 | 'Eric Joyce, Labour's controversial candidate once bitterly denounced as a
Blairite carpetbagger by Dennis Canavan, the outgoing Westminster MP, held off
a huge SNP assault which almost handed victory to David Kerr in one of Labour's
safest seats.' Murray Richie and Robbie Dinwoodie in the Herald, 22 nd December 2000 |  |
The turnout was 36.2%, a record low in Scotland since the war, showing that voters had little appetite for the pre-festive contest.
Eric Joyce, Labour's controversial candidate once bitterly denounced as a Blairite carpetbagger by Dennis Canavan, the outgoing Westminster MP, held off a huge SNP assault which almost handed victory to David Kerr in one of Labour's safest seats.
The first Christmas by-election in Scotland for almost half a century saw the Scottish Socialist Party again push the Liberal Democrats into fifth place.
Iain Hunter, of the SSP, saved his deposit but Hugh O'Donnell, the Liberal Democrat, failed to do so. Craig Stevenson, the Tory candidate came third, as expected, but with a discouraging 1621 votes.
The SNP promptly claimed the result a triumph as they savoured a swing of 16.15% but the Nationalists had required 18% and the result will go down as another heroic disappointment.
The record low turnout was better than many had expected, but was in contrast to the turnout of 72% in Falkirk West at the 1997 general election and 63% in the first Scottish Parliament election.
The apathy will reignite the debate about abandoning the British tradition of polling only on Thursdays.
The last by-election of 2000 was caused by the unprecedented decision of the sitting Westminster MP, Dennis Canavan, to quit in protest after a prolonged dispute with his party although he will remain in the Scottish Parliament as an independent.
The victor, Eric Joyce of Labour, spoke of his deep pride and humility after the result but was jeered when he called it a "clear mandate" from the people of Falkirk.
"We will not disappoint the people but this result will disappoint the pundits who predicted a disastrous result for Labour," he said.
Labour's positive policies of working together for the benefit of everyone had seen them reduce poverty and help the elderly, he added.
David Kerr, of the SNP, said the result in which he had slashed Labour's majority sent out a clear message in favour of independence and that Scotland was a wealthy country which allowed its children to grow up in poverty.
Michael Russell MSP, key SNP strategist, said after the declaration: "Labour poured everything they had into one of their safest seats and just pipped the SNP at the post. "Scottish politics is more than ever the tightest of two-horse races and the SNP as usual is punching above its weight. Roll on the general election."
Craig Stevenson, the Con-servative candidate, said: "This is a disaster for Labour on the eve of a general election. It is clear that voters have lost faith in New Labour and the Liberal Democrats are now an irrelevance in Scottish politics. For us to come a good third in a two corner fight is a fantastic achievement."
Hugh O'Donnell, the Liberal Democrat candidate, bemoaned the low turnout and said this raised question marks over the mandate of the winner.
He added: "The SNP clearly is seen as an irrelevance in Westminster terms. The seat was there for the taking and they failed."
This promoted a shout from the back of the hall: "Hugh O'Donnell, you are the weakest link. Goodbye."
When the result was announced, John Reid, Scottish secretary, said: "That will do me." He added: "This is the 10th by-election victory in a row and that's a record for any government post-war."
Roseanna Cunningham, deputy leader of the SNP, said: "There has been a massive swing to the SNP. We are always talking about swings to the SNP and swings away from Labour.
"One of the interesting things about this is clearly that a lot of people who previously voted for Dennis Canavan have switched to the SNP. We have done extremely well and this is a very good result for the SNP."
Malcolm Bruce, of the Liberal Democrats, said his party had failed to achieve credibility in a seat like Falkirk.
Results
* Labour: Eric Joice 8492 (44%)
* SNP: David Kerr 7787 (40%)
* Conservative: Craig Stevenson 1621 (8%).
* Scottish Socialist Party: Iain Hunter 989 (5%).
* Lib Dem: Hugh O'Donnell 615 (3%)
* Majority: 705 (Labour majority May 1997 13,783)
* Turnout: 36.2% (May 1997 74.4%)
-Dec 22nd
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