 | 'Gordon Brown is a huge figure in this area. He's been an MP here for more than 20 years and basically runs the Labour party in this area. Nobody does anything without making sure that he approves. He has always said that as long as he was in government, then this area would benefit from that - but his personal reputation has been overcome by local issues over which he has no control because of devolution.' Angus Macleod in the Times, 10 th February 2006. |  |
Liberal Democrat by-election winner Willie Rennie has staged a victory parade down the main street of the town he sensationally captured from Labour.
Mr Rennie claimed Prime Minister Tony Blair's party was paying the price for taking voters for granted after overturning a majority of more than 11,500 in Dunfermline and West Fife.
The seat, considered a Labour stronghold, is next door to Chancellor Gordon Brown's Dunfermline East constituency.
Mr Rennie was surrounded by jubilant placard-waving Liberal Democrats as he walked down Dunfermline's high street.
Two of the three Liberal Democrat leadership contenders, Simon Hughes and Sir Menzies Campbell, were also there to bask in the party's hour of triumph.
Mr Rennie declared: "We have engaged on the issues that matter to people in this constituency. People are fed up with Labour. They have taken our country for granted for too long - there is too much spin and not enough delivery."
Joining in the victory parade were some of the activists the Liberal Democrats drafted in to pull off one of the most extraordinary by-election successes of recent years, in a seat which observers had predicted Labour would hold, but with a reduced majority.
Mr Hughes said: "It is a success against Labour in Gordon Brown's backyard. It is a hugely important result against the SNP - we have left them behind, they are not moving forwards. And it is the end of the Cameron honeymoon. The result here for the Tories is worse than their average over the last eight years."
Sir Menzies said the result was a welcome morale booster to his party, currently in the middle of a leadership campaign. "The important thing is that this is Labour's heartland," said Sir Menzies.
And Mr Rennie claimed: "We have engaged on the issues that matter to people in this constituency. People are fed up with Labour, they have taken our country for granted too long, there is too much spin and not enough delivery."
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