Willie Bain, Scottish Labour's by-election candidate for Glasgow North East, has formally launched his campaign.

He insists only a local candidate can do the area justice. He promised a crackdown on crime and a fairer deal for Glasgow.

In the constituency this morning, he said: "I've lived in this area all my life, I understand it, I was brought up here, I'm proud to come from this area. Whatever happens in this election, I'll still be proud to live in this constituency.

I think I also share it's values, it's about making sure that we get young people back into work, I remember being at school with youngsters who did not get the chance to get to college or to train for good jobs and we need to make sure that this next generation coming gets some of the chances that some of the people in this area didn't have."

Mr Bain also defended Labour's record in the area, which has been represented by the party for 74 years.

Watch extended interview with Willie Bain here >

He commented: "We have done a great deal, there is a lot more yet t o do. If you look at some of the housing provision it has been transformed dramatically from ten years ago, there are parts of Possilpark and Springburn that are a lot better because of the investment that we have put in.

"If you think about the National Health Service it has been introduced in those 74 years and how many people in this constituency have benefitted from that?

He added: "For me it is about trying to tackle family and pensioner poverty, and we can only do that if we have a Labour government."