Glasgow Hillhead: Vote Ewan Hoyle 1 tomorrow for a fantastic Councillor

Tomorrow, voters in Glasgow Hillhead go to the polls to elect a new Councillor. The Liberal Democrat candidate in this election is one Ewan Hoyle.

I may have mentioned this guy once or twice in passing before. He is a thoughtful, genuine, fiercely intelligent man who literally never gives up. Political parties can be a bit timid when it comes to drugs policy, fearful of upsetting the Daily Mail, and while our party was always the most likely to challenge the orthodoxy, it took some doing to persuade it to do so. Ewan, over several years, did that at Scottish and UK level. He had the sensitivity, finesse and persuasiveness to pursue it to a successful conclusion. The adoption of the policy is one thing, implementation is another and we'll all keep working on that one.

All of these personal qualities make Ewan supremely qualified to be a Councillor. He is another of these immensely talented Liberal Youth Scotland members, like Kristian Chapman and Sophie Bridger before him, who have represented the party in by-elections this year.

One of Ewan's key pledges is to take on bad landlords so that people have safe and properly maintained homes to live in.

Ewan and his team have been knocking on many doors in Hillhead and have had a very friendly reception. Cllr Kenn Elder, who's been Liberal Democrat councillor in that ward since 2007 is very highly regarded and that's always a help.  It's always good to hear from people that  your colleagues are doing a good job.

We know from the evidence of our own eyes at by-election counts that the Liberal Democrats are picking up lots of second preferences in by-elections. On one level, that's encouraging, but if you want Ewan as your councillor, you have to give him your first preference. All the second preferences in the world won't help if he doesn't have enough firsts to stay in the race at the start.

So, if you live in Hillhead,  to elect someone with great sense, tenacity and compassion, go out and vote Ewan Hoyle 1 tomorrow - and encourage everyone you know in the ward to do the same.