Election date set for ex-speaker's seat

Michael Martin stepped down as an MP in June (Getty Images)

The Glasgow North East by-election will take place on 12 November, a Labour Party spokesman confirmed today.

The seat became vacant after former Commons Speaker Michael Martin stepped down as an MP in June.

A Labour Party spokesman said: "We can confirm we will move the writ for 12 November. We will move the writ next week when Parliament goes back."

While the date for the by-election has only now been confirmed, campaigning in the constituency has been under way for some time.

The four main parties have already chosen their candidates to fight the seat - with two former BBC journalists among those in the running to succeed Mr Martin.

Labour have selected Willie Bain, 36, a law lecturer, to fight the Glasgow North East seat, while the SNP candidate is former BBC journalist David Kerr, also 36.

The Tories have chosen another former BBC journalist, 30-year-old Ruth Davidson, while Eileen Baxendale, 64, a councillor and former social worker, is the Liberal Democrat candidate.

At the 2005 General Election Mr Martin won the seat with a 10,134 majority over the SNP. Neither the Tories nor the Liberal Democrats contested the seat at that election.

The SNP have previously criticised Labour for the delay in fixing a date for the by-election.

A November 12 polling day means people in the area will have been without an MP for almost six months.

The SNP contrasted this with the situation in the neighbouring Glasgow East constituency, where a by-election was held last July, with the Nationalists winning the seat from Labour.

However Labour argued that if the writ for the Glasgow North East by-election was moved before the House of Commons went into recess for the summer, it could have seen the by-election take place during the Glasgow school holidays, when many families would have been away.

Labour will hope to see a repeat of the result from the most recent Scottish Westminster by-election - the Glenrothes poll in November last year - when the party held on to the seat despite a strong challenge from the SNP.