Clegg factor lifts morale as Lib Dem Gordon targets Glasgow North seat

Katy Gordon is riding the crest of a wave on streets of Glasgow North following Nick Clegg’s performance at the first Leaders Debate.
The Lib Dem candidate firmly believes the national optimism of her party – which has not had an MP in the city since Roy Jenkins over 25 years ago – is being mirrored in her patch.
She was keen to point out that the campaign has been helped by a new recruit who joined the Lib Dems from the SNP in February this year.
She said: ‘Since Alec Dingwall joined us and left the SNP, our campaign has gone from strength to strength. People who previously voted the SNP are thinking twice and nothing is a sure thing for Labour anymore.’
Despite this, the Liberal campaign has been slammed by Patrick Grady, SNP candidate for Glasgow North.
He said: ‘The Liberal Democrats are not fighting any sort of campaign in the other seats in Glasgow. That is neither a liberal approach nor is it very democratic.
‘Most of the Liberal Democrat campaign team are wearing post office uniforms.
‘The number of leaflets produced and sent along with flying Nick Clegg in to get his photo taken at the Clyde must make their carbon footprint awfully high.
‘We have been out knocking on doors across the constituency and for the past two-and-a-half years.
‘The SNP are fighting very hard to win all of the seats across the city.’
The Labour Party is not concerned about the Lib Dems’ optimism of gaining the seat from their candidate and sitting MP, Ann McKechin.
A Labour spokesperson said: ‘Ann is one of the most active MPs in Scotland and she is well known and well liked by the constituents in Glasgow North.
‘It’s up to the people in the area and we are confident that we will retain this seat no matter how many leaflets and brochures the Lib Dems put out.’

Glasgow North councillor switches allegiance

The politics of Maryhill took a twist in the favour of the Scottish Liberal Democrats this week when Councillor Alex Dingwall defected from the SNP.
This means the Maryhill-Kelvin ward is now made up of two Labour and two Liberal Democrat councillors.
Dingwall’s decision falls in the favour of candidate Katy Gordon, Lib Dem prospective candidate for Glasgow North, who aims to oust Labour’s sitting MP Ann McKechin at this spring’s General Election.
Councillor Dingwall had been an SNP member for 31 years.
He claimed his decision for leaving the party had nothing to do with the Glasgow Airport Rail Link or the cash for lunches scandal which is presently rocking the Scottish Government.
However, he cited reasons along the lines of over-centralisation by the SNP which was fundamental to making his move.
He said: ‘The Local Income Tax failure by the SNP (that it should not be set locally) was a key issue for me.
‘The SNP has gone backwards where the Scottish Liberal Democrats have progressed in terms of putting forward policies on what local government is all about.’
Perhaps unsurprisingly, Councillor Dingwall’s constitutional aspirations have not changed.
He added: ‘If it was to come to a referendum I would still vote in favour of an independent Scotland.’
James Dornan, Leader of the Opposition, in the city, admitted he was surprised to see an old colleague jump ship.
The SNP Glasgow leader said: ‘It came as a big surprise, we never expected he would end up with the Liberal Democrats.
‘However, he has been unhappy for a while now, and we did everything we could to keep him in the SNP group, but it wasn’t to be.’

Football’s hair-erasing game

It was a bitter-sweet afternoon for the Partick Thistle fans who made the 240 mile round trip to Dingwall on Saturday 24 October.

Supporters of the Glasgow club were in good spirits and enjoyed the day, but one or two may have risen on Sunday with slightly fuzzy heads and bare chests.

On the pitch, Ian McCall’s side twice came from behind to secure a draw against Ross County.

The 400-strong travelling support twice roared their team back from a goal behind against a physical and direct County side that  started the day on top of the SFL First Division.

The carry-on, the invention, the bonding and singing of songs is all part of the fun, but there is a line that certain folk crossed and some weren’t far from getting their fingers burnt – after they had scorched off their chest hair. Yes, that’s right, allegedly one guy wilfully set fire to the hair on his own chest.

Today, the Highland constabulary confirmed that while they were well aware of the Glasgow contingent in Inverness and Ross-shire,  no Jags fans were guilty of anything other than enjoying themselves.

And the more extrovert and excitable  Jags’  fans won praise from Thistle manager Ian McCall.

He told www.ptfc.co.uk; ‘The support we got was great but quite how those supporters managed to stand out in the elements with their tops off I don’t know.’

While the majority of such shenanigans are good natured and innocent enough, one or two of the lads caught up in the excitement developed bulletproof syndrome including the young man who quite accusingly asked me why was I ‘no getting involved?’

I suspect he was too far-gone on the Bass Shandy to hear me reply that I’d ‘been involved’ since before he was a twinkle in his Daddy’s eye.

Word is that later that evening, this particular individual – having lost his mates, his mobile, his money and his train tickets – had to spend the night under the kind shelter of the Northern Constabulary HQ in Inverness.

Following health and safety rules, the assisting PC took the lad’s lighter off him before he got into his single room for the night.