Govan

The triumphs belong to Margo MacDonald in 1973 and Jim Sillars 15 years later. Now a married couple, both are estranged from Alex Salmond's SNP. The disappointments have mostly belonged to Nicola Sturgeon. The jibe used by Labour's incumbent Gordon Jackson is that if he gets to beat her a third time, he should - as with Brazil and the World Cup - get to keep her for his mantlepiece.

The indignity in 2003 was to fail to beat Mr Jackson when he took a mid-campaign holiday and continued to treat Holyrood as a part-time job, along with his lucrative work as one of Scotland's leading lawyers. Labour bosses forced him to drop the court work. This time, Ms Sturgeon is back with a national profile as the party's Holyrood leader.

This is a seat that spans some of Glasgow's worst poverty, the posh bits of Shawlands, and the ethnic mix of Pollokshields. Local Labour MP Mohammad Sarwar and SNP councillor Bashir Ahmad can hope to draw in votes, but there are disaffected former Labour factions as well.

12:01am Thursday 12th April 2007

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