That politics is more about spin than substance is sadly something we have come to accept as a truism. As the final countdown to Glenrothes ticks away, it is perhaps worth abandoning political punditry and superficial predictions based on what one man and his dog said in the pub or what the bookies are offering in terms of odds and remembering what it is this contest is all about and the way it has been played. Glenrothes has been a safe Labour seat for many years and the sadly missed John MacDougall was a local man who commanded a majority of more than 10,500. He held that seat because he was a Labour man, a local man, he was known, he had been a councillor and led the administration and people trusted him with their vote. The fact that that particular seat, sitting so close to the Prime Minister’s own constituency, would become vulnerable to an SNP hit says much more about MacDougall’s party than it does about him or his past achievements. Who wins Glenrothes later this week will reflect the fragile nature of public opinion and how it can be won and lost. Labour constantly complains that it is never voted back in for what it has done but rather for what it promises it will do next. Witness what happened to the reforming governments that created the NHS and the welfare state. It has a harder job to secure voters’ confidence because it always has to be the change maker, the improver, and the party of aspiration. But what at this extraordinary economic time can Labour promise next? The party is led in Westminster by a local Fife man who used to be such a political asset when he was at No 11. Brown was seen as a safe pair of hands but it seems that that reputation was built on sand and he has run out of tricks to pull out of the hat. It is too late to lull the electorate into a sense of economic safety. They are already feeling the crunch. He has pulled out all the stops and still we sink into recession and still we see jobs lost, homes repossessed and banks bailed out. So in the face of these remarkable times of which he was an architect and knowing that to lose a seat with such a huge majority would be a direct reflection on him, he sends in his secret political weapon to Glenrothes; the wife. This is the PM that only a matter of weeks ago looked straight at the camera if not in the eyes of the conference delegates and told his party, with all sincerity, that he would never use his children in photo shoots to further his own political career because they are people not props. What does this then say about using his wife, who is neither an elected member or from Glenrothes? Brown did well to keep out of Glasgow East but has been persuaded to let this campaign become such a circus parade in which he and his wife have played a central role. Brown and his Westminster acolytes have parachuted into Glenrothes, making brief celebratory appearances at tightly stage-managed PR events; shaking hands with carefully handpicked Labour supporters and rushed away in 4x4s without a by-your-leave to the great unwashed who may want to have a word about the rising cost of living, the price of petrol and how to meet their mortgage arrears. By-elections are won by sheer hard work, by pounding the streets and not just talking to the party faithful but by listening to what some of your dissenters have to say and taking the time to win them over by sheer force of your passion in what you believe. Brown has a story to tell and that will be about recovery. It is about holding your hands up and saying times will be tough and that he and his party will be best placed to steer the UK through those choppy waters. This may be a by-election in Scotland brought about because of the tragic death of a loyal and loved Scottish Labour MP but it is not and should not be a by-election about Scotland and its place in the Union. By parading every Cabinet heavy hitter on the streets of Fife and repeating the belief that Scotland’s economic future is safer within the Union, it only emphasises the fact that Brown is worried not just about losing another parliamentary seat but about losing a parliament. In common with every other 
political commentator, I have no idea who will win Glenrothes in three days time but what I do know is that by-elections are won on body heat; pressing the flesh and the wear and tear of shoe leather, not by celebratory 
endorsement.

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