Rolled-up Trousers

Sarwar fails to thank voters

So last week Mohammad Sarwar retired as an MP. You may have missed this since he neglected to make the customary valedictory speech in the House of Commons. This is the one where retiring MPs reflect on their time as an MP, say some words of farewell and thank their constituents.

It's unusual he didn't make one. It may just be indicative of his poor 57% attendance rate in Parliament that he didn't get round to it. He was busy doing whatever it is he was doing.

Maybe he's hoping that some voters don't take notice there is a different Sarwar on their ballot paper this time around, as he doesn't look too dissimilar in the leaflets.

Or perhaps it's something to do with the attitude expressed in this video that has emerged.

The people of Glasgow Central deserve better than this. It won't be difficult being more active than him, but I intend to be positively hyperactive in comparison.

Latest poll makes it neck-and-neck in Glasgow Central

The latest opinion poll of Westminster voting intentions have given the SNP a seven point lead over Labour.

When entered into Electoral Calculus, this puts the SNP and Labour neck-and-neck in Glasgow Central.

SNP overtake Labour - in Glasgow

A YouGov opinion poll has put the SNP ahead of Labour in voting intentions for Holyrood. This is across Glasgow, where this has never happened before. Tartan Hero has the full rundown.

While the poll is for the Scottish Parliament, it shows how the message of the SNP is resonating in areas where it never has before. It's also great news for myself and my Westminster candidate colleagues in the city.

The Brightest and the Best

I feature in the Sunday Herald's special pullout today entitled "The Brightest and the Best" about the people who are building the new Scotland.

It's not online so I can't give you a link. Same is true of a news piece on a project I'm working on at the moment. Check out the paper if you can, otherwise hopefully I'll blog about it in the near future.

Facebook faceoff

Social networking websites are said to be the new battleground for politics. The contest for Glasgow Central is no different.

Both myself and Anas Sarwar have groups set up to support our respective campaigns. As of time of writing my group has 214 members, his 156.

You can join Osama Saeed for Glasgow Central here. His has been set up for about a month now, while mine has been in existence for a couple of weeks. Within 24 hours of it being put up though, my group raced ahead despite the headstart for the other guy.

Now if only elections were decided on Facebook...

Also, thanks to Marco Biagi for the kinds words of endorsement