PM's wife joins by-election trail

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The prime minister's wife has been campaigning for the Labour Party in the Glenrothes by-election.

Sarah Brown's participation in the campaign comes almost a month after her headline-grabbing performance at the Labour Party conference.

Mrs Brown accompanied Labour candidate Lindsay Roy as he knocked on doors.

Meanwhile, the SNP pledged action on energy bills, the Lib Dems highlighted unemployment and the Conservatives focussed on classroom violence.

First Minister Alex Salmond welcomed Mrs Brown's visit but said he would prefer to have a "toe-to-toe debate" with her husband.

The constituency, which is next door to Gordon Brown's seat of Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath, has previously been a safe Labour seat.

We're at home for half-term, and I thought it would be nice to spend some time helping out the campaign this week Sarah Brown John MacDougall, the MP whose death has created the 6 November by-election, had a majority of 10,664 over the SNP at the 2005 Westminster general election.

However, Labour's loss of the Glasgow East by-election to the SNP this summer means it could be a tough contest.

Sarah Brown went door-knocking in the former mining village of Cardenden, which forms part of the constituency.

Mrs Brown said ahead of her visit: "It's great for me to go round the streets with Lindsay today as he listens to the issues people are raising.

"He was a great headteacher for Gordon's old school, and he's got a huge love for Fife and its people.

"We're at home for half-term, and I thought it would be nice to spend some time helping out the campaign this week."

Energy bills

Meanwhile, Mr Salmond used his sixth visit to the constituency to claim an SNP victory in the Glenrothes by-election would lead to action by Westminster on energy bills.

He said: "Energy bills are dominating this campaign on every doorstep.

"The bills are flooding in, winter is coming on, and it costs £1,400 average to heat a house in this constituency already. It is a huge, dominating issue."

The SNP has called for a VAT holiday for fuel bills this winter, £100 extra for every pensioner, and a reduction in VAT for home insulation.

The Liberal Democrat candidate, Harry Wills, focussed on unemployment in Glenrothes, which he said was the highest in Fife.

He said: "For years government was warned by Vince Cable that unsustainable levels of personal debt, vastly inflated property prices and a cavalier attitude to regulation would lead to economic instability.

"The warnings were ignored and now we are faced with the highest unemployment rate in almost a decade."

He called for an increase in the cost of foreign workers' permits, and for the money raised to go towards back-to-work training programmes.

The Scottish Socialist Party, rival left-wing party Solidarity, the Scottish Senior Citizens' Unity Party and UKIP are also contesting the by-election.