30/09/2005

Labour retains Livingston seat

Labour has retained the late Robin Cook’s Parliamentary seat in a by-election, but with a significantly reduced majority.

Jim Devine, who was Mr Cook’s election agent, won the Livingston seat with 12,319 votes – a majority of 2,680 over Scottish National Party candidate, Angela Constance. Mr Cook, who collapsed and died while on holiday in August, had won the seat with a 13,097 majority in May’s General Election. The result represented a 10.22% swing to the SNP.

Mr Devine described the former Foreign Secretary as “an outstanding parliamentarian” and said he hoped to continue the work that he did for the Livingston constituency.

Labour also kept the Scottish Parliament Cathcart seat, after the by-election triggered by Mike Watson’s resignation. Former Glasgow City Council leader Charlie Gordon held the seat with a 2,405 majority. However, Watson, who was jailed for fire raising after drunkenly setting fire to hotel curtains during an awards ceremony, had had a 5,112 majority in the 2003 elections. The results represented a 3.66% swing to the SNP.

SNP leader Alex Salmond praised the results and said that if the swing from Labour to the SNP scene in the Livingston by-election continued across the country in the 2007 Scottish Parliament elections, it would give the party an additional 28 seats.

(KMcA/SP)

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