Sir Alex teams up with Labour

Published on Saturday 7 November 2009 19:03

LABOUR is to issue a personal message from Sir Alex Ferguson to 40,000 homes in Glasgow this week in which the Manchester United boss offers his backing to their campaign.

Govan-born Ferguson claims a Labour candidate is required to "stop the city being ripped off" by the SNP government, as the party attempts to drive home its attack against the Nationalist administration.

But the SNP has insisted it is closing the gap on Labour, and in touching distance to take the seat away from Labour for the first time in 74 years.

The by-election will be held on Thursday, with Labour candidate Willie Bain still the clear favourite to be elected as a replacement for the former Speaker Michael Martin, who resigned in the summer following the expenses scandal.

Ferguson said he was supporting Bain as a local candidate. "Glasgow is my home city and every time I come back, I see the changes for the better since 1997. Glasgow doesn't always get its fair share, so I know the value of having someone able to stop the city being ripped off."

Senior Labour party sources say they fear the BNP could come third in the race, because support for the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats appears to be flat-lining.

The BNP said yesterday it believed it could keep its deposit – by recording 5 per cent of the vote – for the first time in a Scottish Westminster poll.