Polls close in Glasgow East by-election

The polls have closed in the Glasgow East by-election.

The ballot took place after Labour MP David Marshall stood down for health reasons.

Labour is defending a majority of 13,507 in the seat in its traditional Scottish heartlands and defeat would be a disaster for the party.

The rising cost of living - in particular, fuel, energy and food prices - have loomed large over the campaign.

Scotland's First Minister Alex Salmond has claimed it is the first by-election for 20 years where the cost of living has been a dominant issue.

And right from the start he said his party was set to pull off a "political earthquake".

The Scottish National Party would need a swing of 22 per cent to achieve that - but if they did the result would raise questions over the future of Prime Minister Gordon Brown.

Margaret Curran, a former Holyrood minister who represents part of the area as an MSP, is fighting the seat for Labour.

She is up against the SNP's John Mason, a Glasgow councillor who lives in the area.

The candidates for the other main parties are Liberal Democrat Ian Robertson, who is a local school teacher, and Tory Davena Rankin, a union activist.

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