There is a monument in the South Lanarkshire town of Cambuslang to its miners.
Giant winding wheels which once winched cages into the gaping black mouth of the pit head, now sits in a tranquil site, surrounded by grass and trees; a plaque pinned to its stone mount declaring all those who died below ground, including children as young as six, will never be forgotten.
Yes, there are pockets of wealth scattered throughout the constituency - lovely stone built detached homes with immaculate gardens, perfect for the commute to Glasgow - but there is also deep deprivation. That’s more than one in 10 working-age people in the constituency. They are looking for help, for work, for hope. For a long time that’s what they believed the Labour Party offered, and the party of the red rosette had the constituency in a steel-like grip.
The battle now is between the SNP’s Katy Louden, a local councillor, and Michael Shanks, a high school teacher. Labour smells victory in the air. It believes the pendulum of Scottish politics is swinging back in its direction; the SNP has been too long in government, its members say, and its domestic record is not good enough.
Over the course of the campaign Humza Yousaf has put himself front and centre, keenly aware that this will be a significant moment for his leadership of the party. It will gather for its annual conference just two weeks later, and a defeat in Rutherglen could mean a far more rancorous affair than he would have wanted, especially as he’s looking for members to back his latest independence strategy.
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