 | 'After Mr Canavan was rejected, the Falkirk West constituency Labour party wrote to Mr Dewar expressing its "dismay and anger" at the decision. Its executive resigned.' Alison Hardie in the Scotsman, 16 th February 1999. |  |
| 'After Mr Canavan was rejected, the Falkirk West constituency Labour party wrote to Mr Dewar expressing its "dismay and anger" at the decision. Its executive resigned.' Alison Hardie in the Scotsman, 16 th February 1999. | |
The Northern Ireland Secretary, in Falkirk yesterday to back the party's official candidate, said: "I've no idea what his plans are." She added: "One thing I learned in Northern Ireland is if I believe everything people say, I'd spend my time following up stories that weren't always true."
Mr Canavan was excluded from Labour's approved candidates list by the party's controversial selection committee.
The veteran left-winger outraged the Labour leadership by announcing last year that he would stand in Falkirk West as an independent against Ross Martin, the official candidate.
Mr Canavan said yesterday: "I think Mo's comments show she was either very badly briefed before her visit or she realised she was being used."
The MP said he had successfully enlisted the support of almost 70 local constituency Labour activists to run his election campaign machine. They face expulsion from the party if they publicly declare their support for Mr Canavan.
Mr Canavan also questioned Labour's motives in bringing a senior Cabinet member to Falkirk to campaign for votes on 6 May. He held his Falkirk West seat at the 1997 general election with a majority of more than 13,000.
Labour has established a campaign office in Falkirk and has employed a campaign manager to oversee the push to have Mr Martin and Cathy Peattie elected in Falkirk West and East.
Mr Canavan said: "I think the people of Falkirk West will see through all of this and show their votes cannot be bought."
During two hours of electioneering on the streets in Falkirk, Ms Mowlam and the Scottish Secretary Donald Dewar refused to be drawn on the issue of campaigning against Mr Canavan.
However, Mr Dewar defended the decision not to inform Mr Canavan of the Ulster Secretary's visit to his constituency - a courtesy normally afforded to MPs. He said: "I think this would not have been a particularly appropriate function for him to be at given, everything concerned."
Mr Dewar, who told a Labour fundraising dinner in Glasgow last month that Mr Canavan had not been selected because he "wasn't good enough", added: "I very much hope Dennis will not take himself out of the party."
His remarks were interpreted by Mr Canavan's supporters as a veiled threat to the MP not to contest the Holyrood poll. One said last night: "This shows they're rattled and worried about their man losing to Dennis."
Mr Canavan yesterday underlined his determination to stay in the Labour Party despite its rejection of him. He also revealed he had confronted Mr Dewar after his made his remarks in Glasgow to demand an apology, but the Scottish Secretary declined.
Mr Canavan said: "For years the Labour Party virtually ignored Falkirk West because they considered it a safe Labour seat. Because of their crass mis-handling of the selection process they are now treating it as a marginal seat.
"I think we will see between now and May a whole series of Cabinet ministers being drafted in to try and defeat me."
Mr Canavan said he would not have taken the decision to stand if he believed he would split the Labour vote, allowing the SNP to snatch victory.
He added: "I am very disappointed at the attitude of the party HQs in Glasgow and London because the local constituency party has been warning them for months about the problems they were creating with the mis-handling of the whole selection business."
After Mr Canavan was rejected, the Falkirk West constituency Labour party wrote to Mr Dewar expressing its "dismay and anger" at the decision. Its executive resigned.
Mr Dewar said last night: "There was a system put in place by Labour which every candidate, including myself, had to go through before selection.
"Now we have got a campaign to fight in Falkirk and throughout Scotland and that is what we are going to get on with. Although, I must say, I did not want to get into a contest like this in Falkirk."
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