LABOUR was yesterday accused of running scared of voters after it refused to rule out delaying the Glasgow North East by-election until November.
The constituency has no MP after Michael Martin was forced to stand down as House of Commons Speaker amid criticism of his role in the MPs' expenses scandal.
It had been expected that the by-election – in what should be a safe Labour seat – would
be held on the same day as in Norwich North, where Labour MP Ian Gibson resigned in protest at being deselected as a result of his expenses claims.
But while Labour yesterday confirmed the Norwich North poll would take place on 23 July, it remained silent on reports that 12 November was the favoured date for Glasgow North East, saying only that no decision had been taken.
It was confirmed yesterday that Mr Martin will receive a peerage after the Queen agreed to honour him for his nine years as Speaker. She accepted a recommendation from Gordon Brown, despite the Prime Minister being told by members of a Lords appointments commission that Mr Martin could bring discredit to the upper chamber after being the first Speaker to quit for more than 300 years.
The SNP, which would look to build on its unexpected victory in Glasgow East last summer, Conservatives and Liberal Democrats all accused Mr Brown of looking to delay the poll for purely political reasons.
The SNP's Treasury spokesman Stewart Hosie said: "I think Labour is running scared. It does seem bizarre and extraordinary that the people of Norwich can have a new MP in a few weeks, but the people in Glasgow have to wait five months to cast their verdict on Labour."
David Mundell MP, the Tory shadow Scottish secretary, said there was no reason not to hold the poll on 23 July. He pointed out that Mr Martin, who quit on 21 June, had given more than a month's notice of his intention to stand down as Speaker.
Mr Mundell said: "I just think it's appalling that the north-east area of Glasgow is going to be without an MP for nearly six months.
"It's just another example of Labour party interests being put above the public interest. Everybody would have expected the two by-elections to have been held on the same day. They're obviously frightened to go forward and have the election on 23 July. They think they're going to lose it."
Jo Swinson, the Lib Dem MP for East Dunbartonshire, who had previously called for Mr Martin to quit as Speaker, said:
"You would think if they're going to be starting any kind of fightback it would almost be a good way of them doing so.
"It surely is going to be easier to win Glasgow North East than Norwich North. I suppose it shows they're really worried."
A Labour spokesman said party officials wanted to avoid holding the poll during the summer holidays.
The Glasgow Fair fortnight starts on 18 July, and it was during this period last year that the party lost Glasgow East. By comparison, it held Glenrothes when the by-election was held last November.
Rules on holding a by-electionTHE date for a by-election is normally announced within three months of the seat being vacated. But because the rules are governed by parliamentary convention rather than law, they can be bent to party advantage.
A writ is moved in the Commons by the chief whip of the party represented by the seat's former MP. The poll is then held about 15 days later.
A bid, dating to 1973, to limit the total available time to move the writ to four months has never been implemented. A seat is normally left vacant in the run-up to a general election.
Writs cannot be served during a Commons recess.
The full article contains 652 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
