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Glasgow East by-election: Swing would leave Labour with One Scots MP



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Published Date: 25 July 2008
By DAVID GUNN
LABOUR would only have one Westminster MP from Scotland if the Glasgow East swing was repeated across Scotland at a general election.
In a Press Association calculation, the SNP would have at least 49, Liberal Democrats seven and the Tories one.

A calculation cannot be made for Speaker Michael Martin's Glasgow North East seat as he was not standing as a party candidate last time.

Labour won 40 of Scotland's Commons seats at the 2005 general election but lost Dunfermline and Fife West to Liberal Democrats in a 2006 by-election.

The 22.53% Glasgow East swing, if repeated at the next election, would slice away the seats of Prime Minister Gordon Brown, Chancellor Alistair Darling, Defence and Scottish Secretary Des Browne and International Development Secretary Douglas Alexander.

Labour's sole surviving constituency would be Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill, currently represented by former minister Tom Clarke.



The full article contains 157 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
Page 1 of 1

 
1

ruthie,

ALBA 25/07/2008 07:46:35
SNP WIN!! SNP WIN!!!!in LIEbour's 3rd safest seat here and despite the best efforts of LIEbour and the scottish media!
Delighted!Well done to John Mason, the SNP and the people of Glasgow east!
2

Guga II,

Rockall 25/07/2008 08:05:08
Hopefully the New Labour Sleaze and Corruption Party (North british Branch) are heading for oblivion.
3

Hugo of Garven,

25/07/2008 08:11:25
Congratulations to John Mason and the many supporters who helped him.
4

A Better Way,

Scottish Republic 25/07/2008 08:14:48
Of course the Hootsman is hoping to promote their London Controlled Tory Party Pals here in Scotland. Well the good news is that even though the Tories came in third, their share of the Glasgow East Vote was down on the last election. So Annabel and her muppets are going backwards.

The Time is here and now for the Scottish People to back the only Scottish Party run in their Scottish Headquarters who dont tip their hats to anyone except the Scottish Nation. Vote for yer ane kind, Vote SNP and we can get on with the job of fixing up our country after 300 years of neglect.
5

A Better Way,

Scottish Republic 25/07/2008 08:22:15
By the way, didnt Nicol Stephen and Tavish Scott do well for the SNP. After Nicols halfwit stance towards the SNP, they couldnt even get enough votes to get their deposit back.

Its Time for those that believe in Scotland first everytime to come on board the train to freedom. Its Time to stop voting for foreign controlled Political Parties and to back your own Nations People to do the right thing for their ane kind.

NO More London Controlled Political Parties here in our Nation. The games up the pole for that lot. Vote the SCOTTISH WAY, Vote SNP.
6

Mikey,

25/07/2008 09:17:46
#5, you've actually hit the nail on the head! People are now seeing that the London controlled parties don't give a stuff for Scotland!

Time to send the London lackeys homewards to think again!
7

Ubi,

Edinburgh 25/07/2008 09:19:10
It's a historic victory undeniably and it may be portentous of things to come. But it would be naive to expect the result to be nationally replicated in a general election.

It may signal that slowly but surely Scotland is emerging from the paralysing despair which Labour has used as its principal command and control instrument for the best part of a century.

If it indicates that Scotland senses opportunity lies in its own hands then progress is being made.
8

The Former Mr. Angry,

Perth 25/07/2008 09:37:28
#7

Off with the shackles. I think it does indicate quite clearly that if Labour can lose in its heartland that it is also doomed in the rest of Scotland and the UK. If anything Brown is hated even worse in England - just look at the blogs in the Daily Mail, Telegraph, Times etc.

The scattergun and browbeating approach by Curran was a truly disgraceful performance and left John Mason looking like a model of decency and respect for his constituents. Curran and her ilk are more interested in the way the Labour party is served and this emerged on several occasions.

Brown' Soviet-style empire is now drawing to a close.
9

jacquesmac,

25/07/2008 09:48:04
ATTENTION, ATTENTION, ATTENTION, ATTENTION, ATTENTION



AN ENGLISH MESSAGE WILL FOLLOW, AN ENGLISH MESSAGE WILL FOLLOW, AN ENGLISH MESSAGE WILL FOLLOW



"Vi er best i verden! Vi er best i verden! Vi har slått England 2-1 i fotball!! Det er aldeles utrolig! Vi har slått England! England, kjempers fødeland. Lord Nelson, Lord Beaverbrook, Sir Winston Churchill, Sir Anthony Eden, Clement Attlee, Henry Cooper, Lady DianaScottish 'N British, Free by '93, Highland Mighty, Monkey man, Kimba (very smelly foul mothed mong, do not approach!), The Master, Publius,The Tin Man, Truly English, The Maltese Tranny, Janis the tranny, AM2, Ciderman (brain dead garbage.) Side show bob, Phil1, The Answer, Nikostratos, Media1 (Village Idiot.) Gordon The Chairman. Dennis from Northern Isles. Frank MD, Elizabeth the Ist. Rufus T. Firefly, Fairfax, sm753, British Pride, Boudica, LEGSA KIMBA,Langtonian, PbS,Grahmski, L for L, Galactic, annabal, Baffled, Graham and GrRBNR,--vi har slått dem aham alle sammen.

Vi har slått dem alle sammen.

Maggie Thatcher can you hear me?

"Maggie Thatcher, jeg har et budskap til deg midt under valgkampen. Jeg har et budskap til deg: Vi har slått England ut avVerdensmesterskapet.

Maggie Thatcher, som de sier på ditt språk i boksebarene rundt Madison Square Garden i New York: Your boys took a hell of a beating! Your boys took a hell of a beating!"






"We are the best in the world! We are best in the world! We have beaten England!!

It is completely unbelievable! We have beaten England!

England, birthplace of giants. Lord Nelson, Lord Beaverbrook, Sir Winston Churchill, Sir Anthony Eden, Clement Attlee, Henry Cooper, Lady Diana, Scottish 'N British, Free by '93, Highland Mighty, Monkey man, Kimba (very smelly foul mothed mong, do not approach!), The Master, Publius,The Tin Man, Truly English, The Maltese Tranny, Janis the tranny, AM2, Ciderman (brain dead garbage.) Side show bob, Phil1, The Answer, Nikostratos, Media1 (
10

Calum Crubag,

Dùn Eideann 25/07/2008 10:03:31
One Labour left, one Tory. How appropriate.
11

I Give Up,

Bathgate 25/07/2008 10:06:29
Scottish Labour has no one to blame for this disaster other than itself. Scottish Labour allowed it’s self to be totally in thrall to the control freaks and policy wonks of English New Labour. Labour may have delivered devolution. But the selection process for their MSPs’ has left them with a Holyrood contingent of mediocrities ever fearful of the wrath of London Labour. Scottish Labour needs to return to the values of the Atlee Government that gave this nation the National Health Service and ended generations of poor housing for the working class. Scottish Labour needs to loosen the restraints of ‘New Labour’ if it wants to regain the respect & votes of the Scottish people.
12

donald anderson it's me,

weegieland 25/07/2008 10:18:11
Nah.They won't even win one.
13

geekpie,

forfar 25/07/2008 10:29:28
Alex Salmand frequently referred to the price of petrol in the campaign which was both populist, irresponsible and below the belt.

He knows as well as the next man that, as the RAC Foundation pointed out last month, the cost of motoring has fallen by 18% in real terms over the past 20 years, which is why there are far too many cars and far too many people organising their lives around excessive car mileage.

Irresponsible from the SNP.
14

An Independent Scottish Voice.,

25/07/2008 10:41:06
RS Gardener 1707
Tyrone Shoulders 2nd version
Dane Bramage SNP Insider,
Scottish 'N British
Free by '93,
Highland Mighty
Monkey man
kimba (very smelly foul mothed mong, do not approach no brain just a huge gob.)
(vacancy)
Publius
The Tin Man
Truly English
The Maltese Tranny
Janis the tranny
AM2
Ciderman (brain dead garbage.)
Side show bob
Phil1
The Answer
Nikostratos. (Frontal lobotomy.)
Media1 (Village Idiot.)
Gordon The Chairman.
Dennis from Northern Isles.
Frank MD
Elizabeth the Ist.
Rufus T. Firefly
fairfax
sm753
British Pride
Boudica
Langtonian,
The Master. (Windae licker.)
Grahmski,
L for L,
Galactic
Cannabal
RBNR.

Goodbye unionists hello freedom. But a hearty vote of thanks for your utter madness that drove voters to the SNP, I am so so happy. Curran and Labour deserves the wilderness that has opened up in front of them.

Well done John Mason and the team you are worthy winners, Scotland and the East End of Glasgow are the biggest winners. A resounding endorsement of SNP policies.

BRING IT ON.

SAOR ALBA GU BRATH.
15

gus1940,

Edinburgh 25/07/2008 10:50:39
Is manipulation of the bookies' odds an allowable election expense?
16

gus1940,

Edinburgh 25/07/2008 10:51:53
Silence is golden.

Not a cheep from AM2 and his pals.

If only that situation was permanent.
17

steve52,

Kinfauns 25/07/2008 11:00:34
I did not think the SNP would win this one. I believed that the Labour Lemmings would win the day. I apologise to the good folks of Glasgow east, they have finally woken up to Labour sleeze and the way in which they have been taken for granted all these years.

Now lets get the former MP nailed for his expenses claims and those corrupt councillors also.

AM2 is off to join the BNP.
18

,

25/07/2008 11:03:02
Comment Removed By Administrator
Reason:
19

Rev. S. Campbell,

Bath 25/07/2008 11:10:47
#13 Your much-repeated comments are silly. For one thing, what happened 20 years ago is of no relevance to people today who need to get to work. Secondly, the price of petrol damages public transport as well as private - it's only a few days since we read of bus services being cancelled because the price of fuel made them unprofitable. We need to spend money on public transport infrastructure if we want to get cars off the roads, rather than wasting it on illegal wars and aircraft carriers and nuclear submarines. And the way to do that is to free ourselves from the dead weight of the Union, with its delusions of Empire and "punching above our weight on the world stage". I don't give a sh*t for Blair and Brown's egos. We need someone who will lead us into a cleaner age of energy, and Alex Salmond is proving himself to be that man.
20

Rabbies Wee Bruthir,

25/07/2008 11:19:02
9 jacquesmac,25/07/2008 09:48:04

Calm doon man/wumin it's naw the first time we've beat the Inglish we beat them in 1967 oan their ain turf, at Wembley, their furst geme efter they wun ra wurld cup an wir wurld champeens, an wee beat thum threy goals tae twa, wie Dandy Jim Baxter playin keepy uppy wie ra ba' an Bremner sitin oan it an sayin tae the Inglish, it's ower here whits keepin ya aw ?

Scotland .....The 'Real World' Champions :-))
21

snecked,

Argyll 25/07/2008 11:53:06
Margaret Curran is getting an undeserved hard time here. She was generous in defeat. She fought a good fight. Any other Labour candidate would have been obliterated.
I'd rather she (and Cathy Jamieson) were on our side. We must never forget our task is to convert our enemies, not harden their resistance to us.
A more pressing concern is the Scotsman. Will it start to play fair and allow me to start buying it again.
22

Sanny,

25/07/2008 12:04:09
11 I Give Up
“Labour may have delivered devolution.”

This is a common misconception, Labour were forced into agreeing some form of Self-Government by The Council of Europe. Check out The Realm of Scotland website for the details.

23

Dr. James Wilkie,

Vienna 25/07/2008 12:18:03
#22. Sanny. The exact reference is the Story of Scotland-UN at www.realmofscotland.com

Have a look too at its Defence and Independence sections.


24

JayDeeTee,

25/07/2008 12:41:40
#21. Eh.....your Party WAS obliterated pal. Your party had over a 13,000 majority in the last and not too distant election. To lose this and more is complete oblivion. Complete and utter, actually.
25

JayDeeTee,

25/07/2008 12:42:52
#24. Complete obliteration I mean
26

The Federalist (the poster formerly know as NAUON),

25/07/2008 13:16:40
#22 & #23 That is just a technical reason. At the time the policy to introduce devolution was made the Labour Party in Scotland had a sizeable nationalist wing - that combined with the rise of the SNP made the Labour Party introduce the policy - the policy was supported by those who genuinely believed in decentralising power and those who, for tactical reasons, thought it would puncture the nationalist dragon. It had very little to do with dictats from the Council of Europe - it would have happened even without their intervention.
27

Col. Blimp­IV*,

25/07/2008 13:48:29
I don't know why, but I genuinely thought that Tom Clarke was dead.

I will probably have nightmares now, remembering the time he suckered me into shaking his hand.

Cold...clammy...Urghh!...it felt like I was shaking hands with a corpse...and that was 25yrs ago.
28

,

25/07/2008 14:24:00
Comment Removed By Administrator
Reason:
29

A Clamper,

Edinburgh 25/07/2008 14:34:20
Margaret Curran to replace Bendy Wendy. Go on, take up the poisoned chalice.
30

Gregor Addison,

Münster 25/07/2008 14:37:15
They might still take some succour from the fact that the Tories might get none in Scotland.
31

Jock Politicaljunkie,

Glasgow 25/07/2008 15:37:53


Mr Gunn, much though I would like to see Labour reduced to just the one seat at the next general election - it wont quite happen that way. Direct extrapolations do not work.

What will certainly happen though, is that with the smashing of this westminster Glass Ceiling, the poll lead that the SNP currently have over labour in westminster voting intentions will now hold and will lengthen as has their Holyrood lead. Up until this Glasgow East turning point, any good SNP showing in westminster polls have been peaks only.

What is deliciously ironic is that Labour will be hurt HARDER at the next Westminster General Election than they would at Holyrood due to their love of First Past The Post!! Arf!


32

MacGillicuddy,

25/07/2008 16:43:28
" Swing would leave Labour with One Scots MP "

And for many of us that would still be ONE too many.
33

vitesse_skye,

skye 25/07/2008 18:33:32
guess tommy sheridan will be happy with such a large swingin his community
34

Fairfax,

25/07/2008 23:32:30
An Independent Scottish Voice (14): "Goodbye unionists hello freedom."

Why am I on your list of unionists? I'm delighted that the SNP have won this seat and hope the swing will be maintained. Scotland's long-awaited rejection of Labour is a magnificent gift to England.
35

Traquir , Alba,

26/07/2008 03:30:26
One Labour MP that would be a sight to behold -
although I agree with a previous poster
that even one would be one to many.
Still just the possibility puts a smile on my face :)

Talking about putting a smile on your face after all
the hard work of team Cybernat we need a bit of light
relief :

After losing one of Labour's safest seats
David Cairns tries to make it up to Gordy

see - tinyurl.com/6aavhx

Maggie Curran runs off to Malawi with Jack

see - tinyurl.com/5l8sln


Gordy and Maggie, but which is which.

see - tinyurl.com/5utlxl

And of course some golden oldies

Jackie tries to give Wendy a leg up

see - tinyurl.com/647tm6

Wendy and the whole gang dance to Alex's jig

see - tinyurl.com/6xqcff

Slainte Mhor

 

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