London - The Labour Party scraped home with the narrowest of victories over the Scottish Nationalists in a byelection in Hamilton South - which should have been one of its safest seats.
Labour won by just 556 votes over the SNP after a recount in the seat which fell vacant with the Defence Secretary, Mr George Robertson's elevation to NATO and the House of Lords. At the 1997 general election, Mr Robertson had a majority of nearly 16,000. The Liberal Democrats' lost their deposit. Labour coasted to a comfortable victory in another by-election at Wigan early today. The turnout was only 25 per cent.
