Miaow

Having found herself in a tight rhetorical spot, from which backs out gracefully, Kez makes a good point:

It's the kind of playground bully boy tactics that you can expect from by-elections -and the kind I'd usually try to rise above - but this campaign is tribal and the beat of the drums brings out the worst in us all.

Now, I made a point that given the apparent "two-horse race" nature of the campaign, combined with the venom exchanged between Labour and the SNP exchanged over more than seven decades and compressed into three weeks, as well as the high stakes for both parties, egg-throwing is inevitable. And so it has proven. Between Solidarity and the SSP anyway.

From the Daily Record:

"A bizarre fight has broken out between rival socialist candidates in the Glasgow East by-election. Solidarity claimed their candidate Tricia McLeish was 'disciplined' by SSP hopeful and former MSP Frances Curran when they were at school together.

"A Solidarity source said: 'Tricia went to the same school as the SSP candidate. Tricia was younger and was a rebellious mod who was often disciplined by the blazer-clad prefect Frances Curran. Frances clearly showed early signs of collusion with authority. However, maybe the class rebel will win the final victory.'

Curran said: 'I'm not even going to dignify that with a comment.'

Time, it seems, heals no wounds, and perhaps Ms McLeish's defection to Tommy Sheridan's new endeavour has less to do with personal loyalty to the Tanned One and more to do with a grudge against Prefect Frances.