Joe Quinn

Candidates in the Glasgow East by-election clashed publicly last night when the SNP's John Mason repeated a claim that there was little difference between Labour and the Tories.

Mr Mason said he had been "slated" for saying so, but insisted: "I stand by that."

He told a hustings meeting organised by the Public and Commercial Services Union: "Why did Gordon Brown have his picture taken beside Margaret Thatcher?

"Because he is appealing to the same people Margaret Thatcher was appealing to.

"The words are different with Labour but the reality is not different. It's still PFI and privatisation, it's still the war in Iraq and it's still Trident - still exactly the same policies."

But Labour's Margaret Curran rounded on him, saying there had been "real progress" under Labour and people in the east end felt "very strongly" that their area had been misrepresented and talked down.

"I would never deny the challenge that continues to exist but let's recognise the progress that has been made," she said. "Today we have statistics that tell us unemployment is at its lowest level ever. You can never compare us to Margaret Thatcher when you look at that."

The hustings event at a hotel featured all nine by-election candidates. For more than two hours they fielded questions from their trade union audience on issues ranging from child poverty to public sector pay, on which Mr Mason and Ms Curran also clashed.

It came as hundreds of thousands of local government workers in England, Wales and Northern Ireland staged the biggest show of industrial unrest for years in protest at the government's stance on public sector pay.

Mr Mason said strikes had not so far occurred in Scotland and went on to cite special factors like the Scottish Government's concordat deal with local councils.

But he went on: "The reality is that we are given pocket money from Westminster. We have to live within that.'' Ms Curran retorted: "John wants to go to one venue and say look what a good government we are, keeping wages at 2% - and then come here to you to try to pass the buck."