Livingston by-election 2005

'ID cards won't catch criminals, more police will.' Cllr Angela Constance, 25 th September 2005.

SNP cites rise in drug offences

By Robbie Dinwoodie in the Herald 27 th September 2005

ALEX Salmond returned for another day of campaigning in Livingston, indicating the SNP's determination to claw back the Labour majority of more than 13,000 on Thursday. Yesterday, he was on the stump with his party's candidate, Angela Constance, who revealed another batch of figures on the constituency's crime problem. Again gleaned from freedom of information requests, a speciality of the Nationalist campaign, figures showed that in West Lothian since 1997 drug supply offences had gone up by 85% while offences for possession had risen by 60%.

Mr Salmond claimed the figures demonstrated that Labour was "clueless" about crime.