Mcconnell To Quit For Malawi Mcleish Won't Fight Glenrothes

LABOUR were reeling last night after an astonishing snub by two former First Ministers sparked a by-election crisis.

They failed to persuade Jack McConnell not to quit as an MSP next spring to become British High Commissioner in Malawi.

And they failed to persuade Henry McLeish to stand in his home territory of Glenrothes after the death of MP John MacDougall.

McConnell had been urged to stay on by party chiefs to save Labour from a difficult by-election contest after the SNP's triumph in Glasgow East.

And it has been expected that McLeish, who still has strong local support, would be the perfect candidate to see off the Nats in Fife. But sources close to McLeish say he has little interest in returning to frontline politics.

Since quitting five years ago, he has carved himself out a career lecturing abroad and writing books.

A source said: "Henry has a choice of returning to frontline politics or continue to develop a statesman-like status.

"He hopes he is doing a lot for the country's future and giving it up would be an awfully big decision."

Senior Labour figures have privately warned that McConnell's appointment could be delayed after their humiliating defeat to the SNP in Glasgow East.

One said: "If I was Jack, I wouldn't be measuring myself for a tropical outfit or ordering trays of Ferrero Rocher."

But a source close to McConnell revealed he will stand down from his Motherwell and Wishaw seat next spring.

The source said: "The High Commissioner's job becomes available next year. Jack fully intends to take up the post next spring."

Labour face a difficult challenge in Glenrothes. Defeats there and in Lanarkshire would pile the pressure on Gordon Brown to stand down as PM.

THE SNP stand up more for Scotland than Labour, according to a poll.

The survey of 1000 people by YouGov, commissioned by the Nats, put the SNP on 55 per cent compared to 10 per cent for Labour.