November 12 date for Glasgow North East by-election

The date for the by-election to replace former Speaker Michael Martin has been confirmed as 12 November, it was announced yesterday by the Labour Party.
The Glasgow North East seat became vacant when Martin stepped down as an MP in June following the expenses scandal.
A Labour spokesman said: “We can confirm we will move the writ for November 12. We will move the writ next week when Parliament goes back.”

Labour came under harsh criticism for the delay in calling this by-election as The Recess Elections Act which stipulates that when an MP resigns their seat, the vote must take place within 16-19 parliamentary days of the writ being moved. However, the writ cannot be moved when parliament is in recess. If the writ had been moved before the recess, the by-election would have had to have been held during the Glasgow school holidays.
Meanwhile, the Green Party today announced David Doherty as their candidate. David, 24, is on the board of a building charity in Glasgow is the tenth hopeful to join the race. The other nine declared candidates so far are Willie Bain (Labour), David Kerr (SNP), Ruth Davidson (Conservative), Eileen Baxendale (Liberal Democrat), Kevin McVey (Scottish Socialist), Tommy Sheridan (Solidarity), John Smeaton (Independent/Jury Team), John Swinburne (Scottish Senior Citizens) and Charlie Baillie (BNP).