LABOUR'S William Bain could be a very lonely man when the House of Commons returns after the General Election.

If the opinion polls are accurate he will be one of only a few Scottish Labour MP's travelling back south.

Glasgow North East is one of the few seats predicted to survive the SNP surge across the country.

It would be seismic if Labour were to lose this. Only twice in the last 100 years has there been anything other than a Labour MP for this area.

The challenger from the SNP, Anne McLaughlin, however thinks the seat is winnable, despite the opinion polls.

The large yes vote in the referendum in the area combined with a showing in the 2011 Holyrood election has given her a strong base to build on.

North East is mostly the old Springburn seat which returned a Labour MP at every poll since 1935.

Mr Bain won the by election for North East following the resignation of former Speaker Michael Martin in 2009 comfortably taking almost 60% of the vote.

When it came to the General Election a year later he increased it to a thumping 68% and a majority of almost 16,000.

Once home to some of the biggest and famous employers in the country like the Caley railway works at St Rollox it is now one of the highest for unemployment and includes several areas of high deprivation.

It would take a catastrophic collapse, even greater than being predicted for Labour to lose this seat at a General Election.

The SNP would need to take 8000 votes from Labour and the other parties have little support in this part of the city.

The demographics of this seat have altered significantly over the years.

It was once dominated by traditional white Scottish working class communities like Springburn, Royston and Possilpark, untouched by the multi cultural changes happening in parts of the south side and west end.

It has since become home to many asylum seekers and refugees, and a large Chinese population.

It has seen large scale demolitions of tenements and tower blocks including much of Hamiltonhill and Possilpark and Sighthill and Red Road.

Mr Bain said the big issues were jobs and health.

He said: "Unemployment and particularly youth unemployment is really important.

He said while the latest figures, this week showed a fall over the year within that the recent months showed an increase.

He said: "The trend is going up and there is ingrained long term unemployment."

Mr Bain has been busy crunching the numbers and said the Labour's plan for a jobs guarantee would help 520 people in North East out of 2,500 who are claiming Job Seekers Allowance.

He added: "Employment rights is also a big issue. There is insecurity among people in work, people who are on zero hours contracts and people in the low pay economy.

"We need to promote the Living Wage. We need more vocational training through more college places.

"People want a hopeful agenda that will increase their living standards."

Mr Bain said he was

He said: I am working as hard as I can on the phones and on the doorsteps. I am hopeful and confident we can hold the seat, but things can change and I am taking nothing for granted."

The task of trying to wrest control of this strongest of Labour strongholds falls to former Glasgow MSP, Anne McLaughlin.

She stood in the Provan seat at the 2011 Holyrood election and was a leading figure in the yes campaign in the area during the referendum.

Despite increasing the SNP vote by more than 13% she fell short of taking another Labour scalp in Glasgow.

Ms McLaughlin was a Glasgow SNP MSP for two years following the death of Bashir Ahmed.

She said poverty was the number one issue and people are demanding action.

She said: "The level of poverty in the constituency is a concern not just for those living it but those witnessing it.

"People realise there is no need for it and want someone to stand up for them.

Ms McLaughlin has been crunching some numbers too.

She said: "Almost half of children in Glasgow north east are living in poverty, that's not right. The anger I feel is the same I am feeling from people in the communities who feel neglected by their representation."

To win Glasgow North East the SNP need to overturn a huge Labour Majority but is buoyed by a 57% yes vote in the referendum in the Provan half of the constituency

Ms McLaughlin said: "I am approaching with caution but I am confident we can win here. The polls might show Labour will win but since the yes campaign we have grown a big campaign base."