 | 'As the Mail's chief foreign correspondent, I have visited 70 countries, but my trip to Scotland has been one of the saddest.' Anne Leslie in the Daily Mail (London) March 2000. |  |
| 'As the Mail's chief foreign correspondent, I have visited 70 countries, but my trip to Scotland has been one of the saddest.' Anne Leslie in the Daily Mail (London) March 2000. | |
The Scottish Labour Party, the Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party, the Scottish National Party, the Scottish Socialist Party and the Scottish Liberal Democrat Party are all fielding candidates.
The election for the Westminster seat was caused when independent Dennis Canavan resigned.
He had represented Falkirk West for Labour from June 1983 until last year.
The 48-year-old was voted back to Westminster in May 1997 with a majority of 13,783. That represented a 4% swing from the SNP to Labour.
But Mr Canavan fell out with the party he had been a member of for 33 years when he failed to win selection as its Holyrood candidate in the Falkirk West constituency.
He was automatically expelled from Labour when he decided to stand as an independent.
Mr Canavan won his place in the new Scottish Parliament last May, but soon after he began bridge building with his former party.
Last month it appeared he was ready to return to the membership fold.
Party officials blamed
However, in dramatic style he withdrew that intention, saying there was more to him being blocked as a Holyrood candidate than he had first thought.
He believed the "very top" of the party had been involved with the selection process and he had no other option but to resign and force a by-election.
That takes place on Thursday 21 December.
BBC Scotland's political editor, Brian Taylor, said that on the face of it, the seat is a Labour stronghold.
He added: "It would require a swing of 18% for the second-placed SNP to take the seat.
"They achieved that in Hamilton, where they nearly unseated Labour, but only managed swings of 6% and 7% in the Anniesland double by-election last month.
"The SNP has been careful to contain expectations in Falkirk and more generally.
"It argues that it is now starting from a higher plateau and that the days of violent swings may be in the past.
"Its aim is consolidation and steady advance. Recent opinion polls would suggest that the SNP's earlier advance - when it apparently overtook Labour - may have been contained or reversed.
"In Falkirk, the SNP points to its relative success in the local authority and European elections in 1999, arguing that those are a better pointer to the current contest.
"In addition, it is incontestable that the controversy surrounding Dennis Canavan has involved a difficult period for the Labour Party locally."
Candidates
Iain Hunter, Scottish Socialist Party
Eric Joyce, Scottish Labour Party
David Kerr, Scottish National Party
Hugh O'Donnell, Scottish Liberal Democrat Party
Craig Stevenson, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
General election result, May 1997
Canavan, Labour: 22,772 (60.01%)
Alexander, SNP: 8,989 (23.4%)
Buchanan, Con: 4,639 (12.1%)
Houston, Lib Dem: 1,970 (5.1%)
Lab Majority: 13,783 (35.92% of the vote)
Electorate: 52,850
Total vote: 38,370
4% Swing from SNP to Lab
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