 | 'Labour peer Lord Watson receives a 16-month sentence for torching a pair of curtains which resulted, thankfully, in injuries to no-one. I look forward to a proportionate sentence being imposed on war criminals Blair, Brown and the rest for the torching of Iraq.' C. Corstorphine, 28 th September 2005. |  |
Labour held on to its Cathcart seat at Holyrood last night, but Ð as with Livingston Ð its majority was cut.
The new MSP is Charlie Gordon, who has a record of being outspoken in defence of his home city, and a reputation for laying it on the line to Labour ministers.
But he also wants to be a cabinet minister, and many will now be watching to see if he carries on his brusque style, or bites his tongue in the hope of reward.
A former Communist and railway worker, the 53-year-old was leader of Glasgow City Council between 1999 and 2005.
The by-election was forced by the resignation of Lord Watson of Invergowrie, 56, after he admitted setting fire to a curtain in a luxury Edinburgh hotel last November at the end of a night of heavy drinking.
He had been the Labour MSP for the seat since the Scottish Parliament began in 1999, and MP for Glasgow Central from 1989 to 1997.
Last week, he was sentenced to 16 months in prison.
Already having to live down Watson's fireraising, Labour then compounded its problems with a bitter internal wrangle over its choice of candidate.
However, Mr Gordon comfortably won the support of Cathcart activists by brushing aside his differences with Jack McConnell and offering himself as a "tough candidate for a tough by-election".
The SNP also had trouble when Maire Whitehead, its candidate, suggested saving money at Glasgow City Council by cutting jobs.
But the real wild card in the contest was the resurrection of Pat Lally, 79, the former lord provost who stood as an Independent, with saving A&E services at the Victoria Infirmary as one of his key messages.
In 2003, Mr Lally had taken 11% of the vote on a similar ticket. This time, he secured 856 votes Ð just over 5.5%.
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