AT last, a decent debate. Well done, Radio Scotland. Its Good Morning Extra programme has just broadcast an hour-long programme that allowed the Glasgow East candidates the opportunity to make their points well, and to conjour up a few decent soundbi
tes as the campaign enters its final hours.
Many of the arguments had been made before. But the news story was surely the refusal of Margaret Curran, the Labour candidate, to promise to live in the constituency if she wins on Thursday.
She was pushed on this point by a caller to the show. Instead of giving an unambiguous pledge to up sticks and relocate in the East End, she performed a mighty swerve and offered only an admission that she had made a "slip of the tongue" in previously claiming to have lived and worked in the East End all her life.
As her opponents were quick to point out, the reality is that she has lived in at least three different addresses in the more affluent south-side of Glasgow for around 20 years.
Must an MP live in the constituency? No. So why is this an issue? For two reasons. As the First Minister, Alex Salmond, said yesterday, it's an issue because Ms Curran had "told fibs" about her home address.
The second reason is that Ms Curran has vowed to be a "fighter" for the East End. That's more easily done when you are witnessing its problems on a daily basis, not on a once-a-week trip to the community centre for a weekly surgery with constituents on a Friday.
To make matters worse for Labour, Ms Curran's SNP rival, John Mason, does live in the constituency. Predictably he reminded listeners of this fact.
Asked who he would vote for if he could not vote for himself, he said: "I live in this constituency. I'm voting for myself. I'm the candidate who lives here."
Aside from this, there were some good soundbites, the best of which was uttered by the Liberal Democrat candidate, Ian Robertson. He said: "If this is a two-horse race, then both horses should be put down and we should start again."
Tory Davena Rankin offered up this on the hardline independence stance of Mr Mason: "He is obsessed. I'm more interested in Glasgow East."
Ms Curran's best dig at Mr Mason related to him being constantly in the shadow of the First Minister. "Sometimes on this campaign I have felt I have been running against Alex Salmond," she said. She was less able, however, to answer the presenter's question about the whereabouts - ie absence - of Prime Minister Gordon Brown.
Mr Mason, for his part, was still obsessed with the Prime Minister's decision to invite Baroness Thatcher to tea at 10 Downing Street last year. He said that "Margaret Thatcher and Gordon Brown are hand in hand".
Later today we will hear the final thoughts of the First Minister on the campaign. Expect the wily old dog to feed the media pack another line. The contrast between the leaden Labour campaign and the battle-hardened SNP operations could not be starker.
The SNP may not win tomorrow's vote, but they've already achieved victory in the battle for the airwaves and front pages.
Tuesday 10.35pmCar-crash TV. That's the best way to describe what I have just witnessed (and what is being broadcast by STV as I type).
Earlier this evening, STV pre-recorded its "Politics Now" Glasgow East by-election special. This featured the four candidates cross-questioning each other in the Pacific Quay studio, and the involvement of around 20 voters in a separate studio somewhere in the East End. Its sheer awfulness should make riveting telly. It certainly made BBC Newsnicht's efforts last week, which at the time were too bitty to result in a great story, seem highly professional.
Not to undermine the team at STV, you understand. They can only pick from the cards they have been dealt. But this was a poor level of political debate, featuring lots of sniping focusing mainly on broken promises from Holyrood. For a Westminster election, the responsibilities of the UK Goverment hardly got a look in.
And what of the candidates? The SNP's John Mason sounded good - his voice resonates well on TV - and made a decent stab of sticking to his guns. Labour's Margaret Curran, by contrast, was more shrill, and may be possibly be tiring from what has been a hectic pace of campaign.
She did, however, taunt Mr Mason for being forever unable to stand up to the SNP First Minister, Alex Salmond. (Asked to say what the pair disagreed on, Mr Mason could venture only their choice of football team.) Ian Robertson of the Liberal Democrats was neither good nor bad.
But for me the star of the show was Davena Rankin, the Tory candidate. She seems at last to have found her voice - and gave Mr Robertson dog's abuse after cleverly turning on its head his (too clever) question about Tory plans for a fuel regulator. Are you really suggesting that I should not back plans that would cut 5p off a litre of fuel, she asked incredulously? Smart move, Davena.
She went on to lambast him as a LibDem who "flips and flaps", which produced giggles from the hacks and spin doctors behind the scenes in the green room. Mr Mason also felt the sharp end of her tongue. Having marked her 4.5 out of 10 in today's Scotsman, I feel I owe Davina an extra point. Some voters may feel the same way too come Thursday.
But overall, despite much heat and a belief that this would be better suited to YouTube than network TV, there remains only a cigarette paper or two between the SNP and Labour when it comes down to the candidates.
Not that that will concern the voters unduly: I reckon they will be more focused on the cost of fuel, food and fags - and whether it's time to call time on Gordon Brown's New Labour project.
Have you got a question for a Glasgow East by-election? Let us ask it for you! Click here to post your questions for the Labour, SNP, Conservative and Lib-Dem candidates, courtesy of our partners at www.yoosk.com. The most voted for queries will be put to the candidates and published here at www.scotsman.com.The full article contains 1078 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
