Labour's handling of Glasgow East by-election is shameless

Jul 6 2008 Elaine C. Smith

I AM appalled at the way the by-election in my native Glasgow East has been called.

Calling the election in July - in the middle of the Glasgow Fair and when the Scottish and UK parliaments are in recess - makes me sick.

It is a cynical ploy by Labour who are panicking that they may lose.

They hope they will catch the other parties off balance and they'll not be able to organise themselves in time.

If they lose, Westminster won't meet until October so the stooshie will have passed.

It shows the contempt Labour have for the people of Glasgow East.

They don't trust us or want us to vote using our brains.

They want to rush it through and hope the opposition can't mobilise their troops and that the punters are more concerned about their holidays...if they're lucky enough to have a job.

I know too many people who feel their vote is worthless because nothing ever changes. The turn-out here is so poor anyway that this is just another way of avoiding a proper contest.

Glasgow East has only ever been given crumbs of help over the past 50 years and the record of poverty, ill health, poor education, unemployment, alcohol and drug abuse should have all politicians, from councillors to MSPs and MPs, hanging their heads in shame. They have taken the votes of their people for granted and rewarded us with contempt.

Yes, we have a Tesco in Shettleston now, we have a bit of John Wheatley College in Easterhouse and Haghill and some of the slums have been pulled down around Parkhead but it is too little, too late.

I just think of the kids who receive a poorer education than they deserve due to crumbling buildings, and overworked teachers forced to deal with pupils who have massive social problems.

Teachers drive in from Giffnock or the west end to work but leave at the end of the day.

I think of the patients who have had poor treatment in overcrowded hospitals.

I think of the families who have lost loved ones to cancer and heart disease far too early.

A life expectancy of 63 is a disgrace and all I would say to the voters who live next to me is that they should get out and vote, switch their brains on and really think about what the people here deserve.

They deserve a life free from poverty, decent housing, the same health and education expected in Bearsden or Surrey and an MP who fights for them instead of employing members of their own family on big salaries for doing little or nothing.

The record of the political class in this part of the world speaks for itself. SHAME on them.