GRACE McKenna was a lifelong Labour voter, just like the rest of her family. But on Thursday, frustrated with rocketing food and fuel prices and the government's failure to tackle the extreme poverty, unemployment, alcohol and drug addiction which scars the area, Mrs McKenna decided to take a stand.
It was a defiant move, repeated by thousands of others of Glasgow East voters, which triggered a sensational SNP victory shattering a seemingly unbreakable Labour majority.
For Mrs McKenna and other newly converted Nationalists, it was a just pu
nishment for a party she said had taken their constituency for granted for far too long.
The 50-year-old housewife, yesterday told The Scotsman: "The result was absolutely excellent. I've always voted Labour but I'm fed up with them.
"The whole family has been Labour, but we now want change. The whole country is going to rack and ruin."
Other shoppers at the Tesco Extra store in Shettleston were equally excited by John Mason's dramatic victory.
Clare McGuire, 34, a student nurse and Nationalist voter, said: "The SNP's campaigning was so good this time and the East End is ready for change."
Glenise Henchie, 79, was among other SNP converts who contributed to their triumph – but she confessed John Mason's kindness in giving her lifts had swayed her vote.
The former home help said: "I do not believe in splitting the Union, but John Mason is a very fine councillor and he will do a good job as an MP.
"However, I don't know yet whether I'd vote for him again at the general election."
Few voters professed surprise at the SNP's triumph, with several stressing the importance of the winning candidate's local links – he is a city councillor who lived in the constituency.
Others remarked on the importance of Mr Mason delivering on past pledges, in contrast to Labour's broken promises.
Leslie Gibbons, 70, a retired detective, agreed Labour's flailing fortunes on both sides of the Border had contributed to Margaret Curran's loss. But he said he was deterred from voting for the SNP because of the party's pro-independence stance.
"Labour's majority in Glasgow East was halved last time and now it's disappeared, which must have a reflection on Gordon Brown, who is not faring well in England and Wales either," he added.
Some Labour stalwarts admitted they had not anticipated the scale of their defeat. James Hayes, 34, a city council cleansing worker, said: "This has always been a Labour stronghold and I did not think the SNP would eat much into its majority."
But Jim McConnell, 41, a kitchen utilities salesman, believes the defeat was inevitable. "Labour had held on to this constituency and done very little for the East End of Glasgow, which is the poor relation of the city.
"I think people have decided to give someone else the opportunity."
Summing up the mood of the city – and indeed the country – he added: "There will be huge implications.
"This result is going to reverberate round Westminster."
The full article contains 508 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
