We face not just profound economic challenges, in the risks of inflation and stagnant growth, but a growing security threat, and a seeming inability of government at all levels to focus on delivery, whether that be addressing growing NHS waiting lists, meeting environmental targets, or even in a country which was once the world shipbuilding centre, the ability to build a simple ferry.
This has left many people confused, angry and questioning. Trust in politics has clearly eroded and talking to local people the accusation that our political and economic system is ‘broken’ is one I’ve heard a great deal.
It has seen a rise in support for the far-right, in the form of Nigel Farage and Reform. And yet it is clear from polling data that there is little confidence in Reform, their simple, unworkable solutions, their scapegoating and victim blaming. The disgraceful attack ad targeting Anas Sarwar further lifted the veil on the thinly disguised racism which underpins Reform’s core message.
Reform is not unique, we see populist, far-right political parties making headway across Europe. The AfD in Germany, the National Front in France, together with far-right parties already in power in Italy, Hungary and Poland. In the US we see Donald Trump, and a very personal brand of populism, using the same playbook: belittling opponents; challenging the judiciary; intimidating academia; and stifling the media.
Yet many local voters have an uneasy gut-instinct, they recognise what Nigel Farage represents. We know too from history that extremism works its way through the democratic system like a cancer. Ridiculous men are elected, their extremist language ignored, their simple solutions accepted as workable, their scapegoating viewed as legitimate.
Farage is undoubtedly one such ridiculous man. But we know he is as dangerous as he is ridiculous. Reform pose a clear threat not just to the political system, but to our understanding of self, and of our nationhood.
Our local communities deserve so much more than the empty promises of Nigel Farage. But they also deserve better from a Scottish Parliament, which for over 25 years has failed to live up to the expectations heaped upon it, and an SNP Government which has presided over nearly two decades of stagnation and underperformance.
Labour’s victory in the recent Hamilton by-election shows not just that people are feed-up with the failure of the SNP, but also that Labour, not Reform, are able to offer the hope of a new direction for Scotland.
In 2011 Cambell Christie, one of Falkirk’s finest sons, outlined a pathway towards more localised decision-making, with public services built around people and communities, yet progress under the SNP has been glacial. At the next Scottish election in May 2026 I believe our attention must be set squarely on pushing power towards our communities, with a clear focus on bottom-up, local solutions.
While I walked around the stalls of Denny & Dunipace Gala last weekend it was abundantly clear that there is huge strength in our community, with volunteers delivering so much. They are the glue which holds our communities together. But those strengths must be built upon, not ignored or viewed as a stop-gap to an ever-receding state.
In practice that means not just ensuring that local authorities have access to sufficient funding, and are treated fairly by the Scottish Government, but that the required support scaffolding around our community organisations is robust, that strategic planning has community voices at its core, and not at the margins. The culture shift required in our public authorities to deliver on this is significant. But the need to deliver, the need to progress and the necessity to support and harness the strength of community is more important than ever.
Paul Godzik is the Labour Candidate for Falkirk West for the 2026 Scottish Parliament elections. He is a former Councillor, sitting on City of Edinburgh Council 2007-17, and is a former chair of a community development trust. He has recent written academic work on community empowerment, political populism, and the Christie Commission.