Now judge me by my deeds says MP after huge victory
Alyn Smith confounded his critics and pulled off a sensational victory for the SNP in Thursday’s General Election.
Rival parties may have hoped his chances of success had been ruined by jibes early in the campaign – from some local SNP activists – that the 46-yearold MEP had been ‘parachuted’ in from Brussels.
But that proved wishful thinking as the Glasgow-born lawyer, an MEP since 2004, won the seat with a 14.3 per cent swing to the SNP on a day when almost 77 per cent of the Stirling area electorate turned out to vote. That compares with a 74.3 per cent turnout two years ago.
Mr Smith attracted 26,895 votes , 51.1 per cent of the ballot papers cast, giving him a majority of 9254 over his nearest rival, Tory incumbent Stephen Kerr.
It was a massive result for Mr Smith, eclipsing the result in the Stirling constituency in 2015 when Steven Paterson won the seat for the Nationalists with 23,783 votes and almost 46 per cent of the vote. In his acceptance speech, following the count at the Albert Halls , Mr Smith praised his predecessor and Tory rival Stephen Kerr and added: “It has long been said that he who holds Stirling holds Scotland. The SNP hold Stirling, the local council and the Scottish Parliament.
“We won the European election in this constituency and now hold it in the
Westminster Parliament as well. I now ask you to judge me by my deeds.”
Mr Smith benefited from a massive SNP effort to retain the seat lost to Mr Kerr in 2017.
Stirling MSP Bruce Crawford said: “We were very well organised on the ground. We had more activists speaking to the real people on the doorsteps than all the other parties put together. We had 100 people out working on polling day and that is how you win an election.
“You also have to factor in that in the Brexit referendum Stirling voted 68 per cent to remain.
“And voters respected Alyn’s position as a member of the European Parliament for many years and his victory is an absolute rejection of the Conservatives in the European constituency.”
Mr Kerr, who had a wafer-thin148 majority, attracted 17, 641 votes – 3.5 per cent down on the total he received two years ago.
He said his failure to hold on to the seat was “hugely disappointing” and as he would be aged 64 by the time of the next scheduled General Election, he felt it unlikely he would stand again for Westminster or the Scottish Parliament.
But he added: “I can’t overstate, however, how much of a privilege it has been to be the MP for Stirling.
“I only wish this had been about more than one topic, which seems to have
dominated this election. The whole reason I wanted to be elected was not because of Brexit or independence. I feel there’s important issues.
“I respect the decision of the electorate. I am a democrat. I don’t take it personally – if you do you have made the wrong career move.”
Labour candidate Mary Kate Ross was disappointed as the party vote in the Stirling constituency slumped from almost 11,000 in 2017 to 4275 two years later.
Ms Ross, 19, admitted that the party did