Abortion crux of poll?

Press, 13 April 1978, Page 9

Abortion crux of poll?

From JOHN ROSS London' Abortion, rather than, unemployment, Scottish I independence, or housing, conditions, may be the deciding factor in today’s cru-| cial by-election in Gar-1! scadden, Glasgow. Thirty-five per cent of the; electorate’s 53,000 voters are' Roman Catholics, and the ( Society for the Protection off the Unborn Child has had, attendances of 800 at severalof its meetings — higher;' turn-outs than those i* achieved by any of the six ! ( candidates. S.P.U.C. has distributed 10,000 leaflets urging voters J not to support ‘anti-life’ candidates, and the local Labour Party, whose Mr Donald ' Dewar is labelled “anti-life”, has expressed concern that S.P.U.C.’s campaign has gone well beyond the con? vention of accepted lobby- 1 ing.

The anti-abortion propaganda singles out Mr Dewar, along with two extremists, as candidates to avoid on polling dav. If the Scottish National Party’s Mr Keith Bovey i wins the seat. S.P.U.C. will: have helped to set the: heather on fire and launch an all-out offensive by the | Scottish Nationalists. In the 1974 Election labour polled 19,700' votes against the Scottisn Nationalists’ 12,100. The nationalists, who won all six > district council seats in Garscadden last May, would need a swing of 10 per cent to capture their 12th seat at Westminster. Most observers feel labour will narrowly retain i it, but the abortion issue could be crucial.