Posted on 07/24/2008 8:52:55 PM PDT by NormsRevenge
GLASGOW (Reuters) - Britain's ruling Labour Party lost a parliamentary seat in one of its traditional strongholds, a stinging electoral setback for Prime Minister Gordon Brown, results showed on Friday.
Defeat in Thursday's poll in the Glasgow East constituency, which Labour won with a huge 13,500 majority at the 2005 election, will fuel Labour discontent with Brown's leadership and could lead to moves to oust him, some analysts believe.
The pro-independence Scottish National Party (SNP) scored a dramatic victory by a slim 365-vote margin as voters in Britain's third-largest city turned against Labour in droves.
The result, following a series of other recent Labour election defeats, will strengthen expectations that Labour's 11 years in power may be nearing an end and that it could lose the next general election, due by 2010.
"This SNP victory is not just a political earthquake -- it is off the Richter scale," jubilant SNP candidate John Mason said.
The defeat in what was considered Labour's third safest seat in Scotland was particularly galling for Brown because he is Scottish.
The result adds to the deepening sense of crisis enveloping Brown, whose popularity has slumped since he took over as prime minister from Tony Blair 13 months ago.
Brown and Labour have been hurt by the credit crisis, which has hit economic growth and sent house prices sliding, as well as by rising food and energy bills.
He has also made blunders, pulling back from calling a snap general election last year and pushing through tax reforms that hit low earners before he was forced into concessions.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
Scottish National Party?!?
The check is in the mail.
Is this another election sign that the great people of the United Kingdom are starting to throw off the tyranny of the Labour party?
The Scottish National Party is off the deep end liberal-socialist. They make the Greens look like John Birchers.
I like the name though, and I’d rather have a few honest nuts in the minority than a majority of mushy poll chasers.
It’s always amazing how politicians ignore the past. Almost a century ago, the Liberal Party had an internal coup and tossed out a sitting PM. They’ve been out of power ever since. The Conservatives duplicated that feat with Thatcher, managed one last win with Major (thanks to utter idiocy of the Labor candidate) and fell out of power ever since. Now, Labor decided to repeat that by pushing Brown in over Blair and they’re headed towards the same results. Replacing national executives who’ve led their party to national victories with a candidate chosen by a few insiders is clearly a remarkably stupid idea.
Yes, I’d say so. They’re 0-for-2008.
4 by-elections in 2 Labour seats and 2 Tory seats. The Tories now hold three of those seats, the SNP 1 and Labour none. There have been some gigantic swings against Labour as well.
The last time I checked, the Conservatives were about 20% ahead nationally on-average. Brown is basically screwed.
It wouldn’t have mattered if they kept Blair, the results wouldn’t likely be much different.
you can also be sure that if cameron wins and obama wins, a lot more capital will to flow to London.
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