Breaking news: Labour have avoided a by-election in the Motherwell seat of former Scottish First Minister, Jack McConnell. Mr McConnel was due to become High Commissioner in Malawi in the New Year, which would have required his resignation as an MSP.

Now – in the newly smart Labour guided behind the scenes by old hand Alastair Campbell, Mr McConnell has accepted a part time post – which he insists is a ‘serious’ job, working with nations recovering from conflict. He will be an un-paid special envoy, working part-time at the Foreign Office and drawing up a plan for rebuilding capacity in areas blighted by conflict – like Rwanda and Kosovo.

This part time and unpaid commitment avoids the necessity for resignation and a by-election.

First Minister Alex Salmon was quick to comment on the political nature of the move, describing it as: ”blatant political manipulation in order to avoid defeat in a by-election’ and saying: ‘It is a sign of how out of touch they are that Labour think they can manipulate the process in this way, but sooner or later people are going to say to Labour “enough is enough” ‘.

The campaign for the Glenrothes by-election is underway for voting on 6th November. The SNP are campaigning hard and are ahead in the polls. After their historic defeat by the SNP in Glasgow East, Labour have clearly gone for safety first in Motherwell.