Labour suffers by-election 'earthquake' as SNP takes Glasgow East

Last Modified: 25 Jul 2008
By: Channel 4 News

Prime Minister Gordon Brown has received yet another devastating blow with Labour suffering one of the biggest by-election upsets in political history.

The loss of the 13,500 majority Glasgow East to the Scottish National Party will spark panic among the party's MPs and cast fresh doubt over the Prime Minister's future.

The seat was one of Labour's safest but a massive swing of more than 22 per cent saw the nationalists secure it by a margin of 365.

If the performance was repeated at a General Election, Mr Brown and a slew of Cabinet ministers would be kicked out of the Commons.

'This SNP victory is not just a political earthquake, it is off the Richter scale.'
John Mason, SNP

The victorious SNP candidate, John Mason, and his party leader Alex Salmond said they had achieved a "political earthquake" and the tremors would be felt "all the way to Downing Street".

In his victory speech, Mr Mason said: "Three weeks ago the SNP predicted a political earthquake."

He continued: "This SNP victory is not just a political earthquake, it is off the Richter scale. It is an epic win, and the tremors are being felt all the way to Downing Street.

"Labour MPs across Scotland will be quaking in their boots."

But International Development Secretary Douglas Alexander, one of the premier's closest allies, insisted Mr Brown should not bear sole responsibility for the disastrous defeat.

He said voters had been expressing "frustration" over the global economic slowdown, and issued a desperate plea for unity from mutinous MPs.

"If you want me to say it is a bad result, it is a bad result," he said.

"I don't think it is a night to say it is about one particular individual."

"I would ask them to reflect on the time when I joined the Labour Party which was 1982, not in the heady heights of New Labour's success, but at a time of repeated and bitter defeats for the Labour Party.

"We learnt a very serious lesson at that point, which is that divided parties lose."

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