The following interview is the second of several conducted by Mustafa Chughtai on behalf of The Gaudie. Mustafa spoke to four current students and alumni whom are associated with various political parties in Scotland. In the second he speaks to recent graduate Desmond Bouse, a Liberal Democrat councillor for the City of Aberdeen.
Can you tell us about yourself?
I’m Desmond Bouse, I recently graduated from the University of Aberdeen, and I have served as an Aberdeen City councillor for the George Street/Harbour area in City Centre since May of 2022. I was elected in the third year of my history degree.
What motivated you to pursue politics?
I have always been politically engaged from a young age. But I feel that local authorities, particularly in Scotland, are from a very high age group. A lot of people come from a particular background, mostly retired. I felt there weren’t enough young voices being represented in the Aberdeen City Council, and I really wanted to play an active role in changing that, so I quickly got involved with the Liberal Democrats whilst at university, and before I knew it, I was a candidate for the council elections, which was timed very well (about halfway through my degree). We haven’t had a student elected to the council in a while, and I thought I’d give it a try, and it worked.
Why the Lib-Dem party? What were its key values that aligned with you?
It all started with the European Union. I fell physically ill when we left the European Union. I was passionately pro-EU, but I also wanted to remain within the UK. I see England and the rest of the UK as our largest trading partner and the European Union as our second-largest trading partner. I wanted us to have good relationships with both, so after Brexit, I associated myself with the Liberal Democrats, which was the only party that was both pro-EU and UK. Moreover, I’m very grounded on the centre of the economy, so the Liberal Democrats just made sense to me. The reason why I’m a part of the Liberal Democrats is that Liberal Democrats have a strong focus on local government and being champions of our local community. We’re the voice of our community to the council, not the voice of the council to the community. Surely there are a lot of great people in other parties, but these were the reasons that the Liberal Democratic party resonated with me.
What are the obstacles you have had to face during campaigning?
I think you must put in a bit more work to prove your credibility as a young candidate. And there’s a good reason for that. You don’t have the same life experience as the others have. But what I emphasized while I was campaigning is that while I don’t have the life experience in terms of years, I do have a lot of life experience in terms of my background. I’m care-experienced, and so I amassed a lot of life experience with regards to that. We’ve had for many years a lot of people on the council who’ve had the same background and age. Those perspectives are already well-represented on the council, and so I just wanted to demonstrate my intentions to be a different voice for the community and to stand up for all parts of the community, including students—who I believe deserve to be represented in the community but, until the last election, weren’t. Even now, there’s only a handful of councillors in Aberdeen under 30.
What do you perceive good leadership as? What has shaped this belief?
I think that great leadership is recognizing that you might not be the smartest person in the room. I think a great leader recognizes people’s strengths and listens to their views and then decides. They recognize their shortcomings and help other team members to complete whatever operation they’re looking to complete in that time. I feel that this view has been shaped through my experience of being on the council. I think the reason Labour has changed group leaders a lot is that they operate with the mindset that orders need to be issued and implemented. But successful group leaders in the Conservatives, SNP, and Lib Dems are those that collaborate with other councillors and recognize that they might not have the answers to everything. So, to me, it’s about a collaborative approach to leadership. You include everyone on the team and make use of the best skills that everyone has.
What are the basic responsibilities of a government?
The number one responsibility is accountability. When we take such serious decisions that impact the lives of the citizens of a country, we also need to be accountable for those decisions and explain our reasons for the decisions. Further to that, you must have integrity and honesty. We’ve seen a lot of politicians who have been dishonest at times, and we saw it with many politicians during election season. I think honesty is very important—you lose trust, and once you lose it, it’s very difficult to gain it back. You’re also not serving yourself; you’re serving the people. It’s about navigating challenges to provide the best quality of service we possibly can and help as many people as we possibly can. I think most people are in this to help others. So, I think to sum up, it’s about accountability, honesty, and integrity, and about providing the best service that we possibly can.
What are the most significant problems that Scotland is currently facing?
The health situation is dire in Scotland, particularly mental health. On mental health, Scotland has one of the longest queues in the NHS. If I went to my GP with the complaint of struggling with my mental health, I could be waiting for over a year for any sort of treatment whatsoever. And I think that ties into Scotland’s drug death crisis. It’s one of the worst in Europe. I think that’s connected to the unavailability of mental health care in Scotland. We also don’t have access to the EU’s market to the full extent. Northern Ireland has full access, and I think it puts Scotland at a competitive disadvantage. I’d like to see the Labour government make some progress on building relations back up with the EU. Also, respect people who believe in independence — I personally don’t — but sometimes that can be a barrier to working across party lines. Whether we believe in independence or not, there are real problems that Scotland is facing in the health services as well as with reference to Europe. I feel that the political parties could work together a lot more if there wasn’t such a huge divide. I recently stood as a general election candidate, and it’s striking how some people are totally unwilling to have any conversation with you as soon as they find out your views on independence. This is a recent phenomenon, and I think that really damages our system and holds Scotland back.
What is the long-term plan for this young Lib-Dem member?
I’m absolutely thrilled to be in this position as a councillor and I’d prefer to stay in this position for now. I’m 24 now and have a lot of years ahead of me to think about what’s ahead, but as of now, I’m very privileged to be a councillor and will do it again.
