"Kelvin Latest" archive 2000

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New Labour Get a Run for their Money

Thursday 21st December saw New Labour's majority slashed from 13,783 to a mere 705 votes in the Falkirk West by-election. This represents a massive 16% swing from New Labour to the SNP

CANDIDATE	PARTY	VOTES	% VOTES
Major Eric Joyce	Scottish New Labour Party	8492	43.5
David Kerr	Scottish National Party	7787	39.9
Craig Stevenson	Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party	1621	8.3
Iain Hunter	Scottish Socialist Party	989	5.1
Hugh O'Donnell	Scottish Liberal Democrat Party	615	3.2
	majority:	705	3.6

This also represents the 27th consecutive election in which the SNP has gained support while Labour / New Labour have lost suffered a reduction. The Liberal Democrats are also forming a pattern, yet again failing to retain their deposit.

David Kerr said, "This country needs social justice and that can only be achieved through independence."

Check out the by-election campaign website for more information.

Falkirk West By-election

Dennis Cannavan's second attempt at resigning his Westminster seat in Falkirk West has resulted in another by-election for us to fight. David Kerr is the SNP's candidate, and is in a very good position to take the seat with the electorate's continuing disillusionment with the whole Cannavan vs New labour affair. Polling day is Thursday December 21st, so get these gloves and woolly hat out and head for Falkirk for what looks set to be an exciting contest.

• David was born and educated in Cumbernauld and graduated from St. Andrews University in 1996. He is currently employed by the BBC as a broadcast journalist.

Check out the by-election campaign website for more information

The proposals to transfer Glasgow's council housing stock into community ownership have been hit by a year-long delay. The ballot of tenants will now take place next November, a year later than the original schedule. The controversal proposals have so far not proved too popular with tennants, a recent Mori survey putting support at 28%. So it is no surprise that Glasgow City Council are having to buy time to ensure they get their own way with the proposals.

Bill Butler's elevation to the Scottish Parliament to represent Anniesland is likely to lead to his resignation as councillor for Tollcross Park in Shettleston. This gives the SNP an excellent opportunity to increase our representation on Glasgow City Council.

The December Issue of Sandra White MSP's newsletter can be found here.

Falkirk West By-election

Dennis Cannavan's second attempt at resigning his Westminster seat in Falkirk West has resulted in another by-election for us to fight. David Kerr is the SNP's candidate, and is in a very good position to take the seat with the electorate's continuing disillusionment with the whole Cannavan vs New labour affair. Polling day is Thursday December 21st, so get these gloves and woolly hat out and head for Falkirk for what looks set to be an exciting contest.

• David was born and educated in Cumbernauld and graduated from St. Andrews University in 1996. He is currently employed by the BBC as a broadcast journalist.

7% Swing in Anniesland By-elections

Scottish new Labour held both the Holyrood and Westminster seats in the by-elections, but with severely reduced majorities. Labour's previous 15,154 Westminster majority was reduced to a mere 6337, while their 10,993 majority for Holyrood was reduced to 5376.

Dennis Cannavan's second attempt at resigning his Westminster seat in Falkirk West has resulted in another by-election for us to fight. The expected date will be Thursday December 21st, so get these gloves and woolly hat out and head for Falkirk for what looks set to be an exciting contest.

We are now into the final week of campaigning for the by-elections in the late Donald Dewar's Glasgow Anniesland constituency. Seven candidates are standing for the Holyrood seat, while six candidates are standing for Westminster:

The by-elections will both take place on Thursday 23rd November.

Check out the Anniesland Campaign Website for further information.

Meanwhile, the prospect of a by-election in Falkirk West is less likely, after Dennis Cannavan MP decided to sell out and reapply for membership of the labour Party which had expelled him only last year.

New First Minister Elected

Thursday 26th October saw the election of Henry McLeish as Donald Dewar's successor in the Scottish Parliament. The post was also contested by John Swinney, David McLetchie and Dennis Cannavan. McLeish has still to face Scottish New Labour's full electoral college before being confirmed as their party leader.

House of Commons Pantomime Continues

Newly elected Speaker Michael Martin, MP for Glasgow Springburn

The farcical selection process of the House of Commons' new Speaker only goes to highlight how irrelevant Westminster is to a modern Scotland. The archaic practices indulged in in the Commons do not exactly give us
confidence in their capacity to administer democracy.

The procedure employed did not take MPs' second or third choices into account, and the running order of the individual "amendments" could be seen as unfair to certain candidates. A simple Single Transferable Vote system would have made the election much more acceptable to the public as well as the majority of the MPs. Such deficiencies can be seen throughout the Westminster establishment.

It is refreshing that the Scottish Parliament does not indulge in such ill-conceived procedures, and is able to make its decisions unhindered by eighteenth century protocols. Even the voting itself is far superior in Scotland: electronic voting consoles provide results instantly and accurately. The aye and no lobbies at Westminster may have been fine in the time of William Gladstone, but we must move forward with the times.

We in Scotland must distance ourselves from the Westminster Pantomime, and press for full transfer of all reserved powers to Holyrood. It is only in this way that we can ensure that the people of Scotland can receive the quality of Government and accountability we deserve.

Campaigning got underway this week for the forthcoming by-elections for the Westminster and Holyrood seats formerly held by the late Donald Dewar. This will not be an easy campaign for any party, but with both elections being called for Thursday 23rd November, we can waste no time in getting to work. Our candidate will be selected on Wednesday 1st November.

There is also to be a by-election in Falkirk West, after Dennis Cannavan MP resigns at the end of the month.

Frank Rankin was officially adopted as our Prospective Parliamentary Candidate at our cèilidh on Saturday 21st October. Speeches were made by constituency convenor Bill Kidd, Shadow Health Minister Nicola Sturgeon MSP, and Frank himself. A seat at Westminster is well within our reach, and we are looking forward to a successful campaign over the coming months.

A good night was had by all, although some dancing lessons may be of benefit to some of our members!

Donald Dewar MSP MP Kelvin SNP would like to pay tribute to Donald Dewar, who sudden death came as a shock to us all. As a mark of respect we have ceased all campaigning activities for the time being.

Calls have been made for the resignation of Ross Kemp as Rector of Glasgow University, after his continuing failure to carry our his duties. Sandra White MSP has lodged a motion with the Scottish Parliament supporting the students of Glasgow University and calling for Kemp's immediate resignation as Rector.

You can find Sandra's full press release here.

Time Up for Trident!

It's illegal - we don't need it - and we can't afford it...

March and rally against the Trident nuclear submarine programme. Organised by STUC and SCND
Saturday 28th October
Assemble 10.30am Blythswood Square

Speakers:
Liz Elkind (chair)
Bill Spiers - STUC
Alex Salmond MSP MP
George Galloway MP
Neil Cruickshank - CND

Swinney to Deliver Independence

John Swinney has been elected to succeed Alex Salmond as National Convenor of the SNP. He secured 67% of the vote at Annual National Conference in Inverness. Although this is much lower than many of his supporters anticipated, it still serves as a strong endorsement by the Party as a whole. His opponent, Alex Neil, had fought a strong campaign but appeared to lose ground in the days running up to the election.

John will build on the approach adopted by Alex Salmond, and all being well will deliver self-government for Scotland in the shortest possible timescale.

The Final Furlong...

The SNP leadership battle is hotting up. Alex Salmond's successor will be elected at the Party's Annual National Conference this Saturday (23 September), the two candidates being Alex Neil MSP and John Swinney MP MSP. Kelvin Constituency Association has given its backing to John Swinney.

Frank will be officially adopted as Kelvin's prospective parliamentary candidate at our cèilidh on Saturday 21st October. This will take place in the Community Central Halls, 304 Maryhill Road, and guests will be entertained by our regular cèilidh band, Shades of Green. A buffet will be provided, and as a special treat there will be no raffles!
Our guest speaker will be Nicola Sturgeon MSP

Tickets £10 (£5 unwaged) - email for details

Click on image to download poster in .PDF format (198k)

"Scotland Free or a Desert"
The 180th Commemoration will take place on Sunday 10th September at Sighthill Cemetery, 2pm. There will be an address by Peter Berresford Ellis, co-author of The Scottish Insurrection of 1820, and the unveiling of the memorial to Seumas Mac a Ghobhainn.