 | 'I think I have very broad support across the political spectrum, some of them not calling them Socialists but simply outraged by the control-freak tendency of Labour at present.' Dennis Canavan MP, 24 th November 1998. |  |
| 'I think I have very broad support across the political spectrum, some of them not calling them Socialists but simply outraged by the control-freak tendency of Labour at present.' Dennis Canavan MP, 24 th November 1998. | |
The move, a subtle manoeuvre allowing the Socialists to claim Mr Canavan as their favoured candidate for the regional list even if he refused to have anything to do with them, will be spearheaded today by party leader and Glasgow Councillor Tommy Sheridan and rebel MEP Hugh Kerr who, since leaving the Labour Party, has put his weight behind the Scottish Socialist Party.
The SSP is pledged to stand in every regional list across Scotland but - if as now seems likely - it makes an exception in Central Scotland, it could raise its flag behind Mr Canavan and maximise its impact on next May's Scottish General Election.
Mr Kerr, speaking in Brussels yesterday, said the party was keen to seek pacts and agreements wherever possible to further its ideals, although he said the Greens had been reluctant to treat with it.
But Mr Canavan would create the biggest impact yet for a Scottish Socialist ticket. The problem is that he has not been approached, and he insists he is not biddable in terms of a formal deal. "There has been no approach and no contract," he told The Herald last night. "But I think that they will find that I am pretty much un-hijackable."
One current Falkirk councillor, Raymond Stead, and a former regional councillor, Godfrey McIver, have already crossed over from New Labour to the Socialists, demonstrating a local trend which illustrates that today's constituency launch is not simply an opportunist stunt by outsiders.
Mr Canavan said he was unperturbed by the prospect of the Socialist Party endorsing him without his permission, saying: "I don't see any great problem. I think I have very broad support across the political spectrum, some of them not calling them Socialists but simply outraged by the control-freak tendency of Labour at present."
He said he had received almost 70 positive responses from existing Labour constituency members who were willing to back him, and more were coming forward on a daily basis.
This all makes events in the constituency and electoral region highly unpredictable next spring. Will Mr Canavan gain votes from Nationalists, or might both Labour and Nationalist supporters, along with others, choose Mr Canavan as their first or second choice?
These decisions will be influenced by Labour's own choice of a candidate for the Falkirk West constituency, more details of which emerged yesterday.
Several candidates have now made themselves available to Labour as willing to be parachuted into the constituency in the absence of Mr Canavan.
They include former Glasgow Lord Provost Michael Kelly, who offered himself two days after Mr Canavan announced his decision to fight the seat against Labour. Dr Kelly is also being considered for Hamilton North.
Others chasing Mr Canavan's seat include Councillor Ross Martin, education convener in West Lothian; Jim Stevens, of Labour's Scottish executive, who was a principal witness against Tommy Graham in the expelled MP's disciplinary case; Cathie Peattie of the Labour women's committee in the constituency; and Len Ironside, an Aberdeen councillor.
Mr Kelly, who is seen as among the favourites, said: "I've thrown my hat into the ring. The selection process is still at a very early stage." - Nov 25.
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