Victory!
Friday, 13 November 2009
An absolutely excellent result for Labour with an absolutely cracking majority of 8111, almost as Michael Martin got in 2005 with a lower turnout. Phenomenal. We actually increased our share of a vote and in a westminster by election in a recession at the end of a third term of a Labour Government there was a swing from the SNP to Labour!
Needless to say after more than 12 hours of straight campaigning I am absolutely shattered but just a couple of quick thoughts of what is going on:
- The story is not about BNP or the turnout but a great win for Labour in a Westminster By Election at the end of a third term of a Labour Government
- After Glenrothes and now Glasgow North East it makes Glasgow East look more and more like a one-off that we won't see again
- 20 MP's? Aye that'll be right...
- It's a good day for the Labour Glasgow Council. The SNP have gone a lot on attacking Glasgow be it '74 years of neglect' of school closures but the good people of Springburn have rejected it.
- It is a real vindication for the 'ripped off Glasgow' campaign and people feel it and are not happy about it
- This will probably be the last by election before the General Election and it is a real boost for activists
- The two lowest by election turnouts in Scotland is Falkirk West and Glasgow North East, in both of which David Kerr was the SNP candidate!
- There have been opinion polls that show a trend away for the SNP but the best poll is always an election and here it is
- Independence was not mentioned at all in the campaign and never on the doorstep, I wonder if that will be true for the General Election also
But the most important thing now is to offer a massive congratulations to the honourable Willie Bain, MP for Glasgow North East. Willie has worked so hard for so long for so many other candidates and I can think of no one who deserves this more.
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