NORTH EAST FIFE
THIS is the tightest marginal in the whole of the UK. At the last election, the SNP’s Stephen Gethins beat the LibDems here by just two votes.
He’s been a high-profile MP over the last four years and is well regarded locally. Last month, he even won the backing of the former LibDem lord provost of Fife Council, Frances Melville.
But expect the Labour and Tory vote to be squeezed. Yesterday, one Tory strategist said they expected “thousands” of their supporters to vote tactically to keep the SNP out.
LANARK AND HAMILTON EAST
THE Tories believe they can take this seat off the SNP’s Angela Crawley. She held on in 2017 with a majority of just 266 votes, down from 10,100 in 2015.
According to the YouGov MRP polling released on Tuesday night, there’s very little in this. Tory Shona Haslam is expected to win with 36% of the vote, beating the SNP’s 35%. Technically, this is a three-way marginal, but Labour’s vote looks set to be squeezed.
GLASGOW SOUTH WEST
LABOUR sources are confident that they’re going to keep Glasgow North East and think they could be in with a shot of taking Glasgow South West off the SNP’s Chris Stephens.
In 2017 he won with a majority of just 60. Labour have been campaigning in the seat ever since. It was in here, in Govan, standing alongside candidate Matt Kerr, where Jeremy Corbyn kicked off his eve-of-poll tour yesterday morning.
KIRKCALDY AND COWDENBEATH
ONE of the most surprising things this election is the number of candidates suspended after registration for the ballots had closed. The Scottish Tories have two, with Sottish Labour, the SNP and the Brexit Party all with one apiece. They’ll all still be on the ballot paper today, listed under the party that’s suspended them.
Realistically, the only candidate to be suspended who was in with a shout of winning was the SNP’s Neale Hanvey, given his jotters last month for using anti-Semitic language.
Unlike the others though, he’s refused to go quietly into the night, and is campaigning to win. There’s been no shortage of SNP activists willing to help.
EAST DUNBARTONSHIRE
AT the start of the campaign this looked like a shoo-in for the LibDem leader.
John Nicolson, her old SNP rival had done a bunk, running away up to Perthshire and the party had instead selected Amy Callaghan, an unknown 27-year-old activist.
That unknown activist has worked her socks off. Her chances have been boosted by gaffes from the LibDems too. It’s still likely to be Jo Swinson who wins, but it could be close.
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