RECAP Hamilton by-election results: Labour in stunning win after bitter campaign against SNP, Reform
The by-election for the Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse seat came after polls showed a surge in support for Nigel Farage’s Reform UK party in Scotland.
Labour has claimed a striking victory in a Holyrood by-election that will shape the build-up to next year’s Scottish election.
The contest for the Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse seat had been fierce, after a high-profile campaign dominated by the rise in support for Reform UK.
But it was Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar and his team celebrating on Friday morning, after the tally of 8, 559 votes was enough for candidate Davy Russell to be elected to the Scottish Parliament as an MSP.
The by-election took place following the death of the SNP MSP Christina McKelvie, who had been receiving treatment for breast cancer.
She had held the seat since 2011, winning it comfortably in the 2021 Scottish election with a majority of 4,582 over Labour.
The contest was initially viewed as a battle between the SNP and Labour, but Reform saw a surge during the campaign, with the party thought to have a good chance of unseating Labour and coming second.
The campaign has been marked by attack adverts from the Nigel Farage-led party against Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar, accusing him of prioritising people from Pakistan and using a speech he gave encouraging people from a South Asian background to get into politics.
The Scotsman brings you all the reaction in the wake of Labour’s by-election win - and the ramifications of the result.
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