I’m not a politician. I never set out to be one.
I’m a 41-year-old entrepreneur from Scotland who built a career from nothing — no inheritance, no connections, no leg up. I started in digital marketing, learned everything the hard way, and eventually founded Wallace Campers, a campervan hire business based in Glasgow. I know what it’s like to chase invoices at midnight, to lie awake worrying about cash flow, to bet everything on yourself and pray it works.
It worked. Through sheer stubbornness and years of graft, I built financial independence. And now I want to use everything I’ve learned — about business, about systems, about what happens when institutions fail ordinary people — to fight for the place I call home.
Why Paisley?
Because this town deserves better than it’s getting.
Paisley has been treated as a safe seat for decades. Whichever party holds it barely needs to campaign here, because the assumption is that your vote is already locked in. The result? A town with world-class heritage and deeply committed people, but also persistent poverty, a housing emergency, NHS services under unbearable pressure, and young people who see no future here.
Ferguslie Park remains one of the most deprived communities in Scotland. Renfrewshire Council tenants face a 7.5% rent increase from this April. Parents are waiting years — years — for their children to receive an ADHD or autism assessment. And the high street has more shuttered shopfronts than anyone wants to count.
I’m not saying the current MSP or council doesn’t care. I’m saying that a system built on party loyalty, whip votes, and career politicians doesn’t have the incentive to shake things up. The parties need Paisley’s vote. They don’t need to earn it.
I want to change that equation.
Why Independent?
Because I want to vote with my conscience, not a party line.
An independent MSP has one boss: you. I don’t have a party leader telling me how to vote. I don’t have a national campaign strategy that treats Paisley as a data point. I don’t need to balance what’s right for this town against what’s convenient for a party machine.
If I’m elected, I will vote on every issue based on what I believe is best for Paisley. On major decisions, I will consult constituents directly — through public meetings, online polls, and open town halls. Where a clear majority view emerges, I will vote with you, even if I personally disagree.
That’s not a slogan. That’s a contract.
What I Bring
I bring something that career politicians can’t: real-world experience of building something from scratch.
I understand business rates, because I’ve paid them. I understand planning delays, because I’ve lived them. I understand what it’s like to hire someone and be responsible for their livelihood. I understand cash flow, risk, and the difference between a policy that sounds good in Holyrood and one that actually works on the ground.
I’m also neurodivergent — I live with ADHD and mild autism. I’ve spent my whole life navigating systems that weren’t designed for people like me. That experience has given me a deep personal commitment to fighting for children with additional support needs, for faster diagnosis, and for an education system that values different ways of thinking.
And I bring digital marketing expertise that, frankly, no other candidate on the ballot can match. I know how to communicate, how to build an audience, and how to hold attention — skills that are surprisingly rare in Scottish politics.
The Six Pledges
I’m not asking you to trust a manifesto full of vague promises. I’m asking you to hold me to six specific, measurable commitments:
- Enterprise & Jobs — Campaign for a Paisley Enterprise Zone and 500 new private-sector jobs.
- Housing — Push for faster housebuilding, expanded home ownership, and empty property conversion.
- Health — Demand NHS efficiency, more GPs, and ring-fenced mental health funding.
- Children with Additional Support Needs — Fight for faster assessment and properly resourced ASN provision in every school.
- Education & Aspiration — Higher standards, more apprenticeships, and zero tolerance for classroom disruption.
- Accountability & the Union — Full expense transparency, quarterly town halls, and a six-monthly public scorecard.
Every six months, I will publish a progress report against these pledges — in public, at a town hall, with you asking the questions.
The Ask
On 7 May, you have two votes. Your constituency vote is for the person who represents Paisley at Holyrood. I’m asking you to use it on me.
Not because I’m perfect. Not because I have all the answers. But because I will show up, I will listen, and I will fight for this town with everything I have — without a party telling me when to sit down.
If that sounds like what Paisley needs, I’d be honoured to have your vote.
William Wallace
Independent Candidate for Paisley
Visit VoteWilliamWallace.com to read the full manifesto. Follow @votewallace2026 on Instagram for daily campaign updates.