 | 'Whether it's a case of him being influenced by the last person who sat on him, or it may be more Blairite than that and he looks at the headlines and says, 'they say we should do X'.' Cllr Charles Gordon, curently Labour candidate for Glasgow Cathcart on First Minister Jack McConnell. |  |
Former Glasgow council leader Pat Lally played the joker when he launched his campaign for the Glasgow Cathcart by-election.
Speaking at an Edinburgh hotel, Mr Lally, 79, delivered a succession of withering one-liners when he spelled out his reasons for standing in the by-election triggered by the resignation of Labour peer Lord Watson.
And for good measure, his supporters played a CD of a campaign song: "We're on the road with Lally's army, we're going to change the Scottish scene."
But Mr Lally and MSPs supporting his election bid - independents Margo MacDonald, John Swinburne and Dr Jean Turner - refused to sing it.
"The main reason is that although we are united and singing from the same song-sheet, we are not able to sing in tune," said Mr Lally.
Mr Lally denied he was too old to run, saying, "I will not stand for any more than three or four Parliaments. At some stage I would like to spend more time with my family.
"But I would say that if I became First Minister, I would hang on a little longer."
He also criticised SNP candidate Maire Whitehead's stance on the planned removal of accident and emergency functions from Glasgow's Victoria Infirmary.
"She has always been a supporter of ACAD (a clinic-style operation to be built at the hospital). She has never been quite so vociferous against the decision to take away accident and emergency and acute beds from that site," he said.
And he delivered some scathing words about Labour candidate Charlie Gordon's record as Glasgow council leader. "My concern is not with the former leader of Glasgow City Council," he said. "They chose to ditch him from that position. I resigned from that position when I took up the office of Lord Provost after serving eight years as leader of the council. I will let the New Labour candidate speak for himself."
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