Labour wins Hamilton by-election as Reform finishes third

Scottish Labour has won the Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse by-election with a majority of 600 votes.

Taking place with a year to go until the next Holyrood election, the contest was called following the death of SNP incumbent Christina McKelvie, who had been the only MSP to ever hold the seat.

But now it is a Labour gain after the party overturned the 4,582 majority secured by McKelvie in 2021.

SNP candidate Katy Loudon came second on 7,957, with Reform UK candidate Ross Lambie third on 7,088. Turnout was 44.2 per cent.

The result comes after SNP leader John Swinney declared the election a two-horse race between his party and Reform.

Responding to the result, Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar said: "We have proven all of those people wrong - the pollsters, the commentators, the pundits, also the bookies, because we focused on what mattered to people here in Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse."

He went on: "We have got to listen to, yes, the result, but also the conversations we had on the doorsteps, and the conversations we had were people want a UK Labour Government to go further and faster and demonstrate they're improving their lives. They also want an end to this SNP government that has done so much damage to our country over the last 18 years. They utterly reject the politics of Nigel Farage and Reform, and today we have laid the first stone in that path to a Scottish Labour government next year."

The by-election was held around a year after a similar contest for the UK Parliament's Rutherglen and Hamilton West constituency, which was also won by Labour.

Swinney said: "Labour won by an absolute landslide in this area less than a year ago - we came much closer tonight but the people of Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse have made clear that we still have work to do. Over the next few days we will take time to consider the result fully.

"When I became leader of the SNP last year I made clear my intention to bring the party together and focus more than ever on standing up for the people of Scotland. During this campaign we heard a lot of anger about the cost of living - and it is clearer than ever that Westminster control is making Scotland poorer, whether that is the damage of Brexit, the hike in energy bills or the betrayal on the winter fuel payment. Between now and May’s election, I and the SNP will set out a vision of hope and optimism. We will show people in Scotland that a better future is possible by taking decisions for ourselves - and that is how we will win in 2026."

Conservative candidate Richard Nelson finished on 1,621 votes, with Ann McGuinness of the Greens taking 695 and Lib Dem Aisha Mir winning 533.