Every election is an opportunity for new politicians to emerge.

In Glasgow with a total of 15 MSPs between the eight constituencies and the seven regional list seats up for grabs there is scope for new faces to be seen behind the Holyrood desks in May.

Each party is looking to elect new MSPs in the city. The Glasgow Times will speak to men and women from the five main parties hopeful of taking up one of the seats.

Today we speak to two Scottish Labour candidates hoping to be sworn in as first time MSPs after the election on May 6.

Pam Duncan-Glancy, is contesting the Kelvin seat challenging Kaukab Stewart of the SNP for the seat that was held by Sandra White of the SNP until she stood down after being an MSP since 1999.

She is also number four on the Labour Glasgow region list and could be elected through 2nd votes.

Duncan-Glancy is an NHS worker who has been a long-time campaigner on equalities and human rights issues.

Glasgow Times:

The 39 year old lives in Glasgow with her husband, Hugh and their cockapoo dog, Tony.

She said: “I’ve spent a lot of time campaigning on anti-poverty and on public health approaches to drug use.

“I believe people should get help for mental health for drug use rather than a prison sentence.”

She can also list equal pay for women, better pay for social care workers, housing rights as issues she campaigns on.

Glasgow Times:

“If we want to face up to the challenges we have in terms of climate, aspirations anti-poverty aspirations human rights then we cannot expect to put the same people in the room and expect different answers.”

She added: “We need to elect people who will fight against council cut and fight for a recovery in our communities and in our NHS and for jobs.”

One of her aims is to be the first permanent wheelchair user to be elected to Holyrood.

She said: “It’s being going for more than 20 years and we haven’t had anyone yet.”

One of the problems that leads to fewer people with disabilities in elected roles she said is “If you can’t get out of bed in the morning or out of the house because it’s not accessible. You’re not likely to be a public voice.”

She wants to see people talking about representation of people with a disability “in the same way they do 50/50 for women’s representation and representation for people of colour”.

“The extent of oppression disabled people face is huge”, she added.

While disability rights is clearly a passion, she said it is equality, human rights and tackling injustice overall that motivates her.

She said: “I do feel a responsibility to carry that flag but I’ve fought for people on law pay, people in precarious work, on housing rights with housing associations and cracking down on unscrupulous landlords and on social security.”

Keiran O’ Neill, is standing for Labour in the Maryhill and Springburn seat, held by Bob Doris of the SNP for the last five years.

The area, previously part of two separate constituencies, had been solidly Labour at four elections until the SNP took it in 2016.

Glasgow Times:

O’Neill, 23, has the job of overturning a 5602 SNP majority.

He has worked for Labour MSP James Kelly and is a trade union shop steward for parliamentary staff at Holyrood.

He finds himself standing as a Labour candidate seven years after the independence referendum got him involved in politics as a teenager, voting yes for an independent Scotland.

Glasgow Times:

He said his turnaround came as he realized “The change we need can happen already”

He said: “I wanted to see changes that I thought could only happen with a yes vote.

“Now I think that’s not the case and change can happen with the powers we have if we use them.”

O’Neill lives in Westercommon in the constituency and said he is not satisfied with what he sees in the area.

He said: “Four in ten children are living in poverty. That’s not acceptable. I want a more socially just and fairer country.”

The SNP’s Growth Commission report, an economic blueprint for a separate Scotland has convinced him that independence is not what is needed.

He said: “Forty years of austerity after independence won’t help anyone. We can make changes now.”

The Glasgow Times will be offering to interview potential new MSPs from the SNP, Conservatives, Greens and Liberal Democrats throughout the campaign as part of our balanced and unbiased election coverage.