Sarah wins Glenrothes for Brown

As Gordon Brown considers the possibility of a snap general election following Labour's unexpected victory in the Glenrothes by-election - they romped home with a 6,000 plus majority - many in the party are saying it was entirely due to the intervention of the Prime Minister's wife, Sarah.

She emerged as Labour's chief campaigner in the by-election - the PM could not participate under the convention that party leaders steer clear of byelections - and many pundits believe that if she hadn't travelled up to Scotland the candidate, Lindsay Roy, would have been trashed by the Scottish National Party. Brown's wife, as always, was very low key. She was up in Glenrothes for a few days and on five or six occasions she campaigned without publicity.

And while the revival of Gordon Brown's fortunes continues apace – to the Tory's chargrin he's having a high old time of it during the current financial crises – many believe that his wife will now be central to the general election campaign.

"People are talking about the 'Super Sarah effect'," says a Labour source. "Gordon is doing well, but his wife humanises him in peoples' eyes. They are a good package. Also, there is no way someone like Samantha Cameron [The Tory leader's wife] can come close to her in terms of having the common touch. People adore her."

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