Labour have held the seat in Glenrothes with Lindsay Roy being elected the new Westminster MP for the area having a majority of 6,737 over the SNP's Peter Grant, although there was a swing of almost 5% to the Nationalists.
The by-election in the Fife constituency was held after the death of sitting Labour MP John MacDougall.
The Tories came third with 1,381 votes while the Lib Dems, who polled 947 votes, were squeezed to fourth.
The Glenrothes result in full is below:
* Lindsay Roy, Labour - 19,946
* Peter Grant, SNP - 13,209
* Maurice Golden, Conservative - 1,381
* Harry Wills, Lib Dem - 947
* Jim Parker, SSCUP - 296
* Morag Balfour, Scottish Socialist Party - 212
* Kris Seunarine, UKIP - 117
* Louise McLeary, Solidarity - 87
Labour majority: 6,737
Turnout: 52.34%
With this result for Labour I am today not interested in listening to news on the BBC about the "Brown bounce" or state of the economy which is quite depressing.
Although despite defeat for the SNP it was not completely dire for the Nationalists with a swing of 5%. However many should learn that you cannot easily predict by-election results in Scotland all the time. Glenrothes was not Glasgow East. Their expectation that they would be victorious in Glenrothes bordered on arrogance and if they had won would they not have been a bit smug? Perhaps the SNP (and their friends who hang on to their coat tails) should accept the SNP is a single issue party and their greatest resource is arguing the case for independence.
In local councils the SNP are certainly not impressive and in Fife did not shy away from charges for services in social care and for the disabled.
By my own experience the Fife SNP/Lib Dem council were terrible when I applied for a council house transfer to be near my relatives in Fife. The application was bureaucratic paperwork, and the SNP administered council at best unhelpful. They awarded me zero points for disability and six times less points overall than Highland council.
I also thought as a candidate Fife council leader Peter Grant lacked charisma and would have appeared at best dull to the voters. Certainly not another Jim Sillars by any stretch of the imagination.
For Labour they will be pleased but they shouldn't be too full of themselves by this short lived Brown bounce factor. Yes I think the Bounce bounce won't last as the UK economy is the worst of other countries and the voters in the south of England will not necessarily treat Labour so kind come the general election.
Looking at the result for Solidarity I wished we had secured more votes and Louise McLeary was a good candidate. Every vote for Solidarity and socialism is potential future concrete support for the Socialist Movement in Scotland and after all, votes for us socialists mean more to for the movement for change than the mainstream capitalist parties can claim. Support for Solidarity is a vote of confidence for hope, fairness not greed and against capitalism and big business. Also endorsement of our policy of an Independent Socialist Scotland.
Perhaps this was a good day for the unionists in Scotland but I don't think it will last. The public will become cynical again as the hard times continue to bite. The cut in interest rates will have minimal effect and will not be enough to save us from tough times ahead. However socialists need to fight with our message for not only independence arguments to be put top of the agenda but for an end to obscene wealth which remains the hands of the few. We will continue to highlight our position that we struggle for the many.
Larry
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