 | 'The pain and misery this has caused in FalkirkWest will go on for a long time.' Kate Arnot, former Falkirk West Labour party chairwoman, 18 th November 1998. |  |
| 'The pain and misery this has caused in FalkirkWest will go on for a long time.' Kate Arnot, former Falkirk West Labour party chairwoman, 18 th November 1998. | |
In what amounts to an act of defiance against the Labour establishment, they have pledged to work for the veteran left-winger in his quest to be elected to the Scottish parliament as an independent.
Their support is a major boost to Mr Canavan's attempts to build a powerful election machine able to attract significant numbers of voters.
The Scotsman yesterday revealed that the Falkirk West MP plans to maximise his chances of being elected by standing for both parts of the ballot - as a constituency candidate and on the separate top-up list elected by proportional representation.
This followed his declaration last week that he would stand against the official Labour candidate in Falkirk West. His decision, prompted by his exclusion from the party's approved candidates list, has outraged the Labour leadership.
Donald Dewar, the Scottish Secretary, warned Mr Canavan last week that he would be thrown out of the Labour Party if he carried out his threat.
Now many of his supporters in Falkirk West have signalled that they will follow him out of the party to form the core of his campaign staff. A letter Mr Canavan sent to constituency party members last week announcing his intention to stand as an independent contained a tear-off slip inviting them to reply if they were prepared to support him actively. So far, more than 50 have responded positively.
Mr Canavan said he expected further support from inside and outside Falkirk West from both Labour and non-Labour members. He says he has also received unsolicited offers of financial support.
Friends of the MP say he has received a pile of mail supporting his stance since declaring his intention to stand a week ago.
A large back-up team could be vital to Mr Canavan's hopes of attracting enough voters to win a top-up seat in the large Central Scotland constituency.
He said last night: "I have not finally decided whether to stand as a list candidate yet. But from the mail I have received so far I think I could get a campaign going, not just locally in Falkirk West, but further afield.
"I have received messages of support from all over the country and from the Kilsyth area, which I had the privilege to represent for ten years before the boundaries were changed.
"Well over 50 local party members have signed up, although a lot more have expressed support privately for what I'm doing but don't want to risk expulsion from the Labour Party. Those who have signed up are active party members who have experience of campaigning, and they could form the nucleus of a campaign team."
The far-left Scottish Socialist Party, which says it will not put up a candidate in Falkirk West against Mr Canavan, has invited him to consider standing under its banner in the list ballot.
However, the MP maintained that he would not consider standing for any party other than Labour.
An emergency meeting of the Falkirk West constituency party will be held tonight to elect new officers after leading officials resigned en masse last month in protest at Mr Canavan's treatment.
Kate Arnot - the former party chairwoman and one of those who quit her post - said: "There are individuals in the party who are willing to be expelled to help Dennis. Whatever an individual does in the local party, there is going to be great regret inevitably for all of us.
"Those of us choosing to remain in the party will regret that we cannot support Dennis.
"Those supporting Dennis will be filled with regret because they will be forced to leave the Labour Party.
She added: "There's going to be back-up for him. There are people outside the party who will help and work with Dennis. The pain and misery this has caused in Falkirk West will go on for a long time."
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