IT'S all the fault of the LibDems - at least that's what Labour would like people to believe over Glasgow's failed bid to become the home of the UK's first super-casino.

That's rubbish, of course. They're only partly to blame.

Last September Cathcart MSP Charlie Gordon warned the Executive its lukewarm support for Glasgow would do the city no favours.

Labour is the dominant partner in the coalition but its ministers obviously didn't listen either to Mr Gordon or any other of the city's Labour group.

The LibDems undermined the bid but at least Robert Brown, the city's token Liberal, has always made his opposition clear.

But Enterprise Minister Nicol Stephen - given his track record that's surely a misnomer - must share the blame.

His excuse that endorsing the bid would have sent the wrong message over planning leaves him in a contradictory position.

What's he going to do when a firm wants to invest in Scotland? How can he encourage the wind farms he's so keen on?

They all need planning but investors won't go ahead unless they have a clear indication they'll get planning permission.

ONE man who should have cleaned up on Manchester winning the super-casino bid was lone Glasgow Tory MSP Bill Aitken.

His statement after the announcement claimed Manchester seemed to have been "pencilled in" as the winner months ago.

That would come as a surprise to Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell who said she didn't know where it was going until the Casino Advisory Panel made its announcement.

The bookies were offering a generous 16/1 against Manchester winning, so armed with his insider information did Mr Aitken put some hard cash on it?

Er...no. He would never bet against his home city, he told me.

But armed with his remarkable insight, will he back a Tory comeback in May's elections - or does he know he would be throwing his cash away?

ONE of Glasgow's best MSPs - yes, a couple of them aren't too bad - is Bill Butler.

Among the most even-tempered of politicians, even he was obviously brassed off after his Labour pals, including wife and Culture Minister Patricia Ferguson, voted against his attempt to let ordinary people have a say in how their local health services are run.

Labour and LibDem MSPs queued up to make sure his Bill failed while the SNP, Tories, Greens and the SSP backed him.

Glasgow colleagues Paul Martin, Pauline McNeill, Johann Lamont and Janis Hughes all deserted him.

Mr Martin had wanted to go further in weighting the boards in favour of public membership and McNeill was vocal over the consultation on the future of the Queen Mum's, which sparked the reform bid.

Curiously, Karen Whitefield, who is arguing with Lanarkshire Health Board over the closure of the A&E unit at Monklands Hospital in Airdrie, didn't side with Mr Butler either.

Solidarity MSPs Tommy Sheridan and Rosemary Byrne, didn't even turn up.

Mr Butler knows there were tough tactics used by Health Minister Andy Kerr to make sure he didn't win but that's politics.

But perhaps the Minister himself should take care. He told MSPs the proposals weren't "fit for purpose".

Those are the words coined by John Reid when he pledged to sort out the Home Office. The phrase is now biting his backside.

Mr Butler, who backed Glasgow Airport's rail link, is cranking up his lobbying for Crossrail and better bus services.

Hopefully, he'll get more support from colleagues on those issues.