By Jonathan Watson

AS THE dust settled on the Glenrothes by-election in the early hours of this morning, the victors and losers alike evaluated their campaigns in the aftermath of Labour’s stunning victory.

With the successful Lindsay Roy fending off a vigorous SNP campaign, the Labour MSP for Mid-Scotland and Fife, Claire Baker, was quick to congratulate her fellow party member.

She said, “I’m delighted that Labour has managed to hold this seat.

“Lindsay Roy will make a great MP and I’m delighted that the voters have come back to Labour.

“Gordon Brown has played a key role and his handling of the international situation has been a key factor in this.

“We also can’t forget that Gordon has been an MP in Fife for over 20 years, and I think he has been an asset to the campaign.

“The other issue has been the performance of the SNP council in Fife with the increase in home care charges and cuts in education.”

With Labour’s Lindsay Roy and SNP rival Peter Grant always fighting for the spoils, the battle for third was always going to struggle to emerge from its shadows.

However, along with the size of the Labour majority, the Conservative capture of third place remains one of the biggest surprises of the night—despite seeing their vote drop by half since 2005.

Candidate Maurice Golden, said, “I think we fought a positive campaign and have given a national voice to local issues.

“I have found the campaign very enjoyable and the new MP for the seat will have a brilliant constituency to represent.

“The main message from tonight is that Alex Salmond’s bubble has burst.”

The lack of media coverage was an issue of particular contention with the Lib Dem candidate Harry Wills, who felt that his party suffered as a direct result of a media fixation with the two main contenders.

However, despite this, Mr Wills was positive about his party’s showing despite losing third place to the Conservatives and a plummet in their voting numbers.

Mr Wills said, “We’ve enjoyed the campaign and I’ve been happy with the effort that the campaign team have put in.

“One of the things to come out of this is that this was a four-way race up until the last weeks—the press don’t encourage this.”

SSP leader Colin Fox and candidate Morag Balfour were keen to state the progress they felt they made, saying, “Our campaign has been good and I think our campaign has had the most coherent and profoundly received message.

“I think we’ve had further signs of a resurgence of the SSP —democracy is not served if there is not a left-wing party.”

UKIP Scotland candidate Kris Seunarine appeared content with his party’s performance, tallying some 117 votes.

Reflecting on his campaign, Mr Seunarine said, “The public has responded well to our message.

“People particularly liked our views on changes to the tax system, small government and individual liberty.”

The Scottish Senior Citizen’s Unity Party bemoaned the lack of voter turnout, a surprise issue given the high-profile run-up to the election.

Candidate Jim Parker said, “I have never seen people so fed up with politicians.

“Voter apathy is a real problem and it’s getting worse.”

Speaking about his own campaign, he said, “Our biggest problem was too few people doing too much work.

“We had one squad in Markinch and at 71 I was the youngest but it has been great to see everyone out.”