General Election 2010: Scottish Labour hails divided Britain

Published on Friday 7 May 2010 23:14

AS SWATHES of southern England turned Tory blue on Thursday, the electoral map in Scotland remained resolutely red, with Scots sticking to the habits of a lifetime and returning Labour MPs in their droves.

• Scottish Secretary Jim Murphy and Scottish Labour leader Iain Gray in Glasgow yesterday. Picture: Robert Perry

In a result that party election co-ordinator Douglas Alexander described as "spectacular", Scottish Labour bucked the trend set by its UK big sister, polling more than one million votes and winning 41 out of the 59 Scottish constituencies.

In Scotland, Labour saw a 2.5 per cent increase in its share of the vote compared with a drop of 6.2 per cent in the UK as a whole and 7.4 per cent in England. South of the Border, the swing away from Labour to the Conservatives was 5.6 per cent, a feat the Tories simply could not repeat in Scotland, where the electorate swung by a small margin from the SNP to Labour.

In addition, despite running a campaign that last week 38 per cent of all Scots considered the worst, Labour comfortably saw off challenges in all of its key battleground seats, including an emphatic defeat of the Tories by Scottish Secretary Jim Murphy in East Renfrewshire.

Yesterday, Mr Murphy claimed the improved result was a result of a change in Labour campaign tactics, with party strategists refocusing their efforts on old-fashioned door-to-door campaigning and the use of new media, following the embarrassing defeat in the Glasgow East by-election. He said the party had lost its "arrogance" that had seen it take voters for granted in certain areas of the country.

Meanwhile, former defence secretary Geoff Hoon said the regional variations in the Labour support showed "real democracy in action". But analysts and politicians said the solid support for Labour in Scotland, election after election, was carefully cultivated by a party able to draw on the past experiences of Scots living under Conservative governments.

Professor Michael Keating of Aberdeen University said the stark difference between Scotland's results and those of England was not caused by a change in Scotland's habits, but a shift by the English electorate.

"(The Scottish results] reflect a long-term trend," he said. "The Conservatives have been declining in Scotland from Thatcher onwards and David Cameron's new brand of Conservatism just doesn't seem to have caught on in Scotland – it seems to be very much an English product."

Prof Keating said the Labour vote had increased this time around because the party had successfully positioned itself as the party to protect Scotland against the likely return of a UK Conservative government, whose message was unappealing to Scottish voters.

"It's not Cameron himself, but what he represents – very much a southern English type of Conservatism," said Prof Keating. "The Conservative Party is appealing to a particular kind of English voter – those in the south. That is where the votes are to make them the biggest party. They have trouble appealing to voters in many parts of the country – not just Scotland."

David Torrance, author of We in Scotland, a book about Margaret Thatcher's relationship with the Scots, said it was Labour's ability to perpetuate this angst about a Conservative government that saw its vote share increase.

"It is an uncomfortable reality for the Tories in Scotland that the popular conception of the Conservatives remains that they are anti-Scottish and inclined to cut spending," he said.

"What the vote demonstrated was that Labour are still capable of motivating their core vote into voting with that in mind. Just the very prospect of a Conservative government is enough to get them turning out in droves."

He added: "What Thursday night demonstrated was that the instinct of people in Scotland is to go to Labour when things are a bit uncertain, or there is the prospect of a UK Conservative government."

That interpretation was grasped by opposition politicians yesterday, who bemoaned Labour's tactics to get their core vote out in the election campaign.

"The Labour campaign of smears and scaremongering raised concerns in Scotland about an incoming Conservative government," said Tory chief whip David McLetchie.

"You have to say that their campaign worked in that respect."

The Lib Dems' Alistair Carmichael agreed that the result showed a hardening of the Labour vote.

"Bluntly it has to be said the Labour tactics of scaring people in Scotland … seem to have worked," he said.

• Scottish results by constituency

General Election 2010: More news and analysis

• Tories offer a deal to Lib Dems

• If you are selling your soul, do it properly

• Conservatives blame Labour scare tactics – and Annabel Goldie

• Nationalists chide 'chippy, nippy' strategy

• Why did they rain on our parade, Lib Dems ask

• 'Victorian' voting system to be overhauled

• No Portillo Moment but big names ditched

• Legal challenges predicted amid reports of polling station chaos

• Axe could fall first on Osborne with Clarke tipped as Chancellor

• Nail-biting victory in capital typifies Labour's hold over Scotland

Analysis

• John McTernan: A race for power that left every runner gasping

• Eddie Barnes: Chances of victory thrown away

• Bill Jamieson: Scots No 1 conservatives (small c) in Britain

• John Curtice: Mould of the two-party system isn't broken yet, but a very large crack has appeared

• Gerry Hassan: Scotland is a different political beast with the Holyrood elections looming

• Brian Monteith: Tories must 'die' to rebuild

• Joyce McMillan: Forget the Doomsday scenario, here's the Caledonian Paradox

Economy

• Call for swift action on debt mountain as pound suffers

• Bank chief Stephen Hester seeks 'strong stewardship' of economy after election

• Borrowers and investors will pay for further unsettling delay

• Result no shock for mortgage lenders

In brief

• Pamela Nash, 25, becomes the Baby of the House

• BBC's election triumph as 17m viewers tune in

• Green makes history as party's first MP

• Blur drummer fails to be elected - again

• Tory Speaker's wife fails in bid to win seat for Labour

• Bitten but not bitter MP celebrates

• Cameron odds-on to be PM by June

• 14-year-old voter prompts inquiry

• Man arrested over ballot paper protest