Salmond blames himself as PM celebrates victory

IT was always doomed to be the second most exciting election this week. But when the call went through to Gordon Brown shortly before midnight on Thursday that not only had Labour won the Glenrothes by-election in convincing fashion but actually increased its vote there, the Prime Minister could have been forgiven for believing the new political dawn was breaking not over Chicago's Grant Park, but in the more down-to-earth surroundings of a sports centre in Fife just a stone's throw from his childhood home.

Mr Brown hailed the dramatic and unexpected victory of Lindsay Roy by a majority of 6,700 over his SNP rival as a resounding vote of confidence in the Government's handling of the economic crisis, as well as a rejection of nationalist policies in Scotland.

Speaking to reporters at Downing Street yesterday morning, Mr Brown said: "What I have learnt from this by-election is that people are prepared to support governments that will help people through the downturn and offer real help to people."

But as the Prime Minister basked in the warm glow of victory in London, at his headquarters in Edinburgh an uncharacteristically subdued Alex Salmond was feeling the bitter chill of defeat. He said he was responsible for the SNP's inability to overturn the 10,664 majority at Glenrothes and capitalise on its runaway popularity.

"The failure is of the campaign leadership, which is me effectively, for not recognising that we should have changed our campaign to face down a scaremongering campaign," Mr Salmond said. "That's my fault for not having my finger on the political temperature in the constituency."

Meanwhile, Lindsay Roy, rector of Mr Brown's old school in Kirkcaldy, who can justifiably claim to have taught half the voters in the constituency, was looking forward to a new career as an MP. He revealed he had been phoned three times by the Prime Minister yesterday morning but had been unable to take any of the calls after returning to his school to receive the congratulations of staff and pupils.

Having styled himself as a "non-politician" he agreed his experience as a headteacher would stand him in good stead in Parliament. "I think if I can cope with a number of adolescents in school, I can cope very well with those in the House of Commons," he said.

He was cheered by balloon-waving Labour activists as he walked through the Kingdom shopping centre in Glenrothes flanked by the Scottish Labour leader Iain Gray and Scottish Secretary Jim Murphy. Mr Murphy said the result was Labour's best in Scotland since 1978. He accused the SNP of "arrogance" and of having taken victory for granted.

The events of Thursday night followed an overtly personal contest between the Prime Minister and the First Minister. Mr Brown, who represents the neighbouring constituency of Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath, broke with convention to visit Glenrothes twice. As a local boy he was able to swap jokes with factory workers about the fortunes of the local football team, Raith Rovers, as well as deploying his "secret weapon" – his wife Sarah.

Almost everyone in the Scottish political establishment had written Labour off. Labour had effectively downplayed expectations while ruthlessly exploiting the key local issue of the campaign – the SNP-run council's decision to raise home help charges in Fife from £4 a month to £11 an hour. Nationalists in turn had sought to concentrate their fire on rising fuel and energy costs under the Labour Government at Westminster.

But some commentators believe the economic downturn has yet to reach this part of Fife where a quarter of the population lives in council housing and some 5,140 council employees reside.

Yet voters watching from the sidelines admitted they were feeling the pinch, though appeared reluctant to blame the Government. George Dewar, 65, a disabled pensioner, said: "The majority of our friends and family are complaining about prices in the shops but you can't blame that on Gordon Brown and they're coming down a bit."