 | 'I would say to those people in my own party who think that Labour's Air Force should be converted into kamikaze squadrons - I think they should fly the first missions. If they think it is unfair that Labour has so many seats at every level of representation in this country, they should set a good moral example and give up their own first.' Councillor Charles Gordon, Leader of Glasgow Council where his party won 93.7 % of the seats (74 out of 79) with just 53.6 % of the vote. |  |
The SNP were celebrating in Dundee after James Barrie's by-election victory in the city's Logie ward. Until the by-election, the 29-seat council was run by a minority Labour administration with 14 seats. The loss of Logie to means that Labour now only have two seats more than the Scottish National Party in a council which Labour dominated until 1999.
The Logie ward is in the Dundee West constituency, and is situated to the west of the city centre, north of the Tay rail bridge. Dundee used to be best known for the 'three J's' - jute, jam and journalism but following the decline in those industries it has created a vibrant new image for itself as the 'City of Discovery'. The name comes from Captain Scott's ship, built at Dundee, which is housed in a new exhibition, but it could equally well apply to the world class biological research being carried out at Dundee University.
The image of the city was not always a shining one and it suffered enormously due to the antics of the local council. In the 1970s the Labour party in Dundee was the victim of many self-inflicted problems including former Dundee Labour councillors standing trial for corruption, at the High Court in Edinburgh. One of the councillors was jailed and there was a purge of the local party.
The new Dundee Labour party was a different bunch. In the 1980s, while George Galloway was part of the ruling administration Dundee was twinned with a town on the West Bank and the Palestinian flag was flown over the City Chambers.
Unsurprisingly, Dundee residents began to tire of Labour. In a by-election in early 1973, Labour's George Machie narrowly held the Dundee East parliamentary seat against the SNP's Gordon Wilson. He lost it in the subsequent General election, having been an Honourable Member for a year less a day. Gordon Wilson represented Dundee East until 1987 when he was defeated by Labour's John McAllion.
In the local government re-organisation for the 1995 election, as in Glasgow, the Tories lopped off the leafier parts of Dundee and redistributed them to the surrounding councils. They hoped, in vain, that this gerrymandering would assist them in regaining Angus from the SNP and holding on to Perthshire & Kinross. The original Tory redistribution plans included removing Dundee's zoo at Camperdown Park from within the city's boundaries, but this was never carried out as it was pointed out that the Park had been left by the Duncan family to the people of Dundee. However, even so, as is often pointed out, a few miles west from Dundee city centre one would find oneself in Perth.
In 1995, the Labour party romped to victory in Dundee taking no less than 28 of the 36 wards with 53.6 % of the vote. The Scottish National Party obtained a quarter of the vote (25.2 %) but won just won three wards while the Tories obtained 13.9 % and took four wards. The remaining seat was won by Independent Labour Cllr Ian Borthwick. Logie was won by Labour's Shona Main, with 694 votes, just 75 ahead Derek Scott for the Conservatives. The SNP's Michelle Mulligan was third with 235 votes while Elizabeth Stansfield took 75 for the Lib Dems.
For Labour, their Dundee results in 1999 were some of the worst in Scotland and disaster was only just staved off. In the Scottish Parliamentary elections, John McAllion, up against Shona Robison for the second time, saw his majority over the SNP slashed from almost 10,000 in 1997 to under 3,000. In neighbouring Dundee West, Labour council leader Kate McLean saw a Labour majority of 11,859 in 1997 reduced to just 121 by the SNP's Calum Cashley.
In the council elections, the results were even worse. There were further boundary changes for the 1999 election and the number of wards in Dundee was reduced from 36 to 29. Labour, which had gone into the election with a veritable battalion of 28 councillors, came out of it with a squad of exactly half those numbers. The Conservatives retained four wards while the SNP took 10 wards, up from three. These results meant that Labour had lost overall control of the City of Dundee. Their minority administration required the support of other councillors, and although Independent Labour Councillor, Ian Borthwick does not vote with them the four Tory councillors often do.
Logie was a two horse race in 1995 between Labour and the Conservatives with the Scottish National Party trailing. In 1999, it became a three-way Labour-SNP-Conservative marginal. Labour's John Kemp took 583 votes, just 69 ahead of the SNP's Keith Taylor, who in turn was 85 votes of Conservative John Cant.
Labour was well aware that Logie was a crucial ward for them and they made a major effort to hold it with MPs being parachuted in to chap on doors, shake hands and kiss babies. Their efforts did not go unrewarded and the Labour vote actually increased by 3.1 %. However, the SNP vote increased once more, this time by 9.0 %, allowing James Barrie to become the new councillor for Logie and take the SNP to within two seats of Labour.
The Tory vote fell by 9.6%, while the Liberal Democrats, who had taken 13.9 % in 1999, did not stand. The Scottish Socialist Party, standing for the first time took 7.9 %. An independent obtained 3.5 %. (They were reported to be campaigning 'against the repeal of section 28' - presumably a reporting error as section 28 only applies to England. The Scottish equivilent was, we believe, called clause 2A.)
The results in Logie will be worrying to the Labour party in Dundee West where the SNP came within a couple of hundred votes of defeating them in the Scottish election. Meanwhile in Dundee East, the local MP, John McAllion is standing down to concentrate on the Scottish Parliament. New Labour's chosen successor to Mr McAllion for Dundee East is Ian Luke. He is presently an unhappy man as he was the losing candidates' election agent. Mr Luke, the Cllr for Tay Bridges, will face a challenge from the SNP's National Secretary, Stewart Hosie. 'May you live in Interesting Times' is said to be an old Chinese curse. It is certainly Interesting Times for the Labour Party in Dundee.
The turnout was 26.7 %, down from 49.9 % in May 1999.
The SNP by-election gain of Logie from the Labour Party puts the composition of Dundee City Council at 13 Labour, 11 Scottish National Party, 4 Conservatives and one Independent Labour councillor.
I am grateful to David Freeland for sending the result and to Anya Lawrence for information and for correcting a number of factual errors.
The Scottish Nationalists were celebrating last night after seizing a crucial seat in a city by-election thus ending decades of dominance by the Labour party.
The slender winning majority of 19 votes means that the opposition parties on Dundee City Council can now defeat the minority Labour administration.
Labour will remain the single largest party but, even with the support of one independent Labour councillor, they can now be out-voted by the SNP and the Tories.
The SNPs James Barrie overturned a 69-vote majority in the city's Logie ward to give the party 11 councillors. The Tories have four. The administration is now down to 13 councillors with one Independent. Despite enjoying power for two decades, recent local elections have seen a weakening in Labour's support.
Councillor John Corrigan, leader of the SNP group said:
'It was a wonderful result. We will continue to press Labour and will put forward the things we wish for the city.'
The Scottish National Party are celebrating yet another council by-election victory over New Labour. A 6 per cent swing secured victory last night (Thursday) for SNP candidate Jim Barrie in Logie ward, Dundee.
Cllr Jim Barrie said:
'New Labour pulled out all the stops to hold on to this council seat, parachuting in MEPs, MSPs, MPs and Ministers, but they still couldnŐt pull it off. The people of Dundee realise that New Labour are failing and are turning to the SNP in droves.
'This is a particularly humiliating night for Ian Luke who is contesting Dundee East for New Labour in the upcoming Westminster elections. He was the election agent of the failed New Labour candidate and it makes a mockery of his chances for Westminster. I am delighted to serve the residents in Logie ward and I look forward to helping them in the years to come.'
SNP National Convener Mr Alex Salmond MSP said:'This is another major breakthrough in Dundee. I am particularly delighted that the SNP have taken this seat away from New Labour as it is the last election contest I shall be involved in as the SNP leader.
'This is another tremendous night for the SNP. New Labour is on the run in the East coast of Scotland.'
| 30 th August 2000 | 6 th May 1999 | ||||||
| James Barrie |  |
351 | 38.0 % | John Kemp |  |
583 | 32.9 % |
| G McDougall | |
332 | 36.0 % | Keith Taylor | |
514 | 29.0 % |
 |
135 | 14.6 % | John Cant | |
429 | 24.2 % | |
 |
73 | 7.9 % | Shiela Tennant |  |
246 | 13.9 % | |
| Ind | 32 | 3.5 % | |||||
| SNP gain from Lab | SNP maj. | 19 | 2.0 % | Lab win | Lab maj. | 69 | 3.9 % |
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