They all agreed. “She was lovely.”

Sarah Brown finally stepped out from the shadow of her husband, Gordon, and appeared on the campaign trail.

While the prime minister was dashing around the world as a global economic statesman, saving the financial system, Sarah was helping save her husband’s political reputation on home soil.

She made numerous appearances in Glenrothes, Scotland, to campaign on behalf of the Labour candidate Lindsay Roy, a headmaster at Gordon’s old school, in a parliamentary constituency that backs on to his own Kirkcaldy seat.

So successful were her visits that Labour began to regard her as a “secret weapon”, boosting Gordon’s image and helping defy the bookmakers’ odds and hold onto the seat against a confident Scottish National Party (SNP).

“It was nice to see her,” said Louise Glancey, a 44-year-old staff nurse, who saw her campaigning.

“I think, generally, people are happy to see them [Sarah and Gordon]. It’s annoying to get the leaflets, but it is good to see them being enthusiastic.”

She added: “I quite admire her not being dressed in Armani — she just wore a plain black suit, quite normal.”

Christine Barbour, 61, a retired council worker, added: “She wasn’t pushy.

“She was nicer looking in real life than on TV. Tall and elegant.”

“She was down to earth,” John Johnstone, 72, a former tanker driver, said.

“The majority of the country is working class, so it’s important to be able to speak on their level. She was very easy to speak to.”

The conversation did not delve into the merits of Keynesian philosophy during an economic downturn, but rather in the style of Michelle Obama, it touched more upon the domestic.

“We talked about children,” Barbour explained.

While Sarah Brown has kept a lower profile than the wife of Barack Obama, the U.S. president-elect, they have both exuded affection and admiration for their husbands.

Sarah’s surprise appearance at this autumn’s Labour Party conference, defending her husband ahead of his crucial speech, won glowing reviews.

She may not yet stretch to gently mocking Gordon for leaving his socks lying around Downing Street, or proclaiming “Gordon gets it” in a similar vein to Michelle Obama, but she has increasingly become a factor in Gordon’s survival strategy.

Now all she needs to do is get rid of her excessive minders.

“She was surrounded by the Gestapo,” Barbour said.

“There was an entourage of about 10,” added Glancey.

Journalists and TV crews felt the full force of their menace. “I want you guys on the green,” they quoted the Labour men as saying.

“There will be six or seven guys with guns who will keep you away from her. You may be shot and then it won’t be my problem.”

Winning over the voters is half the job. Winning over the media can be more difficult — just ask Cherie Blair.

Gordon Brown has woken to some unhappy headlines during his year as prime minister but the verdicts on newspaper websites following Labour’s shock defeat in the Glasgow East by-election were probably the worst he has faced.

“Disaster” was the description of the Daily Mail and The Independent after one of Labour’s safest seats fell to the Scottish National Party. The Daily Telegraph called it “Humiliation for Brown” while “Catastrophe for Labour” was The Guardian’s verdict.

The latest terrible poll result, coming after Labour lost its deposit in Henley, left David Cameron clamouring for a general election and the focus once again on Brown’s future, with speculation once more that he will face a leadership challenge.

Is it all over now for Brown? Do you think it’s time for him to step down or be replaced? Send us your comments.

Glasgow East has a very different feel to Crewe as it gears up for Thursday’s by-election.

In Crewe and Nantwich voters were palpably enthused by the prospect of giving Gordon Brown and Labour a good kicking. They were aware of the national significance of a Tory victory and relished the chance to send Brown a stern message. Turnout was a high 58 percent and the Conservatives achieved a massive 17.6 percent swing to win the seat in May.

A walk around the housing estates and shabby shopping complexes of Glasgow East tells a different story. Many locals frown and scurry off when asked their political views. Others who do stop and talk express indifference. The by-election may be a two-horse race between Labour and the Scottish National Party (SNP) but apathy is running a close third. Turnout here was less than 50 percent in the 2005 general election and is expected to be much lower next week, particularly because of summer school holidays.

But Labour is braced for a thrashing and a drastically reduced majority. Lifelong Labour supporters said they were switching to the SNP or even to the Conservatives, who barely make it on to the political map in Scotland. Diehard Labour loyalists — people who vote for Labour because their mother, father and grandparents did — may just help Brown hold on to the seat but Labour appears to be losing the support amongst the working class that it has relied on in Scotland for decades.

Take Scottish pensioners Sarah Carlin and Catherine Matheson. They have voted for the Labour Party since they can remember but both said they plan to switch allegiances next Thursday. Carlin, 64, may vote Conservative, if she votes at all, while Matheson will plump for the SNP.

“I’ve worked all my days and I don’t get anything. I pay for my glasses, I pay for my teeth. I’m going to try the Conservatives. I’m sick of it,” said Carlin, having tea after an exercise class at the Tollcross Park Leisure Centre in Glasgow’s deprived east end.

Other “eastenders” have lost faith in politicians, worn down by what they see as a failure to tackle the crime and drug addiction that plagues the sprawling constituency.

Michael McGonigle, who owns a butcher’s shop in the east end, said the area has got worse over the years, beset by drug addicts and dealers.

“I’m not voting. I don’t believe in any of them. They’re all in it for themselves,” said McGonigle, 38, as he sliced beef in his store on Tollcross Road. “You see them day and night, druggies, methodone junkies.”

A few doors down, Stephen Mclellan, 37, who owns his own grocery store, is similar disillusioned.

“Nothing gets done. They just promise. I’d like something to be done locally,” he said, pointing at the drains outside his shop that he said flood every time it rains or the boarded up flats opposite. “There are too many people on methodone. They sell it at the bus stop, there is no support. Put police on the streets and the place would be ten times better,” added McGonigle, who is unsure who he will vote for, if anyone.

Politically-engaged locals agreed that Labour could have lost here if Margaret Curran hadn’t agreed to stand. She is a local political heavyweight and an energetic campaigner. Local taxi driver Robert Kemp, 54, thinks “a gun was put to her head. They needed a big hitter, so they said, Margaret, come and save our position.”

Others said that if the charismatic Alex Salmond had been standing, rather than the lesser-known John Mason, the SNP could have pulled it off — a result that would certainly have sent shockwaves all the way to Downing Street and could have sealed the prime minister’s fate.

(photo shows Scottish Labour Party candidate Curran campaigning in Glasgow)