Community councils are more than just bitter feuds between neighbours, writes Herald columnist Marissa MacWhirter. They are the strongest antidote we have to misinformation and far-right extremism.

Community councils are typically the first line of defence against your neighbour’s overgrown hedge or the pesky litter that accumulates between local authority street cleans. Like watching an episode of The Thick Of It or The Office play out before your very eyes, community councils are an incredible stage to watch life’s petty squabbles unfold. But they have the power to do something else, something far more important for society. Community councils play a vital role on the front line against online misinformation and the corrosive polarisation facing our wider society.

You may or may not have seen the viral “you have no authority here, Jackie Weaver” Handforth parish council Zoom meeting from 2020. Or when earlier this month, a man from New Jersey went viral for breakdancing at a local town hall meeting before protesting higher taxes. Sure, these incidents didn’t unfold in one of Scotland’s community council meetings, but that does not mean they don’t kick off like Paul and the wall scene from In The Loop. I’ve seen it first-hand.

Earlier this month, Glasgow City Council invited community council members to a civic reception at the City Chambers to celebrate 50 years of helping local communities. Community councils were set up in the 1970s........

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