Lib Dems are jubilant

DELIGHTED Liberal Democrats today claimed their stunning victory in Dunfermline and West Fife had put them on course for gains at next year's Holyrood elections. Lib Dem candidate Willie Rennie overturned a Labour majority of 11,500 to win the seat by 1800 votes.

The surprise by-election result - a 16 per cent swing from Labour to the Lib Dems - is a damaging blow to Chancellor Gordon Brown, who had taken a leading role in Labour's campaign.

Scottish Secretary Alistair Darling today blamed local issues for Labour's defeat.

"It is a very bad result for us," he said. "We should not have lost the seat. This was a classic by-election, fought very much on local issues - the question of tolls on the Forth Road Bridge, issues around the local hospital, concern about the town centre and the job losses at Lexmark. We are the Government and we are in the firing line.

"There is a lot of concern, in some cases downright anger about local issues and we took it in the neck."

But he admitted national issues did play a part, saying: "We are in government at Westminster and a dominant partner in the Scottish Executive. If people wanted to register a protest vote we were going to cop it. And we did cop it."

He added: "I accept entire responsibility for the conduct of this election campaign. We wanted to win it, we did not win it."

It was the first time the Lib Dems had taken a Labour seat in a by-election in Scotland.

Scottish Lib Dem leader Nicol Stephen said: "It is clear the Liberal Democrats are a very powerful force for the future in Scottish politics and that we can win seats from the Labour Party in all parts of Scotland."

He claimed the Lib Dem victory in Labour's heartlands would not affect the two parties' coalition in the Scottish Executive.

"We have a stable four-year partnership agreement," he said. "Between backbenchers there may be a bit of tension, but we are going to see that out. But in the 2007 elections, I think the Lib Dems are going to do extremely well. This is a tremendous launch pad."

Senior Edinburgh Lib Dem Fred Mackintosh said if the Dunfermline swing was repeated at next year's Scottish Parliament elections, the party would win both Edinburgh Central and Edinburgh North and Leith. "We could achieve major gains in 2007," he said.

The Lib Dems' victory came despite bad publicity which has dogged the party for weeks with the forced resignation of former leader Charles Kennedy over his drink problem, would-be successor Mark Oaten's rent boy scandal and the gay confessions of leadership candidate Simon Hughes.

Mr Kennedy was well received when he made a high-profile visit to the seat. Mr Stephen said: "Charles Kennedy's intervention was a very important factor. People like him and he is still a popular campaigner."

The victorious Mr Rennie, a former chief executive of the Scottish Lib Dems, said: "This result will send a powerful message that will rock the foundations of Downing Street - both No 10 and No 11.

"People are fed up with Labour for taking them for granted for far too long, they are fed up of too much spin, and the people of Dunfermline and West Fife have spoken for the rest of the country."

Defeated Labour candidate Catherine Stihler paid tribute to Rachel Squire, the MP whose death caused the by-election.

She said: "This is not a result which Rachel would have wanted but I think I know what she would have said - 'We have to listen to the people and we have to learn.'"

The Lib Dems came second in the seat at last year's general election, but the SNP was only one per cent behind them.

The Nationalists claimed throughout the campaign they were the main challengers. They did increase their vote by two per cent but their failure to come anywhere close to winning does not suggest they will make the 20 gains which leader Alex Salmond is targeting for Holyrood next year.

Mr Salmond claimed the Lib Dems had run a "shameless anti-government campaign" even though they were part of the Scottish Executive. He said the result was a humiliation for Gordon Brown, with the SNP winning his home North Queensferry ward.

The Tories, whose vote dropped to 7.8 per cent, were never going to win. But Shadow Scottish Secretary David Mundell said Labour brought defeat on themselves by failing to attack the Lib Dems.

Scotsman