Hamilton South By-election 1999

'The secretary generalship of Nato is not a post that would, in its own right, allow a by-election to be 'gazetted' during the parliamentary recess.' Catherine MacLeod in the Herald, 20 th August 1999.

Defence Secretary set for Lords

By Catherine MacLeod, Chief Political Correspondent in the Herald

In a bid to steal a march on the Scottish National Party, and in a move that will sabotage the SNP's annual conference, Labour Party strategists have opted to hold the by-election on September 23, the day the SNP conference is due to open in Inverness, and less than two months after Mr Robertson was appointed the next secretary general of Nato.

The by-election details were finalised this week when Mr Robertson lunched with the Prime Minister on holiday in Italy.

It is unlikely Mr Robertson would have chosen to go to the Lords so soon but, a political realist to his fingertips, he will have taken on board the arguments for a speedy by-election.

Tony Blair will be determined to win the by-election, the first major test for Labour and the UK Government since the opening of the Scottish Parliament.

The early date is bound to infuriate the SNP, which had been anticipating a by-election later in the year. It has not yet selected a prospective candidate.

Hamilton South, albeit a different constituency, has proved fertile territory for the SNP in the past, Winnie Ewing snatching it from Labour in a by-election in 1967.

Labour party strategists have been arguing for an early by-election to stymie any SNP bandwagon, implicitly acknowledging a possible threat to Labour in one of its Scottish strongholds.

It is highly unusual to hold a by-election while Parliament is in recess, but the elevation of a sitting MP to the Lords is one of the reasons for being able to do so. The secretary generalship of Nato is not a post that would, in its own right, allow a by-election to be "gazetted" during the parliamentary recess. The other principal reasons are the death of an MP, or an MP being made a European Commissioner.

Mr Robertson's peerage will also allow him to continue as Defence Secretary until the next Cabinet reshuffle, expected to co-incide with his departure to Nato if not before.

It has been widely reported he could be replaced at defence by Scottish Secretary John Reid, which could allow former Minister Brian Wilson to return to head the Scotland Office.

While Labour may anticipate difficulties in Hamilton South, it will not be an easy by-election for the SNP or Liberal Democrats. Burdened by a £500,000 debt, the Nationalists did not relish the prospect of a by-election at all, far less while they are still licking their wounds after their disappointing results in the Scottish parliamentary elections, and on the brink of a potentially stormy conference.

The by-election will be the first major test for Charles Kennedy, the recently elected leader of the Liberal Democrats. While Mr Kennedy's Scottish credentials may stand him in good stead, he will have his work cut out making the case for distinctive Lib-Dem policies while the Labour/Lib Dem coalition holds at Holyrood.

The prospect of a hard campaign will put pressure on the coalition, already disliked by many Scottish Lib-Dem activists, including MSPs who believe they paid a high price in return for little in the Parliament.

The Tories, with no hope of winning, will try simply to hang on to their deposit. In this month's System Three poll for The Herald, it showed the party still losing ground in Scotland. When the figures were translated to notional seats in the Scottish Parliament, the Tories fell from 18 to only 11.

Labour is hoping that a combination of Mr Robertson's track record and the positive reaction to his Nato appointment will work in favour of Bill Tynan, the prospective Labour candidate whose nomination was confirmed earlier this week.

A Labour source said: "It makes good sense to go earlier rather than later. By the autumn the register is older, the nights are darker, and the weather poorer."

Usually, the electorate protests at having to vote at a by-election caused by the incumbent standing down to go on to better things, but Labour has gambled on exploiting the goodwill shown towards Mr Robertson in the wake of his Nato appointment.

Winnie Ewing lost the seat to Labour in 1970. Mr Robertson won it, ironically in another by-election expected to be won by the SNP's Margo MacDonald in 1978. At the General Election in 1997, he increased his majority to almost 16,000.

Mrs Ewing's daughter, An-nabelle, has expressed interest in the SNP nomination but it is understood that the favourite contenders are Ann Winning, the leader of the SNP on South Lanarkshire Council, and SNP activist Peter Cearney.

Tommy Sheridan's Scottish Socialist Party has selected Shareen Blackall, a Unison shop steward. Ms Blackall has already said she would stay on the wage of an average skilled worker if she won. - Aug 20