The word on the street

 

The biggest thing on in the Scottish political world at the moment is the Glasgow East by-election - and part of my ward falls into the Glasgow East constituency. So, no surprises for guessing what this Flag is going to focus on...

 

The activists

 

 

I got back from holiday and had my first shift campaigning last Friday, and was amazed and really pleased by the number of SNP activists that have turned out for the by election. Glasgow has had a lot of by-elections at both council and parliamentary levels over the past few years - Cathcart, Milton, Knightswood, King's Park and so on. You get used to seeing a hard core of activists. But there's now literally hundreds of SNP activists out and about, particularly at weekends. There's the stalwarts from previous by-election campaigns, relatively new activists who joined before the last Scottish Parly elections, councillors from across the country and new or previously inactive members for who Glasgow East is their first experience of canvassing and leafleting.

 

I hope it's a good experience for everyone, although, am sure it is. There's a really good buzz about the campaign rooms, and stopping off to pick up and drop off work gives you the chance to have a chat with someone you haven't seen for a while, or explain canvassing to a newbie. The social side of the campaign is a chance to compare notes with councillors from different areas of the country.

 

The signs are that things are moving in our favour. A large part of that will be the number of activists out on the street. There's still time for one big push before polling day on 24th, and a massive weekend of action this weekend. The campaign rooms are at 2 Baillieston Road, Glasgow. Last weekend there was a barbecue and a short musical interlude at lunchtime, which there was a great atmosphere at. Whether or not you made it along then, this weekend promises to be even better, and hopefully as many people as possible can make it out. Even although there will be a lot of people, we can always do with one or two more. Besides which, campaigning has never been this much fun!

 

In contrast to the SNP activists, other activists have been thin on the ground. I've spotted plenty of Labour leaflets, but only one solitary canvasser. I've seen the Lib Dem candidate out and about once, but that's been in. Although other activists have reported seeing groups of Labour activists, these are few and far between. Of course, Glasgow East is a big constituency and it's very possible that different parties are working different ground. But you can't help but think that our activists are really enthusiastic about this campaign, and other parties' are finding it hard to excite their troops.

 

The parliamentarians

 

 

There have been SNP ministers, MSPs, MPs and MEPs out campaigning hard for the Party - no surprises there! But I had a look at some of the London papers to see what MPs from other parties made of the contest. The Times is not my usual read, but  I found a fascinating story on 13th July, reporting that Labour MPs are being whipped into going to Glasgow East. They're also being told that the trips are not a "jolly" and they've got to work hard. But many MPs are "struggling to hide their lack of enthusiasm for campaigning in one of the grimmest constituencies of Britain" and "may turn to the Party for help" in claiming rail tickets to Glasgow!

 

Papers, of course, sometimes don't let a fact get in the way of the story. But the thought does occur that many Labour MPs will be reluctant to campaign because losing Glasgow East, while a short term blow, is likely to lead to Brown's resignation and replacement with someone more acceptable to Middle England. The thought of traipsing up to Glasgow on a mission to help prop up an ailing government can't be terribly appealing. Particularly when it might actually hurt their own chances of being re-elected in the long term, can't be terribly appealling.

 

Then there's the lack of high profile ministerial visits in the constituency - Harriet Harman, Douglas Alexander and others turning up, but with no press attention. Brown is hiding being a Westminster convention of the PM not campaigning in by-elections - this seems like an archaic tradition in modern politics, and was ignored by his predecessor. It seems a strange strategy, as it creates the impression that the UK government just aren't that interested in Glasgow East. Labour's counter argument is that their candidate is strong enough without ministerial support. But it just looks as if Labour don't currently have any nationally recognisable, popular leaders who can outshine Alex Salmond and Nicola Sturgeon.