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Poll embarassment for Blair

Friday, February 10, 2006

A By-Election in the Scottish constituency of Dunfermline & West Fife has seen a once safe Labour seat won by the Liberal Democrat party, despite a series of scandals rocking the UK's third party during their search to find a new leader.

The poll was called to replace the MP Rachel Squire, who died last month, and saw the Liberal Democrats' candidate Willie Rennie overturn a Labour majority of 11,562 to defeat the Labour party candidate, Catherine Stihler (currently an MEP) by 1,800 votes. The result will come as a blow to Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown, who lives in the constituency and represents the neighbouring area of Kirkcaldy & Cowdenbeath.

However, the result was also viewed as a blow for other parties: the Scottish National Party, who came third in the General Election, could only increase their share of the vote by 2% and remain in third place, despite claiming that they were a close second during the campaign. Meanwhile, the Conservative Party, buoyed by the election of David Cameron as Party Leader, saw their vote fall by 2.5% The Scottish Socialist Party were also hit, registering a slight fall in their vote despite fielding a high-profile candidate in John McAllion, the former Labour MP and MSP for Dundee East.

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Articles presented on Wikinews reflect the specific time at which they were written and published, and do not attempt to encompass events or knowledge which occur or become known after their publication.

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