 | 'No government is going to say in advance of a committee of inquiry what they might do.' Minister for Enterprise & Lifelong Learning, Henry McLeish, 29 th June 1999.
'If there is a resounding recommendation that tuition fees are wrong, then no sensible Government is going to reject that.' |  |
The Hamilton South MP and UK defence secretary must now relinquish his long-held constituency seat in order to take up the new post.
And nationalists say the move will give them a chance to stage another sensational comeback in the constituency.
In 1967, Winnie Ewing swept to an historic victory in what was then the Hamilton constituency, rejuvenating the nationalist movement.
Before a date for the Hamilton South by-election has even been announced the SNP is promising Labour another tough fight for the seat, which he has held since 1978.
Mr Robertson's elevation to Nato will also trigger a Westminster Cabinet reshuffle and attention is already turning to Mr Robertson's successor.
Scottish Secretary Dr John Reid is thought to be the most obvious candidate, having previous experience of the Ministry of Defence.
If Dr Reid goes, he could be replaced at the Scottish Office by Brian Wilson, who according to his critics, would keep a tight rein on the Scottish Parliament.
Sizeable majority
The SNP, if it is to repeat Winnie Ewing's historic victory, will need to overhaul Mr Robertson's sizeable 16,000 majority.
"The SNP approach the Hamilton South by-election with optimism, and will fight to win," said a party spokesman.
"It will clearly be a two-horse race between the SNP and Labour - with this week's Glasgow Herald/System Three poll showing the SNP continuing to move forward nationally, with support at 30% plus."
The spokesman also asserted that on the strength of the SNP showing in the Scottish and European Parliament elections, the swing needed to take the seat has reduced considerably.
"Labour have serious problems in Scotland, and recent elections show that they are increasingly unable to get their vote to turn out," he added.
'Highly-motivated'
"The SNP, by contrast, are highly-motivated, and looking forward to the contest."
Liberal Democrat MSP Iain Smith said: "At the Scottish elections this May the Scottish Liberal Democrats increased our share of the vote in Hamilton South as our appeal spread amongst voters throughout the country.
"This by-election is very different - but as in May Scottish Liberal Democrats will fight for every vote."Aug 4
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