Ayr by-election 2000

'The party mood in Scotland is better than down south, partly because we weren't as traumatised by the last election. We're used to being hammered.'
Conservative & Unionist Party President, Sir Malcolm Rifkind.

Tories back their women to win race for Ayr seat

By Lorna Hill, Political Correspondent in the Scotland on Sunday

THE Scottish Tories look set to field a female candidate in the forthcoming Ayr by-election, with the two favourite emerging candidates both women.

Margaret Mitchell and Kate Pickering have been tipped as the most likely potential candidates for the spring contest for the marginal seat, which provides the best chance of the Tories taking a seat from Labour. It follows the resignation of Labour MSP Ian Welsh for personal reasons.

The development comes as the Conservatives battle to increase their female representation at Holyrood. Although the Conservatives have 18 MSPs, only three are women . A party insider said: "There’s a strong desire on the part of the party that the candidate should be a woman."

A party spokesman said there has been "considerable interest" from applicants, which are understood to include a number of local candidates. The shortlist is currently being drawn up and the local association will have the final say in who will stand.

Mitchell and Pickering both stood for the party in last year’s elections. Mitchell currently works in the parliament and is constituency secretary to MSPs Lord James Douglas-Hamilton and David McLetchie, who is also the party’s leader. Pickering, a doctor, was one of the party’s high-profile candidates last year and was third on the Glasgow list.

One source said: "It would be nice to have a woman candidate but we’re not twisting arms or anything. We have always taken the view that it should be selection on merit. There’s nobody in the party that would want it otherwise."

The development comes as momentum for the contest begins to gather speed. Although Labour and the SNP have yet to select their candidates they are expected to be in place by the end of the month. The by-election, the first of the Scottish parliament, is expected to gauge the first public response to Holyrood since its official opening last July.

However, it is an unwelcome contest for Labour, which holds the seat with a slim majority of 25. The turnout is expected to be low and both the Tories and nationalists are strong contenders.

The constituency is the most marginal in the parliament and the contest will prove a tough challenge to Donald Dewar and his party to hold the seat. Welsh resigned from his post last month, citing family reasons for his decision. He also complained that he found his back-bench role too restricting.

Phil Gallie, the Tory MSP who lost out to Welsh but was elected as a list MSP for the South of Scotland, last week ruled himself out of the race.

Gallie, who would have had to step down as a list MSP to fight the contest, said that although he had been tempted to stand, he intended to fight the constituency at the next Westminster general election. Although the Presiding Officer, Sir David Steel, has yet to set an official date for the by-election, it is expected to happen some time in March.

- Jan 9 th 2000

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