Counting starts in Falkirk West

The winner will represent Falkirk West at Westminster

Votes are being counted in the Falkirk West by-election to choose the Westminster successor to Dennis Canavan.

Voting is said to have been slow throughout the day and the turnout has been estimated at just one third of the electorate.

Indications were that it was slightly down on that at the Glasgow Anniesland by-elections last month.

Polls opened at 0700 GMT on Thursday and votes were cast until 2200.

Many voters interviewed during the campaign said they were too preoccupied with Christmas preparations to dwell on the election.

The votes are now being counted

The five-way contest was prompted by Mr Canavan's decision to give up his Westminster seat.

The independent MP and MSP had represented Falkirk West for Labour from June 1983 until last year.

But the 48-year-old broke ranks with Labour after he was not selected as its candidate for the seat at the Scottish Parliament elections.

He embarrassed the party he had been a member of for 33 years when he stood as an independent last May and won by a majority of 12,000 - the largest in the parliament.

However, he was automatically expelled from the Labour Party as a result.

He announced his intention to give up his Westminster seat in October, prompting the parties to start gearing up for the by-election.

But in November it looked as if those efforts could be in vain after Mr Canavan said he had applied to rejoin the Labour Party.

Dennis Canavan prompted the by-election

He told a news conference in his constituency that he believed reconciliation was "a distinct possibility" and withdrew his threat to resign from Westminster.

But there was a further twist only two weeks later when Mr Canavan announced another U-turn.

He withdrew his application to rejoin Labour, saying that fresh evidence about his exclusion had come to light.

He also said he would be giving up his Westminster seat after all, sparking the by-election he had previously threatened.

The candidates fighting for the seat are: Iain Hunter, Scottish Socialist Party; Eric Joyce, Scottish Labour Party; David Kerr, Scottish National Party; Hugh O'Donnell, Scottish Liberal Democrat Party; and Craig Stevenson, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party.

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BBC News Online users will be able to watch the Falkirk West by-election special, which is being transmitted on BBC1 Scotland, starting at 2350GMT on Thursday.