Hard Labour

Labour have used many different excuses for losing by-elections, mayoral races and doing badly in local council elections recently.

Whether it's the economy's fault, the media's fault, Red Ken or astrological gravtational pulls going against them, it doesn't matter for Glasgow East.

Now they have a cracker, and I'm confident it will, at least once, be raised by the Labour Party in this by-election.

"Well, the reason we lost is that voters got confused between Margaret Curran and Frances Curran. Their names are too similar."

Let's face it, call me snotty, say I don't give them enough credit, but most people in Glasgow East wouldn't recognise either of these candidates if they passed them on the street. They won't know the difference between the two. The only ones that might've watched the news in Glasgow East are those who've been interviewed by the Beeb and ran home, screaming down the mobile "Rab, switch the fuckin' nooz on, um gonna be on the telly". Not being funny, but voter apathy is some awesome force.

They won't know who's who, anything about what each candidate stands for, or whether to put a cross in the box, or just a big 'x'.

And then Labour can use the 'one surname, two candidates' defence. I can actually hear them saying "This is something we'll have to review for future elections", "It is the voters who I feel have been let down most".