democrats?



Angie replies simply “who?”



Her’s is an anger that is raw on the ground and that’s not being reflected in the airbrushed and polished press releases and news stories about politicians campaigning across Scotland. Roy is a market trader who is not as angry as Angie, but is just as depressed by the election. Why is he not overjoyed at this opportunity to have his say? “We’re embarrassed by our politicians,” he says. “If anybody else behaved like they do they’d get the sack.”



But this is your opportunity to sack them.



“Oh don’t get me wrong, I intend to take it, I will be voting, but who do we replace them with? Greens, CLibs, Labour, they’re all just as bad, and I respect the Social Democrats for saying what we’re all feeling and trying to make a difference, but they’re not going to get anywhere and I just think it’s a wasted vote.”



Even on the list?



“Even on the list.”



When pushed, Roy says he will be voting Conservative. “I’ve voted Green before, I’ve voted Labour before, I’ve voted Liberal Democrat before, but in this election I’ll be voting for the Tories for the first time in my life. They’re the only ones who’ve shown a bit of decorum over the last term, they’ve just gotten on with the job, and their poll rises show that. They’ve got some good pragmatic ideas, and frankly we need a new set of politicians and some new parties to take centre stage, ‘cause this just cannae go on for another 6 months.”



They’ve been accused of offering policies, such as tax cuts, that will only benefit the very well off. Does Roy think they’ll really work for him? “To be honest, I don’t really care. It doesn’t matter to me if some people get some tax cuts, as long as it doesn’t cost me. That’s none of my business.

I know the Tories have policies that will help me out and that’s what I’m focused on, rather than being jealous. I just want some new leadership and I want to feel some confidence in my politicians again, and the Tories have always been highly competent in England.”



Perhaps one of the most interesting voters in Aberdeen was 22 year old masters student Marie. She said that she voted yes in the 2014 independence referendum, when she was 17, and voted Green in every Scottish Parliament election up until last November, breaking the habit of a lifetime by voting Labour. She says she’ll be voting for the Classical Liberals on Thursday. “The union is no longer the most important issue,” she says. “If we are proud, patriotic Scots then we can’t have a government that embarrasses us at every opportunity. If anything, that does more damage to the push for independence than anything else – just makes us look like we can’t be trusted with our own affairs.”



“The CLibs have smartened up and broadened out a bit and I can only vote for them because they’ve stopped banging on about the union. That was my main point of disagreement with them, and I still disagree, but I think we need to get the Greens out in this election. And anyway, if Duncs11 is still as rabidly unionist, that might be good for the independence movement if he becomes First Minister.”



Why not Labour – a more soft unionist party?



“Well,” she says, “it’s just as the CLibs have been saying – Labour have been propping the Greens up. They didn’t even vote to remove IceCreamSandwich401 who just isn’t fit to be a cabinet minister – he spends more time on twitter than anything. We need a party in Holyrood that’ll commit to getting rid of the Greens who are just ballsing up Scotland, and that’s not Labour.”



When those comments were put to Labour candidate ARichTeaBiscuit, who was out canvassing in Banff, they said “I understand the frustration that many have had with the Scottish Greens over the previous term but I believe that it would be counter-productive to say that Scottish Labour or any political party in Scotland should rule out cooperating with the Scottish Greens on areas where we can agree and move forward. I understand that the Scottish Liberal Democrats have reached a similar level of understanding and worked out endorsement agreements in other parts of Scotland, however I think it is important to note that a vote for Scottish Labour gets Scottish Labour.”



They continued, “In the past we’ve voted against Scottish Green legislation and we will do so again if we don’t think it meets our standards, and of course we stopped the Greens from organising another independence referendum. I also personally wouldn’t be in favour of any agreement with the Scottish Greens that doesn’t include a commitment to the Ministerial Code and a commitment to active representation.”



Back in Aberdeen, one member of the public almost completely refused to talk about the election in the angriest exchange on show in the city. “Our political culture is toxic, they all ought to be ashamed of themselves and all of those who voted them in should be too. I’m not talking about it anymore. They don’t deserve our attention and their egos don’t deserve that boost. They all need to stop acting like children and start acting like legislators.” Are you going to vote? “No, never again” came the predictable reply.



That is just a snapshot of the conversations that show that many in Aberdeen – even though they don’t have a Green candidate – are voting against the Greens, and also against against their entire political class. Unfortunately for Labour, they are acting as a proxy for an absent and unpopular governing party. The overwhelming mood is one of frustration. There’s no optimism about the potential for change, just dread that the next set of politicians may be just as bad.



Has Labour’s cooperation with the Greens and failure to stop their bad behaviour contributed to this toxic culture? “I wouldn’t say that Scottish Labour has failed to condemn that behaviour as we’ve expressed our hatred of such language in public and private in the past,” says Mx Biscuit. “In fact I think that Scottish Labour have consistently ran a friendly campaign that has risen above the rhetoric displayed by other candidates.



They continued, “I absolutely condemn the use of such language in the Scottish Parliament and I believe that the First Minister should apologise. It’s one of the reasons that I believe that every political party in Scotland should pledge to commit to the Scottish Ministerial Code, which Scottish Labour supported in a motion in the previous term.” But they do agree that the toxicity does exist, stating “I’d say that it [Scottish politics] certainly has its moments of toxicity, as for the blame? I’d put that behind the divide between the nationalist and unionist movement in Scotland that is compounded by certain politicians.”



When asked who they’re referring to, Mx Biscuit puts the blame squarely with Mr 3 and Mr 11, stating “I believe that the First Minister hasn’t been conducive to the process with some of his comments during debates and I note that a certain political party alarmed the residents of Aberdeen when they rolled tanks through the streets.”



Can the independence issue really be blamed when it is not the main issue in this campaign?



“I believe that it has been an underlying issue in the past that has laid the groundwork for a lack of bipartisan cooperation between both sides of the aisle, the fact that Scottish Labour might receive criticism for even talking to the Scottish Greens or Classical Liberals is rather indicative of that divide in my opinion.”



Angie was not the only person vowing not to vote, and while many expressed their view that the Social Democrats were a breath of fresh air, they didn’t feel it was worthwhile voting for them. Many thought that a vote for the Classical Liberals was the best way to dethrone the Greens but few expressed enthusiasm, with most of those people seeing them as not much better. Conservative voters were the ones who seemed the most happy with their potential vote on Thursday.



The local MSP, however, clearly doesn’t share the views expressed by many constituents that his party are part of that despised culture. He was in the centre of Aberdeen today, meeting constituents and talking about local issues. He strongly rejected the idea that the Classical Liberals had done their part to contribute to that toxicity. “I’ll be honest, those that say we are have been fermenting this culture if you ask me,” he said.



Criticising the Green and Labour parties in all but name, he continued, “it was not the Classical Liberals that declared 55% of the country “shitebags”. It was not the Classical Liberals that kept that person in power. It was not the Classical Liberals that racially abused an MSP. It was not the Classical Liberals that kept that person in power. The Classical Liberals have put forward a policy first manifesto with some amazing plans to transform Scotland, and we want to move away from the constitutional discussions which has, in my opinion, fermented the toxicity of Scottish politics.” That last sentence is a rare admission from the previously union-dominated, and now seemingly evolved, Classical Liberals.



On whether they, and Labour, can be trusted to detoxify Scottish politics, Mx Biscuit says, “in my time in the Scottish Parliament I have never levelled personal insults against my fellow politicians or members of the public, and I have condemned previous examples in public and in private. Scottish Labour have also risen above such rhetoric and consistently stated an interest in working for both nationalist and unionist communities, the voters can trust us to be something different because we have done something different and we’ll continue to rise above.”



Scottish Social Democrat candidate, HKNorman, agrees with ARichTeaBiscuit on the causes of the unpleasant political landscape. They put the blame for the coarsening of Scotland’s political discourse on the issue of independence. “I think a lot of the toxicity in Scottish politics stems from the debate on independence, which is perpetuated by all the Holyrood parties, even the CLibs,” they say.



“That’s why the Scottish Social Democrats have taken an approach akin to some of the NI Parties. We are the designated “Other” in this election when it comes to Independence vs Unionism, because the normal Scottish voter doesn’t care about Independence. They care about how we’re gonna fix our roads, or fund our healthcare system properly, or provide money for education. By moving the discourse away from the Independence debate and towards the real issues, that in itself contributes in large part to the detoxification of our politics.”



On the union, Mr Boys disputes the idea that the Classical Liberals have started to de-emphasise the union in this election. He says, “I think we have always been a party with a broad set of policies to attract voters whatever their view on independence. Our tax cuts set out in our manifesto will benefit the lower and middle income earners across Scotland, not the 55 or 45. The Perth – Edinburgh Railway project will benefit a huge amount of people across Scotland, not just those who voted to remain in the United Kingdom.”



“The manifesto is full of ideas to help those who are struggling such as a recently announced policy to ban ‘No DSS’ rental clauses. These are issues that I am deeply passionate about delivering, and it is why I hope the people of Aberdeen elect me as their MSP in this election, and why I hope we can form the next Government and Govern in the interests of the 100%, not one side or the other.”



He argues that while his party is unashamedly unionist, “we are setting out to govern for the 100%, and I have been actively courting the votes of the 100%. Indeed tonight I will be doing a town hall exclusively with those who voted Yes in 2014. In fact, I heard on the radio this morning someone who voted Yes in 2014 explaining why they will vote for the Classical Liberals this week.”



Mx Norman concedes that the independence issue is less prominent in this campaign, offering a sharp response, “Even without the constitutional debate, the Green Party is toxic.”

“They have shown that. I think the more the message of the Social Democrats gets out there, the more people realise how toxic and ineffective the Greens are.” On whether that sort of negativity just contributes to the toxicity, they reply simply, “Facts can be negative sometimes. Those are the facts of the Green Party’s record.”



Presented with the view of many unenthusiastic Classical Liberal voters that they must vote that way to remove the Greens from office on the basis of the facts described by his Social Democratic opponent, Mr Boys beams, “I am honoured to get your vote, but read our manifesto. Come along to a campaign event, ask me questions, tweet at me, send my Facebook page messages on messenger. We can deliver for you not just because we are anti-Green, but because our policies are pro-Scotland.”



“A Government led by my friend Duncs11 will be one that delivers real change to the hard working men and women of Scotland. Whilst the Tories harp on about tax cuts just for the rich, and Labour refuse to rule out propping up the Greens, and the Social Democrats admit they won’t even win, we are your best bet not just to oppose the Scottish greens, but to support and deliver for the people of Scotland.”



But even without that admission, Mx Norman believes a vote for them is still worthwhile. “I say that a vote is never wasted. I’m well aware of the up-hill battle I face, but I still think I’m in with a shot of winning. If voting for something new is a wasted vote then that just means that something’s wrong with our democracy. A vote for me would set us on the path to fixing that.” How? “Not call unionists shitebags, for starts… we have a broad church of people from across the political field, who have come together and united in our common belief that our politics is yearning for renewal.”



Claims that the Conservatives are just talking about tax cuts for the rich is something that the Tory candidate for Aberdeen, aif123, travelling on their battle train through Aberdeenshire, with a car especially to practice their desk breaking should they be elected, disputes strongly. “That doesn’t seem fair at all,” they say in response, “We want to cut taxes for everybody, and describing this as “just for the rich” is a bit ridiculous. We’re also offering a fair education system, working on reforms rather than a radical change which will cause the system to break down in a few years, and an education is everything to making a person successful.”



On whether their party has contributed to the political atmosphere that has annoyed voters in the constituency, Mx 123 says “The Scottish Conservatives are completely and 100% against the divisive politics in Scotland, we have done everything in our power to put people first, and make a country that works for everyone, nationalist or unionist within the United Kingdom. So I believe we have done all we can to prevent it.”



Does your party present a fresh alternative to Scotland’s current politics?



“I believe we do. In Scotland, and especially Aberdeen, because we want to make Scotland fairer, work on tackling the climate crisis and trying our best to help end the divide between unionist and nationalist and make everybody happy within the United Kingdom. I believe our rise in the polls is down to the hard work we have done to rift the gap in Scottish society and make a fairer, more environmentally conscious Scotland as well. And… I think we do have momentum”

“We’re looking to gain seats this election and hopefully we will! I’ve been working hard, campaigning, even on this battle train we both are on right now, to put the message out there The Scottish Conservatives are back, and we’re the real alternative.”



Voters across Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland will head to the polls on Thursday, with polling stations open from 7am until 10pm, to choose 19 MSPs, 9 AMs and 9 MLAs. Votes will be counted and results declared from across the three countries on Sunday evening, with the parties then having some time to form the new devolved governments that the Tory-LPUK Coalition at Westminster will have to deal with.

