Labour finally launched its campaign for the Glasgow East by-election on Tuesday after selecting Margaret Curran following a difficult few days which had seen the frontrunner for the nomination withdraw at the last minute for family reasons.

Speaking at the Group of Eight summit in Japan, Gordon Brown declined to say if this would harm Labour’s chances, but insisted the party had chosen the right person in the end. “We have an excellent candidate for a by-election, a local person, who is very experienced and who has been a representative in the area,” he said.