The campaign continued on the other side of the Forth with Mg stopping by the Falkirk Wheel to show his support for Al’s reelection campaign in the constituency. This always raises the question of whether or not to have a stump speech and this isn’t just for ease throughout a long campaign. It’s about messaging.

Any party will want to ensure that their headline policy proposals are well publicised, this is common sense and formidable strategy. Without this people will not know what you stand for as a party. It’s even better if you can sum it up in a word or two like the Greens’ ‘Together’ campaign - this shows clearly the party’s commitment to solidarity and subsidiarity - with this being drummed to the electorate even quicker.

This is not what local, face to face campaigning should be about, though, thats time for something fundamentally different. This is the time for drilling down into what matters for the individuals and communities which you seek to serve. Personalised messaging, even in the eras before facebook algorithms. Ultimately this guides to guide Mg’s ethos distinctly as far away from the stump speech as possible - particularly when the media are not watching.

Mg decided that his Falkirk stop was best served by heading to the wheel - by now a rather old installation but one, alongwith the nearby Kelpies which remains to symbolise modern Scotland. The campaign team decided to head off into one of the canal boats to head out onto the wheel. They went up and down a few times before it was realised that the gimmick here for the campaign was obvious.

A loudspeaker was grabbed and Mg began to shout down it. Focusing primarily on the NHS and the proposals included within the manifesto for significant reform. This is about bringing health back into the heart of the community - ensuring that everyone has ease of access to services that they can trust to deliver for them.

One particular sector which merits close examination is optical health - with the relentless commercialisation of this health sector seriously damaging health outcomes. Only the greens have outlined a plan to transform and reserve this, Mg said to rapturous applause (through the track played on the PA system).

Still annoyed that he doesn’t have a battlebus personalised for him, Mg struggled out of his boat and was soon back on his way west. He had a campaign stop in Glasgow before sunset.