 | 'Scotland's political parties were put on an election footing last night with officials told to start the process of selecting candidates for the Glasgow North East by-election. Glasgow city councillor Grant Thoms was being named as the likely SNP challenger in the seat that will be made vacant by Speaker Michael Martin in the next month.' Scotsman, 21 st May 2009. |  |
SCOTLAND'S political parties were put on an election footing last night with officials told to start the process of selecting candidates for the Glasgow North East by-election.
Glasgow city councillor Grant Thoms was being named as the likely SNP challenger in the seat that will be made vacant by Speaker Michael Martin in the next month.
Some in the SNP are now preparing for a snap general election in October, making the calculation that a by-election defeat would make Labour's position even worse for a general election, which would have to be called in a matter of months anyway.
Labour sources suggested that Willie Bain, another councillor, might emerge as the Labour candidate in what is expected to be a ferociously fought contest later this year.
However, both main parties stressed that no-one had been selected yet.
The Lib Dems will be holding a meeting to discuss the selection next week. The Tories have refused to say if they are considering putting up Davena Rankin, the single mother and trade unionist who fought an impressive campaign for them in Glasgow East less than a year ago.
But all parties have said that they are now expecting a glut of independents and "clean-up Westminster" candidates, possibly including celebrities such as Esther Rantzen.
One other candidate could be John Swinburne, the former MSP for the Scottish Senior Citizens Unity Party. He said last night that SSCUP could not finance a candidate in the by-election but he was willing to stand if approached by any anti-sleaze campaigners.
Earlier this week Mr Martin announced his intention to resign on 21 June. He confirmed last night that he would also step down as an MP in June.
In a statement, his spokeswoman said: "The Speaker categorically states that he is relinquishing the office of Speaker on Sunday 21 June. On the same day he will apply for the Chiltern Hundreds, which means that his seat will be vacated."
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