[caption id="" align="alignright" width="307" caption="Labour's Lindsay Roy"]
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Labour’s Lindsay Roy has won the Glenrothers by-election, beating the SNP by more than 6,700. The Nats had been widely expected to win the seat despite the fact that it was once safe Labour territory and is next door to Gordon Brown’s constituency.
The result is important for two reasons:
- It makes it more likely that Gordon Brown will lead Labour into the next UK General Election. While a challenge has been unlikely since the arrival of the credit crunch, a defeat in his kailyard would have weakened him within the party.
- It makes an independent Scotland less likely - as the result marks a serious brake on the momentum of the Scottish National Party.
While the above seems like good news for Labour and bad news for the Nats, it sets up some interesting questions for the next UK general election. The Tories’ David Cameron has until lately had the beating of Brown - though the credit crunch has shown up the PM’s strengths and the former Bullingdon Club man’s weaknesses.
If Cameron gets back on top and enters Downing Street - as seems likely from the polls - then it’s a totally different ball game. Scots do not have a fond memory of Conservative government and its return would provide a boost to the cause of independence that can only be guessed at.
