25 Labour MPs canvassing in by-election

[Tokyo]

Apparently part of the reason the government lost the Religious Hatred Bill votes is that 25 Labour MPs were canvassing in the Dunfermline and West Fife by-election. They must be worried about holding the seat.

Yet last time out - less than a year ago - they won nearly half the vote, with the LibDems and SNP pretty level on around 20%, the Tories back on 10% and the SSP picking up only 1.6%.

What's happened? According to Wikipedia,
both LibDem and Tory campaigns have had setbacks. So is there a SNP surge? Or has the SSP candidate, John McAllion, a former Labour MSP got them so worried that they think he could win?

 

[MatthewEdwards]

Political Compass gets 'New Labour' right when it puts it extremely close to Conservatism - check out their analysis of the UK General Election 2005 at http://www.politicalcompass.org/

Now because 'New Labour' is utterly right-wing, but still campaigns under the guise of 'Labour', the electorate is confused. People are being marketed a brand at precisely the same moment that they are voting for a political history. The history has been privatised. In our system which is being forced into nothing more than a marketplace, it's as if we are buying Tesco products with the words 'New Co-op' written on them.

All blessings to John McAllion if he is a bona fide left-winger. Anyone got any info on him and his campaign?

Just as with Peter Law in Blaenau Gwent (the old stomping-ground of Aneurin Bevan), the wheels of the New Labour Thatcherite Project are starting to come off. They are coming off, naturally, in the far-flung provinces that the media doesn't take much notice of.

Don't forget the butterfly effect. New Labour's days at the (ahem) 'centre ground' are numbered. Perhaps Mr.Straw's gospel will not only be withdrawal from Iraq, but withdrawal of him and the rest of the Thatcherite clique that hijacked the Labour party.

http://www.socialistparty.org.uk/2005/392/index.html?id=np4.htm

 

[treelover]

Hope they come off before the IB reforms are passed.

the wheels of the New Labour Thatcherite Project are starting to come off. They are coming off, naturally, in the far-flung provinces that the media doesn't take much notice of.

 

[MatthewEdwards]

Agreed. Last night on the religious hatred bill was heartening, but there is more work to be done in ditching this bunch of dissemblers, hypocrites, liars, cheats, and forked-tongue parakeets.

Advertising standards, anyone?

 

[Fisher_Gate]

..

All blessings to John McAllion if he is a bona fide left-winger. Anyone got any info on him and his campaign? ...

He's got a long track record as being on the left and was a member of the left-wing breakaway Scottish Labour Party in the 1970s. For a brief period this party was a significant left-wing force and the trostkyist left, the IMG in particular, built up significant influence. But the leadership of Jim Sillars expelled most of the left and the party collapsed after 1979, with Sillars joining the SNP.

McAllion went back into the Labour Party and served as MP for Dundee East from 1997-2001 and MSP 1999-2003 - he stood down as MP, but narrowly lost his MSP's seat in 2003 to the SNP by just 90 votes - the SSP didn't contest the seat and supported him [ironically this might not have helped him as the SSP do take votes from the SNP, but it showed the increasing closeness between McAllion and the SSP from McAllion's support for a number of the initiatives of Tommy Sheridan in the Scottish Parliament].

He resigned from the Labour Party after his defeat in 2003 and has now joined the SSP - a significant boost for them.

Dunfermline and West Fife is not particularly good territory for the SSP - their best performance was 3.7% in the Scottish Parliament election of 2003 - they did win over 6% in the neighbouring constituency however. The SSP have been energetic over the issue of abolishing the Council Tax and have introduced a bill into the Scottish Parliament in the last few days, so they may be making ground.

I don't know why Labour are panicking - on the surface it looks a rock safe seat. Maybe their canvass returns are showing abstentions is the main problem?

 

[Fisher_Gate]

Lots of coverage here:
http://by_elections.blogspot.com/

 

[lewislewis]

Well Alex Salmond wasn't campaigning and he voted in Parliament, so what excuse do 25 Labour MP's have?!?!?

Sending about 5 MP's is an over-reaction and says the campaign is going very very badly, but 25?!

Sadly I don't think the SSP will win a UK Parliamentary seat in the forseeable future. The Tories won't win this seat.

The Lib Dems are the most likely contenders but have had all these leadership setbacks lately- I don't know to what extent these have reverberated in Scotland.

That leaves the SNP. I'm going to be optimistic and suggest that if their campaign goes well, the SNP will finish in second place and greatly reduce New Labour's majority.

 

[laptop]

So they went all the way to Fife to have an excuse to avoid an "actual" abstention in the vote?

I want to see the receipts

And I think "canvassing in Dunfermline" might be about to pass into the political lexicon...

 

[tollbar]

Nu Lab needs the scottish praetorian guard to push through their programme. They cant afford to lose seats.

 

[KeyboardJockey]

Agreed. Last night on the religious hatred bill was heartening, but there is more work to be done in ditching this bunch of dissemblers, hypocrites, liars, cheats, and forked-tongue parakeets.

Advertising standards, anyone?

I long for the day that Margaret Hodge gets her marching orders.

 

[kasheem]

Go SNP! Scotland 4Ever! FREEDOM!!

 

[MatthewEdwards]

Thanks for the info Fisher Gate.

Good luck to Mr.McAllion against the New Labour machine.

 

[lewislewis]

Go SNP! Scotland 4Ever! FREEDOM!!

I hope you're taking the piss.

 

[Tokyo]

And Labour have lost the seat ... to the Lib Dems. Seems their slightly chaotic leadership contest isn't doing them any harm. Massive swing to them from Labour, particularly given it's been less than a year since the general election. Meanwhile, the SNP picked up a few extra votes and the Tories lost a few - the Cameron factor not working for them

And the SSP, despite their "star" candidate, actually dropped 0.1% of the vote. A poor result from them; it looks like they may be in trouble for the 2007 Scottish Parliamentary election.

 

[treelover]

Is it the case that any 'protest vote will always go to the LD's,can it ever go to a Left party in the Uk?

 

[Zinedine*]

Is it the case that any 'protest vote will always go to the LD's,can it ever go to a Left party in the Uk?

Probably not. As a Lib dem whos been active in by-election campaigns I think that the lib dems will get the protest vote rathe than a left party for a number of reasons.

if you have ever had the misfortune to live in a constituency that the lib dems are targetting in a by-election you'll see that the campaign is crazy. typically an elector will get a knock on the door at the beginning and at the end of the campaign. If you show any interest in voting for us (or another party that we claim is unable to win) you will be targetted like mad. You will recieve a letter a week and in the last week probably a leaflet a day as well as a 'personalised' letter. You most likely get at least 2 leaflets on polling day and if you staed your intention to vote for us you will be hassled all day until you go down and vote.

The left parties do not have the funds or activists to do this.we have more activists than the left parties- including those who have the time and the funds to travel to the other side of the country to campaign.

Also the media always wip up a 'lib dem' threat even when there isnt one and say we are poised to win then act shocked when we do.

Until the left can unite into a mass party I think It's unlikely that they will win.

It's a sad reflection on democracy.