Commenting on the result of the Glasgow North East by-election, Scottish National Party leader and First Minister Alex Salmond said: "David Kerr achieved progress in what is the Labour Party’s safest seat in Scotland – despite a relentlessly negative Labour campaign.  He did chalk up the SNP’s best Westminster share of the vote in this constituency for 35 years.

"Of course we are disappointed not to do better, and will reflect carefully on the result and the lessons to be learned.

"David Kerr fought a positive, upbeat campaign, and I am proud that he did so.  Compared to the last time the seat was fought on an all-party basis, the SNP achieved a swing of over 7 per cent from Labour, cutting their majority from over 17,000 in 1997 to 8,000 now.

"But by-elections in Scotland are now contests between two governments, and a key lesson for the SNP is the need to expose and counteract Labour’s dishonest campaign messages at a much earlier stage.

"However, they will not be able to adopt this approach in a national General Election campaign.  Next year, both Labour and the Tories will be standing on a platform to rip-off the whole of Scotland with swingeing public spending cuts – and the case for electing a block of SNP MPs to fight for Scottish interests will be overwhelming.

"I bitterly regret the irresponsibility of the BBC and others for generating the ridiculous and wholly unwarranted volume of publicity the BNP received in Scotland.  Yet they didn’t come third, they didn’t save their deposit, and they were resoundingly rejected by the people of Glasgow North East."