D-Day in Glasgow East

Polls are open and the 'knock up' is in full swing. By the time I board my plane for home at 5.40pm here, the ballot boxes will be arriving at Tollcross Leisure Centre for the Count. Unfortunately, I won't know the result until 5.20am GMT when I touch down in Glasgow.

Robbie Dinwoodie has a campaign overview in The Herald. And as ever, everyone believes it's too close to call....

Chickens and monkeys coming home to roost

A week is a long time in politics as Harold Wilson famously said and what do I find after a return from north west Ontario, the Labour campaign in Glasgow East is coming off the rails?

Maybe the truth about David Marshall's resignation starting to appear is coming home to roost?

Maybe it is down to bad campaign management by Labour if this Times article is anything to go by. I like the way he is able to name individuals, it gives a clear insight to how they are doing. If Martin Rhodes says it's going to be tight, then it will be. Martin is one of Labour's Kelvin organisers so knows his stuff. The most telling comment though is about the disaster with their election database. If this happened early in the campaign, it will have cost Labour the seat possibly.

"I learn that canvassing now all has to be done manually after it was discovered that the English computer system, which produces printouts of constituents who have voted Labour in the past, doesn’t work in Scottish constituencies with tenements because it doesn’t recognise the slashed, double-digit addresses."

What this tells you is that Labour have never canvassed in this seat before. Starting from scratch with even a big majority is just as much hard work as canvassing to win for us.


Good to see I'm not the only one out of the country through this by-election.. and even Brian suggests its got to be close.

Glasgow East by-election campaign in pictures

If a picture paints a thousand words, then Indygal must be rattling on at fair rate. Anne has inventively created a new pic blog and for those us near and thousands of miles away. It's great to see so many people (the pic above is of the BBQ today that became an impromptu rally!).

NowI'm missing being there more than ever...

Team Wendy cover-up...

Thank fully even the Daily Record has now caught up with what we all suspected or knew all along. Not only did Wendy Alexander fail to understand the rules of political fundraising in general, she failed to understand them as a parliamentarian, and she allowed her campaign team to lie right, left and centre as soon as journalists started sniffing round her campaign. Yet not one of the team has been censured by the Electoral Commission.

I hope the Electoral Commission make a statement based on the Standards Commissioner's report to clarify whether in fact they did take what Team Wendy told them at face value or whether in fact they dug as deep as Dr Jim Dyer has done.

Scotland wants SNP to win Glasgow East

No amount of bitterness from a failed-politician-cum-hack can undo the huge smiles that will be cracking out across John Mason and his campaign's faces when reading the YouGov poll results in the Daily Telegraph. Not only are the SNP ahead of Labour in voting intentions for the next Westminster election, but nearly half of all Scots polled, want the SNP to win in the Glasgow East by-election. I don't think there has been such political fervour for a by-election since the days of the Perth & Kinross by-election when Roseanna Cunningham dramatically took a safe Tory seat.

Despite claims that yesterday's article in the Telegraph by James MacMillan has somehow forced Broon to delay progress on the Human Embryo bill, Labour do appear to be in panic mode full stop.

All parties will be gearing up for a mammoth campaign weekend. I almost feel sorry for half my electorate.. still no one can say they never hear from politicians now: you won't be able to move around Easterhouse for bumping into them.

The real reasons Labour will lose Glasgow East

James MacMillan's article in the Daily Telegraph has certainly excited MediaWatch in the manner many of us have come to expect in opening up the daily epistle.

The debate over whether Labour has become anti-Catholic or not is fascinating if rather empty. It has caused the chair of Labour Youth to resign. It has been the cause of internal Labour debate here and here, as well as being touched on by Newsnight Scotland last night when covering the Glasgow East by-election.

Both Lorraine Davidson and Gerry Hassan both dismissed MacMillan's key assertion that Gordon Brown's negligence of some sort of grassroots 'higher moral ground' compared to the urban liberal progressiveness of London and Glasgow (???? yes he did say Glasgow) will cost him the Glasgow East by-election and more.

Frankly this is just more pious nonsense from a man who doesn't even know what's happening in the communities of the East End let alone understand their moral beliefs. Never once has anyone mentioned the Human Embryo and Fertilisation Bill, let alone any other number of Westminster issues.

MacMillan paraphrases philosopher John Haldane, a fellow traveller in this debate: "Lifestyle liberalism has never played particularly well with the moral and social conservatives who make up a large section of Labour's traditional working-class and urban voters."

There is no more a higher moral standards being upheld in Easterhouse compared to say the Merchant City. What there is a bit more of is perhaps social conservatism. An attitude that fears change in any part of our way of life, be it the need to reduce energy consumption, to walk a bit further to a better community facility, or to welcome new community members seeking asylum.

That social conservatism exists in the affluent leafy suburbs of East Dunbartonshire and the like every bit as much as in more deprived communities. However, it does fit into the current communication strategy of one church, and it has to be said it is the Catholic Church hierarchy as opposed to its priests and local laity. In an age which is very different to the time of large Irish immigrant communities arriving in mainly West Central Scotland, the reality is there is no significant discrimination in society towards Catholics. There is sectarianism, which is rife in many but not all communities.

However, despite concerns of all religious groups that we are heading to an increasingly secular society, the reality is, that at least in Glasgow, the religious establishment is hugely influential, punching way above its weight (ie in terms of church-going population).

So, it isn't religion or lack of it in public life which is losing Labour votes. It's negligence of the bread and butter issues. Refusing to force through community ownership during its term in office which could have completed the regeneration of Easterhouse and make it even more of a desirable place that Marks & Spencer will be reassured that its arrival in The Fort is a good move. Or returning the NHS to be free at the point of delivery for all by abolishing prescriptions. Or by scrapping the unfair Council Tax. All of these and more will be the reasons Labour will lose Glasgow East.

Wendy's storm is nearly over

Montreal is hot and humid... but a fantastic place nonetheless. I expect the Alexander/Ashcroft household was feeling hot and airless when the Standards Committee report was published. Now it's clear that no only did she make enquiries about whether she was required to register her campaign donations after the required deadline, but that she was in fact told that such donations were required to be registered.

No humming and hawing over this one. Maybe a thunderstorm to clear the air is needed but it looks like her resignation was no real lightening strike. Speaking of thunderstorms, last night there was an open air showing of Les Choristes, a beautiful film about hope and talent, with the Montreal gay men's choir providing a warm-up show. It was heaven. And then the heavens opened up. When thunder rolls around here, the downpours are amazing. Toronto was the same the day before. Still it was a wonderful night all the same.

BMA love-in for Health Secretary

In watching the Newsnight Scotland clip about the Glasgow East by-election, I heard Gordon Brewer referring to Nicola Sturgeon receiving a standing ovation at the doctors' conference. In reading the Herald report, she actually received TWO standing ovations. I thought when the SNP were to be in government the sky was meant to fall in or something, now we have one of the greatest professions in Scotland lauding an SNP Health Secretary.... and quite right too.

If for a minute you could have imagined Andy Kerr or Margaret Curran receiving this kind of reception then frankly you would be living in cloud cuckoo land. It's clear that despite some controversial decisions, e.g. longer GP surgery hours, that the medical profession has far more faith in the SNP'S general direction than they have had with any previous administration for some time, and far more preferable to the plight of their colleagues south of the Border.

Two Currans for the price of one

For a rock solid seat, Labour's 3rd safest, this was a fascinating piece on Newsnight Scotland. Where were the Labour supporters? People were half-hearted or refusing to say.. oh dear, that doesn't look good. Hilarious to read the Herald reporting of the Labour launch though...

'surrounded by a throng of balloons, banners, and party members - including fellow MSP Frank McAveety and a megaphone-wielding Glasgow councillor, Alex Glass - the firebrand was away, stopping off at a few shops along Shettleston Road for some carefully orchestrated meetings with would-be Labour voters. Their response appeared to be mixed.'

I presume the balloons are the blow-up versions and not the party appartchics. I'm not sure either why Alex Glass would need a megaphone, we don't usually have problems hearing him from afar.

Ms Curran has taken to referring to having been born and bred in the East End, living and working there all her life... is that so? Well actually both Ms Currans in this by-election are claiming this more or less. Since Frances will come on the ballot paper before Margaret, just how many SSP votes will come from visually-impaired Labour supporters or those in too much of a hurry to notice? Was this a deliberate ploy by the SSP to muddy the waters? Time will tell.

Text message rip-offs

All the news today (in Canada), is that American telecom giant, Bell, are to introduce a charge for receiving a text message on your mobile! So, not only will you pay to send a message (please, the free 'send' ones are paid for in the monthly bill or cost of pay-as-you-go calls), you will pay to receive one. How long before this reaches Scotland....

Gordy's G8 letdown

Gordy Broon has been strutting the world stage at the G8 summit in Japan, looking like a dead man walking. Not only has he failed to get the G8 countries to live up to their 2005 Gleneagles promises, he couldn't get them to commit to any key mid-term goals such as 2020 targets which the European Union has largely led on.

Naturally, Alex Salmond and John Swinney have been leading Europe, if not the rest of the world with plans for the Scottish Government's Scottish Climate Change Bill which will see carbon cuts of 80% by 2050 and significant advance towards this by 2020 targets of 50% green electricity, and 20% of all energy.

Over here in Canada, a country I thought would be amongst the greenest, is struggling to come to terms with reducing carbon emissions. Whilst we all think of Canada as a big green land mass sitting on top of America, the reality is a country which is heavily industrialised on fossil fuels with extensive mining of oil sand in mid-west provinces and the heavy industrial base of the east, hugely dependent on oil and nuclear for its power.

In British Columbia, the provincial government is getting a tanking over its carbon cuts legislation which kicked in last week. Consumer realisation of what it means in day to day living is sober reading. Are Scots really ready for the impact of carbon cuts, frankly I doubt it. So we do have lessons to learn from those areas in the world where carbon taxation is starting to bite. Don't avoid it, just be ready for it.
Whilst it was nice to see the words Toronto Hydro Electric or Niagara Hydro Power Generation, the reality this is not the focus of most Canadian energy.

Bring back TV debates for Glasgow East by-election

Margaret Curran, in a style more related to John Major (and you can draw the comparisons), got on her soap box last night and in a bit of bravado, challenged John Mason to a TV debate. No doubt, Ms Curran in a deep shade of arrogance thinks that she can wipe the floor with John, being as she is an MSP and EX-Minister.

However, I think Ms Curran would be in for a big shock if her record in parliament was put to the test on TV by dogged fichter for the Nats, John Mason.

Of course, even if all three people in Glasgow East who would be bothered to stay up to midnight to watch such a programme, it may decide very little.

The challenge is for broadcast, print and online media to re-define how to 'cover the issues' in a by-election that has been determined as Gordon Brown's P45 or stay of execution. If this by-election is so important, then why is the media so resistant to bring fairer coverage? My guess is that the media think that the by-election process is unimportant - all that matters is the result, who wins and who loses (not just in the contest).