It’s the morning after the night before and the europhoria of what had been achieved in Glasgow East in the early hours was still very much alive. What a victory, what a result and hats off to the entire campaign team, to John our newest MP for Glasgow East and to the party for pulling off what none of the journalists, election pundits and others thought was achievable – to overturn more than a 13,000 majority and take Labour’s third safest seat by 365 votes.
I spent most of today out ‘knocking up’ with Stewart Stevenson and Alyn in Carmyle, Swinton, Mount Vernon and then latterly in and around off Shettleston road. After a slowish morning, there was a definite sea change in the afternoon and especially late afternoon when folk were arriving back from work and our sheets started to fill up with voted SNP. I knew it was going to be very close but on the doorsteps it was so positive towards us that I began to really realise that we had done it and certainly by 8.30pm I knew. These are exactly the kind of areas that we need to be winning in and to start making the inroads in the once Labour heartlands
Out on the streets I saw a couple of Tory activists who wished us good luck with the Labour cars driving past – shouting vote Labour to save the union. One battered old car drove past us which had previously been a private hire car and they had just written Labour on it – what a shambles.
I went up to the Barrachnie Inn for a while and then headed back to Edinburgh and when it finally happened after the recount, unbelievable, the earthquake had happened and I was glad to be there when it did - a stunning victory and one that will be repeated across the board come the Westminster election. Everything is to play for now. Glasgow East is the first of many victories to come and should send a clear signal to Gordon Brown and London Labour that no Labour seat in Scotland is safe now.
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