Friday February 27th 2026
Councillor Anderson filming documentary
Written by Local Democracy Reporter, Paul Kelly
A Borders election candidate is taking part in a fly-on-the wall documentary to help demystify the political process.
East Berwickshire’s Independent councillor James Anderson has joined forces with Eyemouth-based teenage film-maker Fergus Coates.
Fergus is following Mr Anderson on the campaign trail as he contests the Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire constituency Scottish Parliament election on Thursday, May 7.
The aim is to post about five episodes on YouTube, Facebook and other social media platforms.
Each episode will be about five minutes long, tracking Mr Anderson as he meets constituents.
It is hoped the project will encourage particularly young people to engage in the political process.
Councillor Anderson said: “It’s going to be a behind-the-scenes documentary-style thing.
“We want everyone to see what it’s like and be completely transparent about the whole election process.
“Fergus has interviewing people who know me to get an idea of my history.
“The aim is that it will be an eye-opener for the public to see what goes on. It will be warts-and-all on how people engage with me, some of the other councillors are coming in too, and it will allow people a chance to see what it’s like behind the scenes.
“It’s all about transparency. Before I was elected as a councillor I never knew what it was like behind the scenes, you can’t really prepare for it.”
The aim is to follow the whole process through to the counting of the votes on election night.
Fergus said: “Everything these days is so polished and glamorous and I wanted to do something realistic.
“We’re trying to appeal to a younger audience to engage more in politics in the local area. The cameras are rolling the whole time and capture everything, showing the good, bad and the ugly, and the boring.”
Four other candidates have already declared their intention to stand in the constituency: Ray Georgeson (Lib Dems); Rachael Hamilton (Conservative and Unionist); Kaymarie Hughes (Labour); John Redpath (SNP).
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