for the First Minister. A poll on the issue of Scottish independence conducted by TNS-BMRB in December 2013 gave Lamont an approval rating of 6% among women and 8% among men, compared with 22% and 30% respectively for Salmond. 41% of respondents to that survey were unaware of her role as Scottish Labour leader, a figure rising to 62% among those aged 16–34. Local elections and by-elections Lamont launched Labour's 2012 local election campaign in Edinburgh on 17 April 2012, setting out policies for creating employment and training opportunities as well as improvements to education and childcare. Claiming that the SNP Government had passed on 89 percent of the spending cuts imposed by the UK Government, she compared the Nationalists to the businessman criticised for his role in the financial collapse of Glasgow Rangers Football Club, saying, "Putting the SNP in charge of a council is like putting Craig Whyte in charge of your tax return." Retaining control of Glasgow City Council, where Labour was facing a strong challenge from the SNP, was another of the party's key objectives. After the polls, political academic John Curtice, writing for The Guardian, observed that Lamont "has undoubtedly done enough to dispel doubts about whether she was the right woman for the job". The 2013 Dunfermline by-election was triggered by the resignation of the SNP's Bill Walker in the wake of his conviction on several accounts of domestic abuse. On the eve of the poll, Alan Cochrane of The Daily Telegraph described it as an election Labour could not afford to lose because, "For [Lamont's] personal prestige, her candidate simply must win." Labour won the seat with a swing of 7 percent from the SNP and a majority of 2,873. Lamont said that the result reflected "the progress we've made", but Curtice said that if the results were repeated across Scotland, the SNP would still be the majority party at the next election. Labour also increased their support at other by-elections. At the 2013 Aberdeen Donside by-election in June, held after the death of the SNP's Brian Adam, Labour reduced the SNP majority from 7,789 to 2,025. The 2014 Cowdenbeath by-election was held following the death of Labour MSP Helen Eadie. The campaign was fought on issues such as education, employment and care for the elderly, and saw Labour increase their share of the vote, with an 11.25 percent swing from the SNP