Livingston by-election 2005

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

Labour keeps Cook's Commons seat

From BBC Scotland News 29 th September 2005

Labour has retained the Livingston seat at Westminster after a by-election prompted by the death of former Foreign Secretary Robin Cook.

Its candidate Jim Devine, 52, who was Mr Cook's election agent, polled 12,219 votes, giving him a majority of 2,680 over the SNP, down 9% from May.

The result is a swing of 10.2% to the nationalists. Turnout was 38.6%, a fall from 58.1% at the general election.

Mr Devine said he hoped to emulate Robin Cook's performance as an MP.

Mr Cook, 59, who collapsed and died while hillwalking in north west Scotland in August, had a majority of 13,097 in May.

Party positions

Mr Devine, a trade union official with Unison, has held several key positions within the party in Scotland and had been Mr Cook's agent since the 1983 election.

The late MP was foreign secretary between 1997 and 2001, when he was demoted to the post of Commons leader.

In 2003, he resigned from the Cabinet on the eve of the Iraq war, declaring that military action was unnecessary.

The SNP candidate Angela Constance polled 9,369 votes with the Liberal Democrats' Charles Dundas taking 4,362.

The Conservatives' Gordon Lindhurst won 1,993 votes, the Greens' candidate David Robertson 529 and Steve Nimmo, of the Scottish Socialist Party 407.