Dunfermline & West Fife by-election 2006

'The last time West Fife returned an MP who was not a member of the Labour Party was in 1945 - and he was a Communist.' Sunday Mail Editorial, 12 th February 2006.

Opinion: Shock result proves every vote counts

Editorial in the Sunday Mail 12 th February 2006

WHAT must Gordon Brown be thinking?

The upright, dour son of the manse given a bloody nose in his own backyard by a party plagued by booze and sex scandals.

So much for the moral majority.

The Dunfermline and West Fife by-election proves one thing: it is always worth turning out to vote.

With an 11,500 majority, the seat was meant to be solid Labour.

The last time West Fife returned an MP who was not a member of the Labour Party was in 1945 - and he was a Communist.

Every pundit and political journalist said Labour had it in the bag, with a reduced majority.

But the people of Fife went to the polling stations and made their voices heard. They voted Lib Dem for lots of reasons - from the war in Iraq to the state of Dunfermline.

They proved all the so-called experts wrong and made a piece of political history into the bargain.

It show that in a democracy anything can happen. And that every individual's X counts.

We hope Labour learn their lesson and do not think they can win key seats by parachuting in the big guns at the last minute.

The Holyrood elections are in May 2007. Labour better get to work now.

Every vote will count.