David Maddox: Inspiring candidates

As many of the papers have noted this morning there is concern that Glasgow North East could set a new low in the turnout records for Scotland.
Some commentators have suggested that it may be around 25 per cent, which is pretty depressing considering the effort that has gone into this by-election by the various parties and that it is the last serious test, with the possible exception of the English council elections, before next year's general election.
However, it will struggle to beat the all time record of 19.6 per cent set in 1999 when Hilary Benn, the son of Tony Benn who is now a cabinet minister, was elected as the MP for Leeds Central.
But one interesting statistic is that the previous Scottish record was 36.6 per cent in Falkirk West in 2000 when Eric Joyce won for Labour.
Who was the defeated SNP candidate then? It was David Kerr of this very same by-election.

David Maddox: Note to budding politicians - beware your past indiscretions

David Kerr (pictured right), the SNP candidate for Glasgow North-east, has not had the easiest transition from journalist (of the BBC variety) to politician.

Fourth choice candidate after originally being rejected, attacked for his membership of Opus Dei, and then there were his comments about Glasgow Caledonian University (no reputation to tarnish, he says) and sectarianism (not a problem in Scotland, apparently).

It is all a classic case of past words and actions coming back to haunt somebody when they put their head above the political parapet. In other words if you want to be a political candidate try to avoid doing or saying anything of interest that can dragged up.

The Steamie has been given a copy of the talk he gave to the Catholic Society at his alma mater St Andrews University two years ago. (I've just realised that as we are the same age we were probably there at the same time in the mid-1990s, along with James MacKenzie, the Green's spin doctor and author of the Two Doctors blog.)

The question over his comments on Glasgow Callie was whether it represents an elitist view of higher education or is just a light-hearted stand-up routine for a bunch of students. Likewise, whether his impressions in the same clip of the Protestant reformer John Knox is humour or something nastier.

Click on the link below and make up your own mind:

David%20Kerr