Scottish Labour concentrates on Glasgow East
Thursday, 03 Jul 2008 11:12
Ms Alexander triggered the leadership contest
Scottish Labour has had to put its leadership contest on hold while the party focuses on retaining its Glasgow East seat.
In a sign of how jittery the party has become, all 46 MSP are travelling down to the constituency to campaign ahead of the vote on 24 July.
Acting leader Cathy Jamieson will almost certainly run for the leadership full-time, but even she says the by-election is now at the centre of people's attention.
"Our collective priority in the coming weeks should be the Glasgow East by-election," she said.
Nominations for leader will open at the end of July.
Scottish Labour's leadership contest was triggered by the resignation of Wendy Alexander, following her one day ban from Holyrood.
The Glasgow East by-election will be a real test for Labour. It is a safe Labour seat, but the party is unpopular while the ruling SNP ride high in opinion polls.