On the final day of campaigning mg9500 was headed to Cumbernauld to conclude his efforts to support Alweglim, the Green candidate. This ensured he was reaching to the extremities of his constituency in the North and speaking to every voter who matters. Lanarkshire had for so long supported mg9500 and other Green representatives that he was quietly confident that it would be a comfortable win for the party but this is not a general election and it is votes, not constituencies which matter, so every door chapped matters.

An early morning to begin the drive across to Cumbernauld ensured that mg9500 was vocally demanding better transport links across Lanarkshire. With no proper rail links between these towns as they are on differing lines this is a clear issue that infrastructure investment should rectify with quick effect. This will provide far greater economic benefits that ordinary infrastructure updates because it would be an entirely new project. You can build far more from 0 than you can 100 and there is no reason for the government not to do so, as these are some of the largest towns in the country.

This is why we must have the integrated transport system that the Greens and Alweglim will champion in Parliament. When we have this sector working together to be more efficient we can be sure that this can become a reality. Non-interventionism will not all for railway lines to magically be laid - we need action, we can now work together to channel this positive energy to achieve better results for our communities.

These communities are why politicians enter office, so that they can have their voices heard in the corridors of power. So that the views of ordinary people can affect real and genuine change in their country. With Alweglim the electorate in Strathclyde and the Borders can be sure that they will have a Green MSP who will work hard for them to ensure that their opinions matter.

This kind of representative, a servant of the people if you will, and it’s values is exactly what mg9500 was extolling in Cumbernauld town centre after his slight rant about the railways. He promised, pledged and assured voters that this, the kind of representative that they have come to expect from their constituency MSPs, is what they will get twofold once Alweglim is one of their regional list MSPs.

Juggling surgeries is one of the key aspects to being an effective representative, a much tougher task than being a legislator, and that challenge is compounded across a region rather than a constituency. This is something that he is confident that Alweglim will be able to manage effectively, with his history as a list representative elsewhere in the country.

This helps put the minds of voters at rest, because, despite devolution existing for so long many don’t fully understand our democratic system. They still, rightly, expect that their politicians really serve their communities regardless of the system used to elect them. They expect to be represented to a degree greater than the colour of their vote, they expect to matter in Parliament.

Mg9500 trusts that Alweglim can deliver this for the people of his constituency. It now left for us all to see if the people of Lanarkshire, and everywhere else going to the polls, share this same trusts.