The Glasgow North East By-election 2009

'Labour lost the previously safe seat of Glasgow East to the SNP last July, overturning Labour's majority of more than 13,000.' Michael Savage, Political Correspondent in the Independent, 22 nd May 2009.

London Labour splits with Scotland over date of Glasgow North-East by-election

By Angus Macleod, Scottish Political Editor in the Times 22 nd May 2009

Labour is split over the date of the Glasgow North-East by-election, with the party's London hierarchy saying that it could be held as early as July while the Scottish branch wants it postponed until September.

The rift follows the decision by Michael Martin, the seat's serving MP, to resign as Commons Speaker and leave Parliament.

Mr Martin will apply for the Chiltern Hundreds on June 21, leaving Labour just three months to hold a by-election.

Although Mr Martin has a 10,100 majority, Labour will find it hard to hold on to the seat in the wake of the scandal over MPs' expenses and in light of the Government's unpopularity in opinion polls.

A source said that the party hierarchy in London wanted to hold the by-election in July because "since we are going to take a hit, it's just as well to get the hit out of the way". However, a defeat in September, just before the party's last national conference before the General Election, would serve only to focus the media on the Prime Minister's future.

"There is absolutely no gain in waiting", said one national official. "Labour gains nothing from waiting until September except the appearance of running away from the by-election."

Party officials in Scotland want to postpone the date, saying that the decision to hold a by-election last July in the neighbouring seat of Glasgow East contributed to the party's defeat at the hands of the SNP.

A key figure in Labour in Glasgow told The Times said: "Surely we learned our lesson last year. You don't hold a by-election in the middle of the school holidays when people in Glasgow are more concerned about getting away for a break."

He said that the case for delaying the Glasgow North-East poll was strengthened by the example of Glenrothes last November when Labour delayed the poll for two and half months and ended up scoring a surprise victory over the SNP.

The emerging favourite to be the Labour candidate is Willie Bain, a local Labour activist and a law lecturer. However, there are doubts that he could cope with the heat of such a high-profile contest where Labour would be on the defensive.

The by-election is certain to attract a host of independent candidates, some of whom will be fighting on an anti-sleaze ticket.

One, John Swinburne, of the Scottish Senior Citizens Unity Party, said yesterday that he would be holding talks with Sir Paul Judge, a former director-general of the Conservative Party, who has established Jury Team, an umbrella group of independents running on an anti-sleaze ticket. The aim of the talks, he said, would be to forge links between his party and Jury Team and find a common platform for Glasgow North-East.

Mr Swinburne said: "I will be making my pitch to voters in Glasgow North-East on the grounds that pensioners living on their own and have to go into care homes, then have to sell their homes to pay for their residential care while at the same time politicians have been Ôflipping' their houses to make extra money out of the taxpayer."

Mr Swinburne, who won a seat for his party in the Scottish Parliament in 2003 but lost it in 2007, said that if he was elected in Glasgow North-East, he would serve only until the general election.

"I want to make a point," he said. "I think a lot of people in that constituency will agree with my point of view because they are angry and disgusted at all the sleaze at Westminster. I am a protest candidate pure and simple."

The other mainstream political parties in Scotland would not have objected if Mr Martin had wanted to remain as an MP until the General Election. Part of the reason is their fear that a raft of anti-sleaze candidates at the by-election would equally hurt their chances.