CAMPAIGNING DREW to a close yesterday in a hotly contested Glenrothes by-election, on which much of Gordon Brown’s reputation is riding.

SCOTTISH Lib Dem leader Tavish Scott MSP and Willie Rennie MP joined the campaign for the final push at the Kingdom centre yesterday.

Mr Rennie is no stranger to by-elections, having overturned a significant Labour majority when he was elected MP for Dunfermline and West Fife at the start of 2006.

He told The Courier he was confident Harry Wills, who is standing for the Lib Dems, could pull off another surprise victory.

“I’m really pleased with the campaign and we’ve identified some good issues—tax cuts, train fare reductions and energy bill reductions. We’re very pleased with what we’ve done here.

“And we’re the only party putting forward a constructive solution to the economic crisis.”

The Lib Dems have been posting thousands of leaflets through the doors of people they have identified as floating voters.

Mr Rennie added, “Harry is not a politician that brags and boasts and for that reason I think he’s connected well with people.”

Mr Scott said, “Harry has delivered a strong and distinctive Liberal Democrat message to voters.

“Increasingly it is the Liberal Democrats who have the answers to the questions facing communities across Scotland.”

Mr Wills added, “I hope to join Ming Campbell and Willie Rennie in fighting for Fife at Westminster. Labour and the SNP will put Gordon Brown and Alex Salmond first, but for me, the residents of Fife and Glenrothes will always come first.”

The Conservative candidate for today’s Glenrothes by-election, Maurice Golden, has asked voters to look across the Atlantic.

Mr Golden has asked the public to vote for change today, echoing President-elect Barack Obama, and arguing that voting for his party could send a message to Gordon Brown.

Joined by Scottish Conservative leader Annabel Goldie, Mr Golden believes that even if the Conservatives do not win today, every vote for him will be a vote against the Labour government.

Yesterday he said, “On Tuesday the people of America voted for change and a new direction for the United States.

“Over the coming months, and this week in Glenrothes, every voter in every part of the country can start the movement for change in the United Kingdom.

“The only message that Gordon Brown fears is the one which says his days are numbered in Downing Street.

“Every vote for the Conservatives is another voice in the growing chorus for change sweeping across Britain.”

Ms Goldie, who joined Mr Golden at the Elite Falconry Centre in Cluny, said, “Britain is crying out for change.

“There is only one government in waiting, only one party which can form the next UK government—the Conservatives.”

LABOUR CANDIDATE Lindsay Roy was aiming to make the most of the final full day of campaigning ahead of today’s Glenrothes by-election, welcoming another high-profile Labour MP to town before going out and about to meet more voters.

Former deputy prime minister John Prescott visited the constituency yesterday and launched an immediate attack on the SNP-led Fife Council’s increase in home care charges after giving his support to Mr Roy’s campaign as it enters its final hours.

“I generally come to by-elections that we are fighting, but this one really means a lot to me,” Mr Prescott said.

“I was furious when I heard about what the SNP council in Fife is doing to older people in Fife. They have absolutely hammered our pensioners with these huge charges for home care and for safety alarms.

“It’s an appalling way to treat our older folk. They deserve dignity and respect, not obscene charges and debtors’ letters.

“Lindsay Roy is a man you can trust. He’s an experienced Fife headteacher, not a career politician, and I’m very proud to be up here campaigning for him before people go to the polls.

“Fifers have a clear choice ahead of them on polling day: Lindsay Roy— a man who has spent his life trying to inspire young people in his schools; or his SNP opponent, who spent his time in charge of Fife Council hammering the elderly and the disabled.”

Labour’s attack on the council’s home care charges has been a key strand in its campaign, with a spokesperson for the Labour party even going as far as to say that today’s poll would be a “referendum on SNP cuts and charges.”

Mid-Scotland and Fife MSP John Park added, “When the late John MacDougall was the leader of Fife Council, Fife led the way in treating pensioners with dignity and respect...

“Under the new SNP charging regime, people on as little as £400 a month will be forced to pay for their home help.”

Following Mr Prescott’s appearance at Fife House, Mr Roy was accompanied by Scottish Secretary Jim Murphy on a visit to Gala Bingo in Flemington Road, where both discussed some of the election issues with those in the hall.

SNP CANDIDATE for the Glenrothes by-election Peter Grant will be hoping that he and his party have captured the hearts and minds of voters when the polls open this morning.

The SNP are favourites to overhaul Labour’s 10,664 majority and, in a last push on the final full day of campaigning, Mr Grant was joined once again on the campaign trail by First Minister Alex Salmond.

Mr Salmond insisted yesterday that his party can win the by-election, urging people to choose his party’s “positive record” over the “negativity” of Labour.

He said, “In a week when the world is looking forward it is clear the SNP can win the Glenrothes by-election.

“Just as Americans voted for hope over fear, people in Glenrothes can choose between the positive record of the SNP and the negativity and scaremongering of Labour.

“By far the most powerful election leaflets in this campaign have been the massive gas and electricity bills thudding though letterboxes and reminding people that Labour have done nothing to help.

“Labour have wasted the last few days of the campaign scaremongering whilst the SNP has been offering a real choice for elderly people facing soaring bills.”

Ahead of today’s vote, Mr Grant issued an appeal to constituents—claiming that the SNP was “leading the fight for Scotland” while criticising Labour for what he perceives has been a negative campaign.

“The SNP is contributing £8m to a new bio-mass generator at Tullis Russell, helping secure 500 local jobs,” he said.

“The SNP is determined to protect HBOS employees, and all of Scotland’s workers.

“The council tax is frozen until 2011, we have cut prescription charges, and extended the free bus pass scheme.

“Thousands of Scotland’s small businesses have had their rate bills slashed or abolished.”

Both Mr Grant and the First Minister claimed that a vote for the SNP would force the government and energy companies to take the action against fuel poverty that Scots need.

Mr Grant said, “With energy bills thudding through the doors the people of Fife can send a message to Downing Street with votes thudding into ballot boxes for the SNP.”