Glasgow North East by-election

The seat was vacated by former Commons Speaker Michael Martin, who resigned amid the Westminster expenses row.

Voters will go to the polls today to elect one of 13 candidates as an MP.

The parties have set a goal to knock on thousands of doors in the constituency, amid predictions turnout on polling day could be crucial to the final result.

Labour, which has been the main political force in the Glasgow North East area for 74 years, is defending a majority of some 10,000 votes from the 2005 General Election.

The party said the poll would be a "referendum on the treatment of Glasgow" by the SNP.
It said the Scottish government's budget for the coming year would see a cut in the city's housing budget, a low increase in the area's health board and a failure to build new schools in Glasgow.

Scottish Labour leader Iain Gray, who was joined by candidate Willie Bain and actor Eddie Izzard on the campaign trail, said: "It is increasingly clear that the poll is now a referendum on the treatment of Glasgow. This issue has dominated the campaign because Glaswegians care passionately about the city."

Meanwhile, SNP candidate David Kerr insisted that, after 74 years of Labour taking the area for granted, it was time for change.

"Voters have seen the success of the last two years of SNP Government, and it's time to bring some of that success to Glasgow and to Westminster," said Mr Kerr.

He added: "Labour's campaign has been built on smears and scaremongering. They have nothing positive to say about their own record or ideas for this area."

The Liberal Democrats argue their policy of tax reforms is chiming with the voters who want action on the economy, while the Conservatives are hoping for a strong showing to boost their hopes of a UK election victory.

Tory candidate Ruth Davidson said: "The voters know that they face a stark choice - more of this tired and failing Labour government or hope and change from David Cameron's Conservatives. We want to get Glasgow working again."

Eileen Baxendale, the Liberal Democrat candidate, visited a car wash and valeting company in the constituency on the final day of polling.

Joined by Scottish party leader Tavish Scott, she said: "This is another example of a great, local, small business facing tough times as a direct result of Labour's recession - if people in Glasgow North East want to wash away years of neglect from the Labour party then they should vote for the Liberal Democrats."

The forgotten by-election

With the combined excitement of Bonfire Night and a sweeping change in American politics, we seem to have forgotten the probable done deal by-election in Scotland - Voters are going to the polls in Glenrothes to choose a new MP.

Labour is defending a majority of 10,664 in the Fife constituency which was made vacant by the death of John MacDougall in August.

The polls opened at 0700 GMT and will close at 2200 GMT. The result should be known by the early hours of Friday.

The turnout at the last election in 2005 was 56.1%. The seat borders Prime Minister Gordon Brown's Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath constituency.

Candidates:

• Morag Balfour, Scottish Socialists
• Maurice Golden, Conservative
• Peter Grant, SNP
• Lindsay Roy, Labour
• Kris Seunarine, UKIP
• Harry Wills, Liberal Democrats
• Louise McLeary, Solidarity
• Jim Parker, Scottish Senior Citizens Unity Party

Update (10:04 November, 7 2008):

Labour has won the Glenrothes by-election, comfortably holding off a challenge from the SNP. Lindsay Roy was elected the new MP with a majority of 6,737 over the SNP's Peter Grant, although the Nationalists increased their vote by almost 4,500.

"This is a substantial setback for Alex Salmond", Brian Taylor BBC Scotland political editor

Senedd Circular w/b 25 May 2008: Them dry bones

This article appears in The Wardman Wire:

Putting up with the stench of a dead Labour carcass, can never be described as 'robust and fun', unlike the party politics of an unhealthy party political election battle. But to lose one Labour seat in 12 months may be regarded as a misfortune, to lose two looks like damn right carelessness [thanks Oscar]. Let this Labour candidate put it all down to experience, and perhaps there will be a third time lucky - if there's a constituency that's willing to pull a well-worn application form, out from a rather tired looking red bin.

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This week, Miss Wagstaff has been climbing down from a high octane family weekend, only to pick at the odd bits of Welsh news before raking over the bones of the Labour electoral turmoil of weeks past... it seems that it will take a while before we get over recent events – London fell; Councils fell; then it was the turn of Crewe and Nantwich. It's no wonder that God invented recess!

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Attacking opponents from the last century

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In times of trouble – yes, right now - Rhodri Morgan, Wales' Labour First Minister, specialises in rummaging around in the Conservative party's distant past in order to score points, just as you or I might place our rubber-gloved-hands into the toilet pan in order to give it a good scrub with a well-used scouring pad and disinfectant, that have been sitting in the cupboard for more time than we care to remember, and now used as a desperate measure. He doesn't just do it for the press either, and can be heard to chant his anti-Conservative [Tory, of course] mantra in the Senedd too. What's always been interesting here is that Morgan rarely comments on current Conservative policy and where they are as a party at the moment. It's also not what he says that's at fault, but what he doesn't say. This makes him shockingly old-school, and predictably average.

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Put aside UK Labour politics for a moment as the problem has also spread to Welsh Labour politics. Welsh Labour needs a new leader and has found itself having to wait for a countdown not dissimilar to that of a Eurovision Song Contest, whereby the end result may be expected to a certain degree, but not wanted as a whole. The majority of us will have to wait for BBC Wales' own 'Terry Wogan' to remind us that the contest has started, and for us to take our seats.

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Glad confident mourning

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On the other side of the fence, David Cameron may be a UK party leader, but his pronouncement last week that Labour's recent performance showed the "death of New Labour" left many wondering whether to start mourning; its tremor was certainly felt in Wales, particularly in the North and South, where current Labour MPs must be putting mathematical skills to good use, before wondering whether to hit the panic button.

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Morgan's advice in the meantime is for Labour to hold firm, and not to split and turn in on itself. Miss Wagstaff suggests holding onto your hats, as a storm is brewing. Others may suggest holding on to something else, but I fear that would be too late to prevent excruciating pain.

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And finally…

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As a final thought, the words of Douglas Adams spring to mind... Don't panic!

Toffs v the WC: There is no working class!

Following on from my earlier post on the Crewe and Nantwich By-election....

After a despicable and very dirty campaign by Labour, I'm so glad they didn't win. Stick to policies, not personalities and gutter snipe politics, and please let this issue of class die a death at election time.

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The Conservatives have achieved their first by-election gain in 26 years, taking Crewe and Nantwich from Labour.

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Tory candidate Edward Timpson won 7,860 more votes than his Labour rival, overturning a 7,000 Labour majority at the general election - a 17.6% swing.

A different Dunwoody: AM to PPC

Working class, ready for a class war, and proud.

Clearly some have been watching a very different Dunwoody to me. The only Dunwoody I've seen, is a desperate to win at-any-cost, brittle, playing on stereotypes, unimpressive, spinning, own-career wrecking, cold, and quite possibly misguided by someone/something greater than herself.

Even if you overlook the convenient name change from 'Moyra Tamsin Dunwoody-Kneafsey' to 'Tamsin Dunwoody' and her recent pretentious behaviour, this woman is certainly not her mother's daughter - one chip off the old block does not make a block.

Certain qualities have a habit of skipping a generation, and people get found out when they try to re-write their history.