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Labour sends in big guns for campaign's final few days
09.11.09
Two leading Labour cabinet ministers will visit Glasgow today to help increase votes as the campaigning in the by-election in the city enters its last days.
Chancellor Alistair Darling and Home Secretary Alan Johnson will join Labour's candidate Willie Bain in the Glasgow North East constituency.
Their visits follow that of Prime Minster Gordon Brown, who backed the Labour candidate during a tour of a number of sites in the constituency on Friday.
Conservative leader David Cameron has also made an appearance during the campaigns for the seat of ex-Speaker Michael Martin - now Lord Martin.
Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg will also be in the constituency today as he joins Scottish Liberal Democrat candidate Eileen Baxendale. Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Tavish Scott will also be campaigning alongside the two.
SNP candidate David Kerr will join SNP activists in the Broomfield Road area to view new housing developments.
Ruth Davidson, the Scottish Conservative candidate in the by-election, will also be speaking to potential voters.
Ms Davidson will visit a centre which retrains people for work, including ex-service personnel, along with Scottish Conservative Leader Annabel Goldie MSP.
Last month, the Government formally launched the Glasgow North East by-election to fill the seat vacated in June by Lord Martin.
The writ was moved in the Commons for the contest on Thursday this week - after a wait of nearly five months.
The four main party candidates are Labour's Bain, 36, a law lecturer; the Liberal Democrats' Baxendale, 64, a councillor and former social worker; the Tories' Davidson, 30, a former journalist and the SNP's Kerr, 36, also a former journalist.
The Scottish Green Party is fielding David Doherty, Tommy Sheridan is standing for Solidarity, John Smeaton is standing as an Independent funded by the Jury Team, and former Big Brother runner-up Mikey Hughes, 35, is standing as an Independent.
Glasgow North East 2005 General Election result: Martin (Speaker) 15,153 (53.3%); McLaughlin (SNP) 5,019 (17.7%); Kelly (Socialist Labour) 4,036 (14.2%); Campbell (Scottish Socialist Party) 1,402 (4.9%); Houston (Scottish Unionist Party 1,266 (4.5%); McLean (BNP) 920 (3.2%); Chambers (Ind) 622 (2.2%). Majority 10,134.
