Somebody's bubble is going to burst at the end of this campaign, says a cheery Conservative campaigner in Glenrothes, where Scotland's four main parties are limbering up for a by-election to Westminster on November 6th. The remark sums up what is at stake in this battle: the reputations and perhaps the careers of Gordon Brown, Britain's prime minister, and Alex Salmond, Scotland's first minister and leader of the Scottish National Party (snp).rnSince his handling of the financial crisis converted Mr Brown from lame duck to global statesman, thoughts of losing Glenrothes, close to his Kirkcaldy seat, have receded and Mr Brown has pitched himself into the fray. And ever-present on the stump is Mr Salmond. Having gained power against the odds in the 2007 Scottish Parliament elections, and won an even less likely victory over Labour in the Glasgow East parliamentary by-election in July, he now hopes to achieve what would have until recently seemed impossible. Glenrothes has been staunch Labour territory since 1918, apart from electing a Tory in 1931 and then sending a Communist between 1935 and 1950.
展开▼
