Eddie Barnes - By-Election 2am
Finally, after a prolonged count, the results for Glasgow North-East have come back in with Labour increasing its percentage share from the 2005 election, claiming 59% of the vote, up from 53% in the 2005 general election. The SNP has remained relatively stagnant - its 20% share of the vote was marginally up on the 17% it got in that same election. That makes it a 3% swing to Labour. After all the hue and cry of the last few weeks, they have won at a canter.
But the drama of the night at the SECC was the battle for the third spot. Up until a few minutes before the count, there was a growing consensus in the hall that the BNP had beaten the Conservatives into third place, handing them what would be a major publicity coup. The BNP candidate Charlie Baillie was already parading around the hall, claiming it was a fantastic night for his party.
But then the results came in, showing that the Tories had beaten the BNP by 62 votes. I think I can say without fear of contradiction that it was the first time in recent political history that a hall full of politicians in Glasgow was united in support of the Conservatives. There followed a dignified protest from the entire group of politicians. As Baillie stood up to the microphone to make his post-result speech, they all simply walked off, as did most of the watching crowd. The BNP's surge in Scotland was over before it had begun. The Conservatives are now breathing a huge sigh of relief.
All that has rather taken away the attention from a good night for Labour. However, the question tonight is whether they can translate that support into less favourable territory.
But the drama of the night at the SECC was the battle for the third spot. Up until a few minutes before the count, there was a growing consensus in the hall that the BNP had beaten the Conservatives into third place, handing them what would be a major publicity coup. The BNP candidate Charlie Baillie was already parading around the hall, claiming it was a fantastic night for his party.
But then the results came in, showing that the Tories had beaten the BNP by 62 votes. I think I can say without fear of contradiction that it was the first time in recent political history that a hall full of politicians in Glasgow was united in support of the Conservatives. There followed a dignified protest from the entire group of politicians. As Baillie stood up to the microphone to make his post-result speech, they all simply walked off, as did most of the watching crowd. The BNP's surge in Scotland was over before it had begun. The Conservatives are now breathing a huge sigh of relief.
All that has rather taken away the attention from a good night for Labour. However, the question tonight is whether they can translate that support into less favourable territory.
Labels: by-election, Eddie Barnes, Glasgow North East
posted by Administrator at
01:42
3 Comments:
Voter turnout, at 33.2%, was a record low for a Scottish by-election.
A truly shocking statistic made even worse by the state of this particular constituency and the poverty of ambition that resides there. the lack of aspiration, an acceptance of their lot and the willingness to continue to vote for a party that has failed the area so miserably is an affront to those that have fought & died to give us these freedoms.
The inability to imagine change, to envision real improvement and that this area can really improve has been shown to be completely missing from Glasgow North East and must surely be a matter of concern for all political parties and in particular the Labour Party who have represented these people for so long.
Will anything change, I doubt it.
It will take big ideas to change Springburn and no party offered that change during this campaign, no-one other than Tommy Sheridan offered an alternative vision to the failure of the last twenty five years and yet the voters flatly rejected that vision in favour for a campaign run negatively with no real policy content.
NB It would be interesting to see the demographic of those that voted, Glasgow City Council reported over 6000 registered postal votes, which accounts for 30% of votes cast, surely some kind of record in there too.
Equally chilling is the revelation that over 4000 extra voters have been added to the electoral register in the last month, accounting for 25% of those that voted.
Hi wardog. If the postal vote has been pockled it must have been on a large scale - could Labour really have hidden it?
However, most of us, I'm sure, would like some energetic investigation into postal voting in Springburn and Glenrothes - the present situation - where many on the non-Labour side suspect criminal activity - is bad for democracy and should be settled once and for all.
Jim Murphy was very gracious this morning in his tribute to Mr Kerr - a 'gentleman.
Re Sheridan, I think he had sod all to offer. The John Harris video piece on the Guardian was excellent in all sorts of ways - the bollocking of the BNP by locals, the very impressive Tory candidate (Scotland needs more politicos her of whatever party), but Sheridan's final snarl at Harris was perhaps the most revealing.
Harris clearly saw himself as on the same part of the spectrum as Sheridan, whereas Sheridan sees the likes of Harris as on the spectrum with the 'business' parties.
Even Galloway - muttering at Sherry's side about the Judean Liberation Front - looked more deflated than I have ever seen him.
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