Nominations are open for candidates standing in May’s local elections and I’m delighted to be among them.

It has been an absolute privilege to serve the Pollokshields ward for the past five years and I hope voters put their trust in me again. Every day I’m inspired by the activism and commitment of people in my ward, making a difference and spreading hope.

Unfortunately, recent days have seen stories suggesting that not all Glasgow candidates share the values of equality and social justice that voters should expect of those seeking to represent them.

For Labour, that includes a senior spokesperson for the Evangelical Alliance, an organisation which defends of the abhorrent practice of so-called conversion therapy for LBGT+ people.

For the Conservatives it includes Jamie Robertson in Dennistoun, a former UKIP candidate who, it has emerged, follows white supremacist content on YouTube, including from the former leader of the Ku Klux Klan.

Yesterday it also was revealed that Bruce Whyte, the Conservatives’ candidate for the Langside ward, made comments in 2014 questioning official statistics about the ethnic diversity of Pollokshields. His remarks have been described by the Muslim Council of Scotland as “completely unacceptable”.

I was shocked by Mr Whyte’s comments, and I don’t think they are at all appropriate for someone seeking to represent all Glaswegians. But I was appalled that the Glasgow Tories’ official response was to shrug and say “nothing to see here”. What he said was unacceptable, but the party doesn’t care. If they did, they would withdraw his candidacy.

The Scottish Greens will announce our full candidate list next week. We will stand in every ward, giving everyone in the city the chance to vote Green for a greener and fairer Glasgow.

Voters can be confident Green councillors will do that, not just because of the impact we’ve shown this council term, whether that’s championing free public transport or ending the ten year pay freeze for foster caters, but also because our candidates are already fighting for fairness day in, day out.

That includes Holly Bruce, our Langside candidate, who has spent much of the past year working as part of the Young Women Lead group on hard- hitting research exposing how unsafe Glasgow’s women and non binary people feel in our parks and on public transport.

It includes tireless community campaigner Anthony Carroll, standing to succeed Cllr Kim Long in Dennistoun, who runs a pioneering community fridge project that redistributes food to people across the North East of Glasgow, tackling food waste.

And it includes Blair Anderson, our candidate for Patrick East and Kelvindale, featured in the Glasgow Times this week for his role in the campaign to end conversion therapy, as well as Elaine Gallagher, who is bidding to become the first transgender person elected to the city chambers, as councillor for Southside Central ward.

Green councillors will work hard for all our constituents - and rather than feeling threatened by Glasgow's diversity we will actively celebrate it. 

All those who want a Greener and Fairer Glasgow can confidently give their first vote to their local Scottish Green candidate on May 5.