The contrast between the Glasgow North East by-election, which draws to a close today, and last year’s contest in neighbouring Glasgow East, is sharply defined.

As before, the two main contenders are Labour and the SNP, but the roles have been reversed. Labour learned from its blunders while, perversely, the usually highly efficient SNP backroom copied Labour mistakes.

In Glasgow East, Labour’s losing candidate, Margaret Curran, was fifth-choice and a last-minute stand-in. Ms Curran had a formidable reputation at Holyrood as MSP for Baillieston, but right at the outset slipped up by claiming to have lived and worked in the east end all her life when it was well-known she lived on the city’s south side.

The SNP selected the respected local councillor John Mason and he went on to create the “political earthquake” predicted by party leader Alex Salmond.

Labour did not want a repeat. With little debate, its candidate was named as Willie Bain, a party activist born and bred in the heart of the constituency and still living there in a 14th-floor flat.

This time it was the SNP who had to settle for a third-choice candidate, David Kerr, after two others fell by the wayside. He was immediately embroiled in a row over his ties to the community after not being able to make up his mind where he was born.

In Glasgow East, Mr Salmond bullishly and correctly predicted a “political earthquake” by claiming the SNP would take one of Labour’s safest seats. At the launch of Mr Kerr’s campaign, a “tremor” was as far as he would go.

It was low-key and mirrored the tone for what has been a dull campaign – a weariness partly caused by the length of time it has been since the constituency’s former MP, Michael Martin, resigned.

Neither of the other main parties, the Tories and the LibDems, have a chance but with high-profile shadow Cabinet ministers arriving in the constituency, the Tories seem to have been using Glasgow as a test of their travel plans for next year’s General Election.

In Ruth Davidson, they have unearthed a possible future MP or MSP, if she can find the right constituency.

Of the other nine parties contesting the seat, none has emerged as a serious threat although John Smeaton, the hero of the Glasgow airport terrorist attack, is placed third by the bookmakers, so presumably somebody is putting money on him.

Most worrying for the main parties is the emergence of the extreme-right BNP, which is hoping to capitalise on anti-asylum seeker sentiment.

In the last week, its chances of being third have been talked up, although there is no hard evidence to back this. It came sixth in the constituency in the European elections earlier this year with 4.3% of the vote on a turnout of just 21.5%. A low turnout could see it saving its deposit for the first time in a Scottish election.

In the wider UK context, Labour’s defeat in Glasgow East was a severe blow to Gordon Brown and another defeat tonight will not make his life any easier before the General Election.

However, whoever wins will only have been given a short-term contract before they have to do it all again.