Will there be real change or have we already moved swiftly into the “that was then but this is now” era of Scottish politics?

What will Holyrood look like after Scotland goes to the polls next May?

Are we in for a UK Reform storm similar to what has happened in England that will sweep away this country’s political past?

Or will the glass, bricks and mortar put together so expensively and controversially in the shape of boats be swept on to the rocks beneath Arthur’s Seat?

Will it be Labour No More? Will it be Tories Out the Door?

Will the Liberal Democrats and the Green parties ship so much water that they’ll sink and disappear in the Firth of Forth?

Will the future for Scotland be YES or NO or the Maybes Aye, Maybes Naw we have had to put up with here for the past 20 years?

That would mean more of the same. It would mean that if we always do what we have always done at the ballot box in West Dunbartonshire we would get more of the same.

At the moment, we have the councillors we voted for. There is no one to blame but ourselves for that shambles.

It’s often alleged that the officials and not the councillors run West Dunbartonshire Council.

If that is the case then they run it appallingly.

There is a long indictment of charges against them for falling down on the job.

Bullying and victimisation are just two of these.

It’s not just sad that it happens. It’s disgraceful that they get away with it.

They had a reception for their long-serving employees in the Burgh Hall the other day, a “meet and greet” session to thank them for their service to the community. Their public service.

Then they went back to their desks in their £16 million plus office accommodation to work out a plan to change their contracts to make them work longer for less pay.

They will say that mine is a biased over simplified way of looking at the situation, but it is not.

It’s about the management team earning unconscionable sums of money for the relatively simple work they do, and paying the workers in the overalls and dungarees washers for handling the stressful tasks such as caring for our elderly population.

A large number of these workers live in local authority houses where the Council have just put their rents up. Again.

They are faced with increased council tax which the Council have warned them there will be Sheriff Officers at the door if they fail to meet the instalments. They have to choose between heating and eating.

The council officers, already receiving unconscionable salaries and benefiting from large pensions, are being awarded increases of 21 per cent while the lowest paid staff will get between 3 and 5 per cent offers. Or strike.

Meanwhile, the members of the Council are on loadsamoney for what used to be a voluntary role in the service of the community.

If the politicians around here were worth their salt never mind what they are “earning” at the moment then they might receive respect for what they do.

They could for example raise their voice beyond the time-worn cliches they pour out in large numbers and should shout STOP to their colleagues such as Prime Minister Keir Starmer whose reaction to the UK Reform Party landslide in England has been to promise the electorate more of the same.

Contrary to their allegations and despite their bias against The Dumbarton Democrat, we are not the only ones sick to the teeth of the mediocrity that is all around us here.

Social media responses to the fact that Nigel Farage is at the door include this from John Dalziel: “I find it hard to believe Labour will be +3 and Reform will be +12.”