 | 'George Lyon MSP, the deputy finance minister, was accused of attempting to stop a motion of condolence for the 60-year-old, who died on Tuesday after a long battle with breast cancer. Lyon, a member for Argyll and Bute, was said to have argued against it, saying it would set a precedent. When told it was to go ahead, he is alleged to have asked for a reduction of the time to be spent on it.' Lorna Martin, Scotland editor in the Observer 26 th March 2006. |  |
THE Liberal Democrats today promised a Dunfermline-style campaign blitz to win the by- election caused by the death of long-serving Nationalist MSP Margaret Ewing.
The party has come fourth in the Moray seat at every Westminster and Holyrood election in the past 20 years and only the Tories and the SNP have represented the seat since the Second World War.
But today a spokesman insisted the Lib Dems could achieve a surprise victory. A spokesman said: "Our election gurus who masterminded Dunfermline have analysed the Moray constituency and are clear the Lib Dems can win.
"Labour, the Conservatives and the Lib Dems are all on about 20 per cent of the vote.
"Election after election, our vote has gone up, while votes for Labour and the Tories have gone down."
He added: "We need to persuade the people of Moray that the Lib Dems are the only alternative to the SNP."
He said the party would have more than 100 activists out every weekend of the campaign and every home would receive multiple leaflets between now and polling day on April 27.
The spokesman insisted it was perfectly possible for the party to come from fourth place to win the by-election.
"It has happened before in Scotland - for instance when the SNP won Govan in 1988 - and the Lib Dems in England have regularly come from third place in a three-cornered fight to win, most notably in Brent, where we won the seat in a spectacular by- election and held it at the subsequent general election."
The Lib Dems last night chose local councillor and shopkeeper Linda Gorn as their candidate. She has stood in the seat at the past three elections.
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