The result hasn’t been officially announced yet but it’s clear that Labour have won a handsome victory in the Glasgow North-East by-election. That’s no surprise. I don’t think the SNP ever really expected to prevail though, of course, they hoped they might be able to repeat the Miracle of Glasgow East. Still, they thought they’d be more competitive than they have been.
Then again, this seat has been Labour for 74 years so a loss in Springburn might have done for poor old Gordon Brown. Happily for Labour the party was able to run as an opposition party, protesting against the SNP’s alleged parsimonious attitude towards Glasgow. The (surprising) cancellation of the Glasgow airport rail-link didn’t help the Nationalists; nor, frankly, did their pretty hapless, shambolic campaign. It’s not often a good thing when the candidate can’t decide where he was actually born. That may have been a trivial item even by the standards of by-elections but there you have it.
Anyway, the Nationalists’ dream of 20 seats at Westminister, always fanciful, now looks absurdly optimistic.
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