Labour has pulled off a shock win in the Hamilton by-election, humiliating First Minister John Swinney.
The SNP leader had claimed Labour was ‘out of it’ just hours before the polls opened.
But Anas Sarwar’s party won by persuading voters to set aside their anger over UK Government cuts and back a ‘new direction’ after 18 years of SNP government.
It was the second electoral reversal for Mr Swinney since he became First Minister just over a year ago – his party lost 39 of its 48 MPs at last year’s general election.
Labour’s Davy Russell became the new MSP for Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse shortly after 1.30am ,erasing an SNP majority of 4,582 to win by 602 votes.
Despite hype about overtaking Labour or even winning the seat, Reform UK came third.
In his victory speech, Mr Russell said: ‘Right across Scotland, we all feel we’ve been let down by the SNP. They’ve broken their NHS, wasted their money, and after nearly two decades, they don’t deserve another chance.
‘This community has also sent a message to Farage and his mob tonight. The poison of Reform isn’t us, isn’t Scotland, and we don’t want your division here.’
Scottish Labour’s Davy Russell arrives at the count before being declared winner for the Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse by-election
Russell shakes hands with SNP candidate Katy Loudon (right) after hearing the vote count
Russell (right) celebrates with Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar (centre) and deputy leader Jackie Baillie (left)
Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar said it was ‘game on’ for the Holyrood election next year.
He said voters had made it clear they wanted the UK Government to change some its policies, wanted rid of the SNP and had rejected the politics of Reform.
‘The people of Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse have laid the first stone in that path way to a Scottish Labour government.’
It was a back-to-back defeat for SNP candidate Katy Loudon, who also lost the Westminster byelection in Ruthgerlen & Hamilton West in 2023.
SNP cabinet secretary Mairi McAllan said: ‘Obviously it’s disappointing not to have won, but what I do have is a party that is exceptionally energized, very united and our campaign to win this seat next year starts now.’
The Scottish Conservatives came fourth but narrowly held on to their deposit, falling from 17.5 per cent of the vote to six.
Labour’s share of the vote was 31.5 per cent, down from the 33.6 per cent the party managed at the 2021 Holyrood election.
The SNP’s vote share slumped by more than a third from 46.2 per cent to 29.3 per cent.
Celebrations were in order in the early hours of Friday morning at South Lanarkshire Council Headquarters in Hamilton, Scotland
Reform, who didn’t stand in the constituency in 2021, took 26.1 per cent of the vote.
Turnout was 44.2 per cent, well down on the 60.7 per cent of the 2021 election.
The contest was triggered by the death of SNP minister Christina McKelvie.
The campaign was one of the ugliest in modern Scottish politics, with accusations of racism levelled against Reform after it attacked Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar.=
A Reform campaign advert claimed Mr Sarwar had said he wanted to ‘priortise the Pakistani community’ based on a 2022 speech in which he said no such thing.
On Monday, Mr Farage also said he wanted to review the Barnett formula which determines Holyrood’s budget, jeopardising the £1,500 per person ‘Union dividend’ enjoyed by Scots.=
Despite coming third, the result in Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse suggests Reform could still achieve a breakthrough at next year’s Holyrood election.
A recent poll suggested the party could leapfrog Labour and the Scottish Conservatives to become the main opposition with 21 seats to the SNP’s 58.
