Labour is back in business

Last night's stunningly good by-election victory in Glenrothes shows that Labour is back in business. It was not just the narrow win that might have been hoped for but one where the party increased its share of the vote. This is a personal triumph for a rejuvenated Gordon Brown and his wife Sarah, who spent a lot of time in the constituency. It encouragingly suggests that the party has regained the ability to get out the vote. But it is also a big setback for Alex Salmond and the SNP, with voters rejecting his party's leadership in the local council and Holyrood. And it is a big defeat for the pundits: last night, Michael Crick on Newsnight was repeating the line featured in yesterday's papers that the SNP would win with a 1,000 majority.