Your voice, your vote: Why it matters more than ever
After years of SNP dominance, Scotland’s political landscape is shifting. As trust in major parties declines, smaller and emerging groups are gaining ground, making the 2026 Holyrood election more unpredictable than ever and voter participation increasingly crucial.
By Devon McCole | Illustration by Alistair Quietsch
For nearly two decades, the SNP have held the top spot in the Scottish Government, with Labour and the Tories as main opposition. But with faith in the top three political parties in Scotland fading, the door has been left wide open for other opposition parties to gain footing.
It’s why Jeremy Corbyn and Zarah Sultana launched the new left leaning Your Party, which spiked in popularity before their public membership row. And why Zack Polanski’s Green Party in England have seen memberships skyrocket, overtaking the Conservative Party in numbers. But that door has also opened to parties like Reform UK, who have seen big gains in some local elections.
Parties not previously considered not to be a viable enough opposition to the typical two-three-horse race we are used to in Scotland and the UK now have more of a chance to get their foot in the door. That’s both exciting and unnerving.
Reform UK came fourth in the Southside Central council by-election in March this year, with 5.9 percent of the vote. But they made a far stronger showing in the Hamilton, Larkhall & Stonehouse Holyrood by-elections in June, securing 26.1 percent and placing third.
These results show Reform’s rising popularity in Scotland. Current polling shows that Reform UK could win around 17 seats in the 2026 Holyrood election, potentially even emerging as the main opposition party.
A seismic political shift could be on the horizon in Holyrood, meaning it’s more important than ever to exercise your democratic right.
Make your vote count
This year also marks a decade since 16 and 17 year-olds were given the right to vote in Scottish elections. And, in 2020, the right to vote in Scotland was also extended to all foreign nationals with leave to remain, including all those granted refugee status.
When it is our future being decided, our voices deserve to be heard. And there is no better way to have your voice heard than by casting your vote and making it count. But to do that you need to make sure you are registered first.
Registering to vote is actually good for your credit score, it shows you are an active citizen and glued to your society. And, if you would find voting in person difficult for any reason, you can register to vote by post or via a proxy.
For Rose Main, a member of the Glasgow Southside Youth Voting Matters campaign, fear, lack of confidence and lack of understanding are what prevent people from voting; fearing their vote won’t count, lacking confidence in political parties and politicians, and not fully understanding how the process works being the main barriers.
“Thousands have marched across the UK over the past two years, screaming in support of Palestine, calling for an immediate halt of all arms sales to Israel,” Rose says, and yet “politicians have effectively ignored the population… still funding and backing what's happening.”
What the Youth Voting Matters campaign wants to remind everyone, not just young people, is the key way you make any difference to what politicians do is through the ballot box.
Rose believes: “If you don't use the democratic systems which somebody has set up for you to use, democracy isn’t going to work and you’re not going to beat them.”
The next Scottish parliamentary election is required to be held no later than Thursday 7 May 2026. So to ensure you have your say, make sure you’re registered to vote well before then.
How does the Scottish parliamentary electoral system work?
If you live in Govanhill, you’re part of the Glasgow Southside constituency and the wider Glasgow region in the Scottish Parliament elections (Note this is different to the UK elections where Govanhill now forms part of Glasgow East.)
That means you get two votes under what’s called the Additional Member System. Your first vote is for your local constituency MSP, elected by first past the post, meaning whoever gets the most votes wins. Your second vote is for a political party or independent candidate standing in the Glasgow regional list, which elects seven MSPs to represent the wider area.
This second, regional vote helps make the overall result fairer. Regional MSPs are chosen using the d’Hondt system, which gives extra seats to parties that didn’t win many constituency contests. So even if your preferred party doesn’t win locally in Glasgow Southside, your regional vote still helps shape the make-up of Holyrood.
In total, Glasgow voters send one constituency MSP and seven regional MSPs to the Scottish Parliament – ensuring both local voices and broader political balance are represented.
Change the power dynamic: Help us build a Citizen Agenda
What is a Citizen Agenda?
Tired of politicians and political parties talking about the issues and topics they deem important enough to get coverage? Or the mainstream media always focusing on the same three issues? Feel like the issues that matter to you, or impact your community the most, are being ignored?
We are too. That’s why we’re building a Citizens Agenda.
We carried out the same exercise in the run up to the general election last year as well as ahead of the March local by-election.
The aim is to get candidates standing to represent Govanhill to directly answer to the concerns of our readers – instead of setting their own agenda.
The aim is to give you the information you need to cast your vote confidently. Take five minutes of your time and tell us what you want to know.
What happens after I fill out the survey?
The rest is up to us. The survey will remain open for some time to allow as many people as possible in the community to contribute, so it is a fair and accurate representation of the diversity of opinion locally.
We’ll collate the feedback and calculate which topics and questions appear the most. Using that data we’ll put together a set of questions to put to every political candidate and party ahead of the election in May.
All their responses to our questions will be published in our voter guides online, and then it’s up to you. With all the information at your disposal, you’ll geFill out the surveyt to compare your beliefs with the candidates’ before casting your vote.
We want to changeFill out the survey the power dynamic so that candidates answer to citizens on the subjects that really matter to them.
Fill out the survey: https://community.greatergovanhill.com/crowdnewsroom/citizens-agenda-2026
Sign up to our newsletter: https://community.greatergovanhill.com/join
And stay informed this election!