GLASGOW’S ELECTION STUNNER

In an extraordinary night which changed the political landscape of Scotland, Glasgow voters rejected long established Labour Party names: Charlie Gordon, Pauline McNeil, Patricia Ferguson and Frank McAveety.
Instead the Scottish National Party (SNP) was able to declare: ‘It’s a stunning night.’

Nicola Sturgeon was returned to the Scottish Parliament for the newly configured Glasgow Southside with 12,306 votes to Labour Stephen Curran’s 7957 votes.
SNP gained Anniesland constituency by seven votes for Bill Kidd who polled 10,329 votes to Labour Bill Butler’s 10,322.
In Cathcart Constituency James Dornan took the seat for SNP with 11,918 compared to Labour Charlie Gordon’s 10,326
Kelvin Constituency was won by Sandra White with 10,640 compared to incumbent Labour’s Pauline McNeill who polled 9,758.
Glasgow Shettleston went to SNP’s John Mason with 10,128 compared to Labour Frank McAveety’s 9,542.

The only seats to stay in Labour Party hands were:
Newly aligned Maryhill and Springburn constituency with Patricia Ferguson polling 9884 compared to SNP’s Bob Doris on 8592.
Glasgow Pollok seat stayed with Labour’s Johann Lamont with 10,875 compared to SNP Chris Stephens’s 10,252.
Paul Martin kept Glasgow Provan with 10,037 in contrast to SNP Anne McLaughlin’s vote of 7,958.

As other wins for SNP were being announced during the Glasgow count, Nicola Sturgeon said: ‘The SNP is now a force to be reckoned with across Scotland. This is a triumph for our Positive campaign. Our job now is to unite Scotland and to lead.’
In a bitter response at the podium her opponent, Labour’s Stephen Curran said: ‘The SNP will never get away with this in Glasgow.’
Sandra White commented later: ‘The SNP has broken the back of Labour in Glasgow with our Positive campaign.’
Labour’s Pat Ferguson said: ‘I’m proud and privileged to have served this constituency. I was the first Labour MSP for the former Maryhill/Springburn constituency and do not take one single vote for granted for one second. I am there to fight for every sector of the community in this new constituency and to make sure they are dealt with fairly.’ Her SNP opponent, Bob Doris, announced his wedding in his speech. ‘Four years ago I didn’t mention Janet my girlfriend in my thank you speech. Today I’m mentioning my fiancee Janet and soon she’ll be Mrs Doris!’ He also said the overall results in Glasgow and Scotland were ‘staggering’ for the SNP. And in an impassioned plea he asked for ‘even more positive results next time.’
John Mason who won and later lost the Westminster seat in the city’s East End, and secured the Shettleston constituency for SNP at Holyrood, first praised the outgoing Frank McAveety who had been the Labour MSP for the area. ‘We must thank him for all the work he’s done in Glasgow’s East End.’ But he went on: ‘The SNP ran a positive campaign – securing the M74 completion work, the Commonwealth Games and the rail link to Edinburgh as well as the council tax freeze. But Labour ran a negative campaign, running down the SNP and running down Scotland. The Labour Party must take a long, hard look at themselves.’ In promising to have a visible presence with a shop in Shettleston and being easily contactable by his constituents he added: ‘It is an incredible privilege to be trusted by the voters to serve this constituency.’

Frank McAveety in his farewell speech said: ‘I’ve served the East End of Glasgow for 22 years – as a teacher, a city councillor and as MSP. I care passionately about my city and its problems.’ Amid shouts and boos from the assembled crowd at the Glasgow constituencies’ count in the city’s SECC, he went on: ‘This country is now polarised. The Commonwealth Games was a Labour led initiative as was the National Indoor Sports arena. We made the largest investment in schools and education and I will work tirelessly to win this seat back for Labour.’

At 4am when it was clear that SNP had made remarkable gains in Glasgow, Nicola Sturgeon told the LOCAL NEWS: ‘I’m thrilled. There are quite stunning results across Scotland.’
In Cathcart were Labour’s sitting MSP Charlie Gordon lost the seat to SNP’s James Dornan, James Dornan said: ‘Charlie conducted his campaign in a gentlemanly fashion.’ In an emotional speech he went on to say: ‘I will represent everyone in this constituency. It is the area I was brought up in. I raised my kids here. We have worked hard day and night for the past three months and I thank all those who worked like Trojans to secure this positive result for the constituency.’
A sombre Charlie Gordon responded: ‘I’ve been a Labour Party activist for 42 years. I leave this stage tonight a wealthy man. Wealthy because I have my health and a wonderful family.’

Paul Martin who retained Glasgow Provan for Labour ranted about the SNP cuts. When his SNP opponent, Anne McLaughlin took the podium, a re-count was in process for the Anniesland Constituency where initially one vote appeared to be the difference between the lead candidates. She forecast: ‘These successes in Glasgow and across Scotland are not a one-off for the SNP. By electing SNP in force in Glasgow, the city has broken the link of people’s dependency on Labour for ever. If Labour continue their scurrulous attacks on Scotland, their lies will be found out and the people of Scotland will stop listening to them.’

In Glasgow Kelvin where SNP’s Sandra White took the seat from Labour’s Pauline McNeill, Sandra paid tribute to Pauline’s hard work in that community and said: ‘The SNP have aspirations for the people of Scotland. We believe every person deserves to have aspirations.’
In her turn, Pauline McNeill said: ‘I represented the area for 12 years. I did my best for everyone and I’ll miss them. I’m proud of what we achieved and hope that whatever happens with the government of Scotland that everyone will unite on the issues in the Scottish Parliament that will take the country forward. The UK coalition is wrecking our lives.’

As the night wore on a two party state emerged in Glasgow’s voting between SNP and Labour.

The Scottish Liberal Democrat’s highest vote was in Glasgow Kelvin where Natalie McKee got 1900 votes. In Anniesland, Lib Deb Paul McGarry got 1000 votes. In Cathcart, Eileen Baxendale got 1118 votes. In Maryhill and Springburh, the Lib Dem candidate, Sophie Bridger, got 833 votes. In Pollok, Isabel Nelson got 490 votes. In Provan, Michael O’Donnell got 413 votes and in the Southside constituency, Lib Dem’s Kenneth Elder got 612 votes.

Conservative Ruth Davidson became an MSP on the List vote. She said: ‘I’m pleased the Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party will continue to have a presence in Glasgow. It’s needed with the SNP being rampant! ‘

The last vote to be announced around 6am in Glasgow was the Anniesland constituency where a recount had taken place because of the narrow margin. The final result was: Bill Kidd, SNP, took the seat with 10,329. Bill Butler, Labour was close behind on 10,322. Next was Matthew Smith of the Conservatives who polled 2,011 and Lib Dem’s Paul McGarry received 1000 votes with the Communist party of Britain’s candidate, Marc Livingstone taking 259 votes.

In a victory speech, Anniesland constituency winner by seven votes, Bill Kidd said: ‘My opponents behaved in an exemplary fashion and the outgoing Bill Butler has done fantastic work in the constituency. I and the SNP will work hard for the next four years to ensure carers are treated in the manner becoming to a civil society and that our country is not despoiled by Trident – British weapons of mass destruction.’
In his turn, Bill Butler thanked his team ‘We fought hard and I don’t think we let the party down. This is not my farewell to politics where I’ve been for ten and a half years. I will continue to campaign for social justice – socialism as I know it – I will renew my opposition to the new Trident and will be on any platform with those who do that too.’ He singled out his mother, Patricia Ferguson who retained the Maryhill and Sprinburn seat, for special thanks for her support.
The only other candidates in Glasgow’s eight constituencies were Tom Muirhead an independent in Kelvin where he polled 405 votes and John McKee, an Independent in Cathcart where he polled 450 votes.

Cold light of morning and old traditions threaten Nationalists in Glasgow East

General Election count: 1am Friday 7 May 2010

by Alan McCrorie and Martin Graham

pix Stuart Maxwell

‘The big issue is that Labour and the Tories are neck-and-neck,’ said John Mason. ‘The people of Glasgow, it would appear, are falling back on the idea that Labour is the safest option.’
John, who won Glasgow East from Labour in 2008 by 365 votes after a hard-fought by-election,  was the man credited by SNP Leader Alex Salmond as having triggered an earthquake in Scottish politics.
Tonight it seems that particular faultline may have been sealed. However, John discounts the feeling among some Nationalists that a lack of SNP presence in UK-wide debates has had an impact at the polls.
‘We’ll know if the debates have had an effect by how well the LibDems have done. In theory, if the debates have had an effect the LibDem vote is going to soar but I’ve not seen that happening here.’
On the doorstep issues, John added: ‘I think people have believed the Tory cuts will be much more severe than the Labour cuts. I remain to be convinced on that one.
‘I have a feeling that the vote here has a lot to do with tradition. I asked a woman in Parkhead what Labour would have to do for her not to vote Labour.
“I’ll always vote Labour,” she told me. I asked if Labour abolished the pension would she vote Labour, she said “yes”.’

General Election 2010 – Glasgow East revisited after the ‘earthquake’

First Minister Alex Salmond famously hailed John Mason’s SNP gain in Glasgow East as ‘not only a political earthquake – but off the Richter scale’.
Before the 2008 victory – by 365 votes – John had been a Councillor in Glasgow’s East End for 10 years. ‘Even if I wasn’t in politics, I’d fight the widening gap between rich and poor,’ he added.
He attends Easterhouse Baptist Church, is single, and holds impromptu surgeries on buses. He believes it will be tougher to retain his Westminster seat than it was to win it. ‘But my job is to work as hard as I can,’ says John, whose availability and office among the shops will be a key element in people voting for him again.
‘If the SNP get 20 seats at Westminster, we will be doing very well. It could happen – and it would be incredibly good if it did. The reality is these 20 seats are unlikely to include Glasgow East.’
Margaret Curran is the MSP for Baillieston, and hoping – at the second time of trying – to win back Glasgow East for Labour.
She has been an MSP for 11 years and will resign prior to the 2011 Holyrood elections, regardless of the outcome of the Westminster result.
She said: ‘The loss of this seat at the by-election was serious for Labour. People gave a very strong message which we have listened to and responded to.
‘The defeat actually gave us an opportunity to change the Labour Party; to look outwards, to re-engage with our voters. We have been out every weekend talking to people. Every single vote will count in this election.’
Other candidates are likely to be; Hamira Khan – Scottish Conservatives, Kevin Ward – Scottish Lib Dems, and Joe Finnie – BNP.

Holyrood approves three more primary schools

 

Pollokshields and Garrowhill are two of the latest beneficiaries of the Scottish Government’s £1.25bn schools building programme.

Cabinet Secretary for Education, Fiona Hyslop’s, announcement includes rebuilding projects at Garrowhill Primary in the east of the city and Glendale Primary in the south.

The latest tranche of rebuilding also allows Glasgow City Council to nominate a third school project. A total of 21 primary schools are now part of the programme to replace crumbling post-war buildings with modern facilities.

In September, the Government announced that 14 secondary schools will be rebuilt or modernised.

The Cabinet Secretary said: ‘This Government inherited a legacy of 260,000 pupils in poor or bad condition school buildings and in just two-and-a-half years that number has dropped by over 100,000.

‘We are on track to deliver in excess of 250 new or refurbished schools in the lifetime of this Parliament through £2bn already under way, supported by decisions made by the Scottish Government.’

Welcoming the news of a new Garrowhill Primary, Glasgow East  MP, John Mason, fired a broadside at the Labour-led council, saying they had failed in their responsibility to keep schools in good repair.

‘The Scottish Government’s school building fund is meant to provide additional support, but the Labour council really needs to start pulling its weight on schools.’

The rebuilding project will be managed by the Scottish Futures Trust (SFT), a limited company wholly owned by Holyrood ministers, set up to govern infrastructure investment in Scotland, working in partnership with the private sector.

Established last year, the Government claimed the SFT would cost less than public finance initiative deals with the private sector. Infrastructure investment in Scotland over the next 10 years has been put at some £35bn.