16.03.1995

By-election by and by

THE TORIES have delayed the Perth and Kinross by-election until June, fearing that another defeat so close to the local elections would be just too disastrous. This has not dampened the enthusiasm of the SNP, which has already reaped enormous publicity from the sex affair stirred up by Winnie Ewing. As a result its candidate, Roseanna Cunningham, is a household name throughout Scotland.

Not so the English Tory banker, John Godfrey. Sir Nicholas Fairbairn described his nominated successor for the seat as “an unelectable clone” before his death last month. Mr Godfrey is alone in thinking he can win. Labour and Liberal Democrats are so far back in this constituency they do not count. Roseanna Cunningham, who came within 2,000 votes of winning the seat at the last election, must be smugly confident this time.

Her reputation for radicalism is based on her feminism. She is politically indistinguishable from the Mo Mowlem wing of the Labour Party except for her support for Scottish independence. Her election would promise nothing for the working class: it is just Labour Party-type opportunism adapted to a smaller stage.

The depth of despair among some local Conservatives is so great that they are planning to stand a breakaway candidate, Peter Clark, on an Ulster Unionist programme. These bigots hope to stir up anti-Catholic feeling, as was attempted in the Monklands by-election.

Clark wants to defend the Union with England by demanding a constitutional settlement for Scotland akin to that for ‘Ulster’. He is unlikely to get much support, but the whole business reveals that the rightwing bigot strain within the Tory Party could be prepared to desert the Tories and form an extreme, reactionary, pro-unionist alliance if their party’s fortunes do not turn about.

Arthur Lawrence