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Daily Record
09-06-2025
- Politics
- Daily Record
Hamilton by-election: Contrasting fortunes for parties who didn't win
The SNP are "very disappointed" to lose the seat after 14 years, while third-placed Reform say they are now in contention for constituency as well as list seats at next year's Holyrood election. There were contrasting responses from the runners-up in the Hamilton, Larkhall & Stonehouse by-election – with the SNP admitting they are 'very disappointed' to lose the constituency seat after 14 years, while rising Reform called their performance 'incredible' and say they are now the third party in Scottish politics. Katy Loudon polled 7957 votes for the SNP and Reform candidate Ross Lambie took 7088 votes, with the two South Lanarkshire councillors respectively finishing 602 and 1471 votes behind new MSP Davy Russell of Labour. Both parties now say they are setting their sights on the Scottish Parliament general election in 11 months' time and will learn from voters' views during the seven-week campaign as they seek to make gains in the nationwide 2026 Holyrood vote. Ms Loudon congratulated Mr Russell on his win in the 'wonderful constituency', saying: 'He and I both want the very best for it' and adding: 'While I am obviously disappointed not to win, I am very proud of the SNP campaign. Over the next 11 months we will work harder than ever to secure the trust of people in Hamilton, Larkhall & Stonehouse and right across Scotland. 'This was a very close result – and if Labour think they can take this result as a vote of confidence in the performance of the Westminster government, then they may be in for a real surprise next May.' First Minister John Swinney, who visited the constituency at least weekly during the campaign, also congratulated Mr Russell, saying: 'Representing your constituents in parliament is a huge honour and he will do so with my best wishes' and added that his party 'will take time to consider the result fully'. He said: 'Katy Loudon fought a superb SNP campaign, and clearly I am disappointed that we did not win. Labour won by an absolute landslide in this area less than a year ago – we came much closer [this time] but the people of Hamilton, Larkhall & Stonehouse have made clear that we still have work to do.' Mr Swinney told how party campaigners 'heard a lot of anger about the cost of living', and said: '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.' He noted the the by-election was called 'in circumstances that nobody wanted' following the death in March of respected constituency MSP Christina McKelvie, and said: 'During this campaign we heard so much from voters about the work that [she] did on their behalf.' Campaign co-ordinator Jamie Hepburn, the Cumbernauld MSP, echoed that view, saying the by-election had taken place 'in very difficult circumstances for us, as a result of the loss of one of our own, much-loved MSP Christina McKelvie'. He told the Hamilton Advertiser that the result was 'obviously very disappointing' and said: 'We've run an assertive ground campaign, speaking to thousands of people in a very short period of time. I'm still proud of the campaign we ran in terms of trying to tackle Reform. They're going to be a presence in Scottish politics – I don't think a positive presence – and the way you deal with them is tackling them head on. 'We know there are people who are scunnered out there and we do understand that; people are struggling with the cost of living right now and we're trying to respond to that [with] the work we're doing to mitigate against the two-child cap, to bring back the Winter Fuel Payment. 'We're also aware of challenges in public services and that's why we're investing record levels of funding in the NHS to make sure that there's an increased capacity of more GP appointments, procedures and operations; and also investing a record amount in local government where we know people rely on the services they deliver. 'We've got to continue to re-engage with the people of Scotland as we move into a very important election next year, and I'm confident that when it gets to the focus of a national election for the Scottish Parliament where people consider who might form the next government, that they will look to the SNP and the leadership of John Swinney and vote for us then.' Reform candidate Mr Lambie says the party's performance in gaining 26 per cent of the vote – which compares to 7.8 per cent in the general election less than a year ago – is 'pretty incredible' and told the Advertiser: 'It's a three-horse race in politics in Scotland now, and the third horse is now Reform, not the Conservatives any longer. 'If we can achieve this in six weeks, imagine what we can achieve in 11 months to the Holyrood election. There's only a few per cent separating us. We were only a few hundred votes away from the SNP here in one of their strongest seats, so if you apply that to Holyrood, that means we're not just contesting list seats, we're actually contesting constituencies around Scotland now. 'That's a game changer, and that's what we've achieved here. When we first started, the aim was to beat the Conservatives, but as the campaign went on we realised how much the Labour vote had dipped and the discontent with the SNP after 18 years is growing and their downward trajectory is carrying on.' He attributed the party's success to 'being honest with the public and calling out all the failures. We understand that people have been in a holding pattern and their lives haven't got better for 10, 15 years, and the established parties didn't understand the urgency. People around the doors want their lives to change quite urgently, so that's why a lot of people went for Reform.' Mr Lambie did not comment when asked about the nature of the election campaign, which included widespread criticism of Reform's social media adverts asserting that Anas Sarwar would 'prioritise the Pakistani community' and cutting to a speech by the Labour leader in which he does not make that statement – with the videos being described as 'blatantly racist' by both Labour and the SNP. The Reform candidate was joined at the count in Hamilton by deputy party leader Richard Tice, making his third visit to the constituency and in which he called their third-place result 'truly remarkable'. He said he was 'thrilled to bits' with Reform's showing and said: 'We've come from nowhere to being in a three-way marginal.' * Don't miss the latest headlines from around Lanarkshire. Sign up to our newsletters here. And did you know Lanarkshire Live is on Facebook? Head on over and give us a like and share!
Daily Record
09-06-2025
- Politics
- Daily Record
Hamilton, Larkhall & Stonehouse by-election: full results
Labour gained the seat with a majority of 602, with the SNP and Reform coming second and third. Labour won the Hamilton, Larkhall & Stonehouse by-election with a majority of 602 and claimed 31.5 per cent of the vote to send Davy Russell to Holyrood as the constituency's new MSP. SNP candidate Katy Loudon was second with 7957 votes. The party had been aiming to retain the seat held for the past 14 years by respected local politician and Scottish Government minister Christina McKelvie, who died in March aged just 57. Reform – contesting only their second election in South Lanarkshire following last year's Westminster poll in which they were a distant fourth – were third with candidate Ross Lambie gaining 7088 votes, 26.88 per cent of the ballots cast and just 1471 adrift of the winner. Both of the runners-up are serving South Lanarkshire councillors; as is fourth-placed candidate Richard Nelson of the Conservatives, who picked up 1621 votes. The full results, declared at the council's headquarters in Hamilton at 1.30am on Friday by returning officer Paul Manning, were – Davy Russell, Labour: 8559 Katy Loudon, SNP: 7957 Ross Lambie, Reform: 7088 Richard Nelson, Conservative: 1621 Ann McGuinness, Green: 695 Aisha Mir, Liberal Democrat: 533 Collette Bradley, Scottish Socialist Party: 278 Andy Brady, Scottish Family Party: 219 Marc Wilkinson, independent: 109 Janice MacKay, UKIP: 50 Turnout: 44.2 per cent Rejected papers: 46 Total votes: 27,155 Electorate: 61,485
The Herald Scotland
08-06-2025
- Politics
- The Herald Scotland
Swinney poised for cabinet reshuffle following by-election defeat
However, it follows his earlier remarks on the show where he expressed his 'obvious disappointment' at his party's results in the Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse by-election on Thursday. Scottish Labour's Davy Russell won the seat over the SNP's Katy Loudon in a move which shocked pollsters, pundits and journalists. The SNP were seen as the frontrunners throughout the race with suggestions from some polling that Reform could even overtake Labour. However, Labour's Mr Russell received 8,559 votes on the night, a majority of 602 over the second-placed SNP. Reform UK finished third with 7,088 votes, knocking the Conservatives into fourth place who received only 1,621 votes. The vote followed the death of SNP MSP Christina McKelvie, who had represented the constituency since 2011. The Herald was previously told Ms McAllan was expected to return to her role as Cabinet Secretary for Net Zero and Energy in July this year. The SNP's Gillian Martin is currently the acting cabinet minister in this brief. Today, Mr Swinney revealed he would be looking at his cabinet shortly. Asked if he would be having an emergency reshuffle of his senior ministers, Mr Swinney said: 'Obviously, I've got a cabinet minister coming back from maternity leave so I have to look at the team. I'll be doing that in due course.' His comments come after Scottish Constitution Secretary Angus Robertson said the SNP would need to "look very closely" at the by-election result and "learn the lessons" for the Holyrood elections. Speaking earlier on the programme about their defeat, Mr Swinney said: 'Obviously, I'm disappointed that we didn't win the by-election on Thursday. We fought a very energetic campaign with an excellent candidate in Katy Loudon. The First Minister said his party was still in 'a process of recovery' and they must 'get stronger' in order to win support. READ MORE: How Labour beat the odds — and rocked the SNP All change after Hamilton – but not perhaps in the way you expect Ash Regan to Elon Musk: 'Forget Trump and bring SpaceX to Scotland' Mr Swinney said his party must focus on the NHS in order to win over voters. 'Improvements in performance in the National Health Service….We need to deliver on and that's exactly what I'm focused on in the course of my work as First Minister," he said. However, Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar accused Mr Swinney of running a 'dishonest and shameful' campaign which he argued drove voters into the arms of Reform UK at the recent by-election. He also hit out at the 'commentariat' who he said are 'wanting to ignore a party that's been in power for 18 years.' Mr Sarwar told the programme: 'The best John Swinney had to offer after eighteen years was to vote SNP to stop Farage. "A dishonest, shameful campaign, lack of ambition, running down the clock and having no idea about what's affecting the daily lives of people in Scotland which is a disgrace.' He added that the SNP campaign 'attempted to push people into the arms of reform rather than confront the issues that he caused in people's communities across the country.' Mr Sarwar added: 'The people across Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse are tired of this SNP government that has failed them every single day, that has broken our NHS, that has seen a decline in our schools, has wasted billions of pounds and they reject them. 'They think they are out of steam, they think they are out of ideas and they want them out of office. I think that's clear and it's also clear that only Scottish Labour can do that. 'For all the noise of Reform and all the noise of Nigel Farage, people did reject Reform UK and Nigel Farage.' After conversations on the doorstep of the constituency they have just won, Mr Sarwar said: 'People do want a UK Labour Government to go much quicker in terms of them making a demonstrable difference in their lives. I think that was loud and clear too.' Mr Sarwar has said he would urge the Labour Government to 'do more' and pointed to specific policies such as the winter fuel payment creating 'frustration' amongst voters. 'We have to continue with economic stability, we have to get growth up that is going to improve jobs and conditions….Bringing people's interest rates down so that mortgages are reduced.' During his interview this morning, Mr Sarwar said it was important to distinguish the different powers both Westminster and Holyrood hold. He said more needs to be done to address the cost of living, energy bills and people's mortgages by the UK Government, however, he said Scots have been let down by the SNP through a 'broken NHS' and 'a decline' in education, transport and housing. Mr Sarwar said: 'The choice next year is not to remove a UK Labour government, it's not to change who the Prime Minister is. The choice next year is a third decade of the SNP with John Swinney as First Minister or a new direction for Scotland with me.'
The Herald Scotland
07-06-2025
- Politics
- The Herald Scotland
So now you know, SNP: indy is not what people care about
There may have been little talk of independence in the campaign but Katy Loudon, the SNP candidate, put out a Facebook video on the morning of the by-election which made clear it's all about separating us from the rest of the UK. The unionist parties' share of the vote at the by-election was just short of 66%. If that doesn't send a clear message to the SNP and the Greens that independence is not what is important at the moment, I don't know what will. Maybe if the SNP improved our NHS, our education system, housing, our infrastructure, managed to build ferries and dual our roads on time and improve our economy, it might get more support. That would be novel, would it not? Jane Lax, Aberlour. Nothing short of humiliation It wasn't only the kitchen sink that the SNP flung at the Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse by-election. It threw the washing machine, tumble drier and dishwasher as well. Anyone who saw on social media the gangs of SNP enthusiasts roaming the constituency, saturating it with MSPs including ministers, as well as foot soldiers, with a massive intensity, for weeks and especially in the last two weeks, must have imagined that it was a seat they could not lose. I wondered, in the last days, whether the SNP was not engaging in overkill, that the good folk of the constituency might be saturated with SNP propaganda to the point of apathy. The turnout, at 44 per cent, suggested that as a partial possibility. In this by-election, it was possible to utilise all the party's resources, and it did. That would not be remotely a possibility in any one constituency in a General Election. The result was nothing short of humiliation for the SNP. It is also a personal humiliation for John Swinney, who spent much time in the last week campaigning in the constituency rather than attending to First Minister's business. Nothing much will change at Holyrood, of course, but Mr Swinney's insistence that Scotland does not welcome Reform UK looks a bit hollow after it scooped up 26 per cent of the vote. Perhaps we can have a break from his preaching about Scotland being allegedly more moral than England. Ah well, one can but hope. Jill Stephenson, Edinburgh. Read more letters For many, politics is not working It is alarming that, in Thursday's by-election, Reform UK came third with 7,088 votes, a mere 1,471 behind Labour. The victorious Labour candidate, Davy Russell, is quoted as saying that 'this community has [also] sent a message to Farage and his mob tonight. The poison of Reform isn't us – it isn't Scotland and we don't want your division here.' I suspect Mr Russell was speaking from within the excitement of winning and did not realise the significance of Reform UK winning so many votes. The party of Nigel Farage, that enthusiastic Trump supporter, was understood to hold little attraction for the Scottish voter compared with his standing with the English electorate. The Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse voters have demonstrated otherwise. The UK political establishment, Labour in particular, has one important lesson to learn, that being that politics in our country is not working for a significant element of our population. The vote for a disastrous Brexit was the first warning sign of a significant discontent with the inequalities and injustices in our society and economy. Uncontrolled neoliberalism has done untold damage to our social contract with our politicians accepting unquestionably the words of Mrs Thatcher, 'there is no alternative'. John Milne, Uddingston. Reform will be a Holyrood force The most interesting thing about the Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse by-election for Holyrood is not who won, Labour, nor the fact that the voting was a three-way split between it, the SNP and Reform UK, but where Reform's votes came from. Compared to its vote share in the constituency in the last Holyrood election four years ago, the SNP vote dropped by almost 17% of the votes cast and the Tory vote by 11.5%. Labour's vote share actually went down by 2% as well. This means that Reform UK's 26% of the vote came more from parties of the left than the Tories. Clearly Reform is not just a threat to the Conservatives. In the climate of dissatisfaction with the established parties, Reform is on track to be a force at Holyrood next year. Otto Inglis, Crossgates, Fife. • After all the ballyhoo, the result is in and the real winner is Reform UK. John Swinney talked Reform up too effectively. Labour's candidate was nearly invisible. The result speaks volumes. The SNP lost. Labour just limped home despite being helped a huge amount by the SNP's travails. Reform UK came from a near-zero base to gain over 7,000 votes and run both other parties close. This by-election was a real test of public opinion for the shape of Holyrood in 2026. Reform could still founder given frequent party in-fighting. Equally the Tories could re-assert their desired position as defenders of the Union. John Swinney has made another major SNP blunder and released the genie from the bottle. Is he going to be the architect of the SNP's downfall? Dr Gerald Edwards, Glasgow. Labour far from home and hosed While Labour's victory in the Hamilton by-election seemingly points to the party winning the Scottish Parliament elections next year, if I were Anas Sarwar, I wouldn't be sizing up the curtains of Bute House just yet. The seat was won comfortably by the SNP in the last Scottish Parliament election in 2021 and is just the sort of seat that Labour needs to win if Anas Sarwar is to become Scotland's next First Minister. The SNP has made little progress in restoring its fortunes following its heavy defeat in last summer's Westminster election, with polls suggesting that the party's support across Scotland is still 15 points down on its tally in 2021. In the event, the fall in the party's support in Hamilton was, at 17 points, just a little higher than that. However, Labour's own tally was also down by two points on its vote in 2021, when overall the party came a disappointing third. That drop was very much in line with recent polling, which puts the party at just 19 per cent across Scotland as a whole, while the SNP has around a third of the vote. In addition, Labour is losing somewhere between one in six and one in five of its voters to Reform since last year's election. After nearly two decades in the political wilderness, there is little sign that Labour, as it currently stands, is set to regain the reins of power at Holyrood. Alex Orr, Edinburgh. Now flesh out the policies All the pundits initially claimed the Hamilton by-election would go to Labour, given local circumstances. Now a Labour win is described as a 'shock' after even some in Labour were describing their own candidate as not up to the job. But Labour needs to up its game for the next election. Criticism is easy, but Labour needs more fleshed-out policies for government, beyond centralising health in Scotland. The SNP needs to drop all the 'student politics' stuff; it was embarrassing to see a squabble over £2 million when it should be asking why Scotland does so poorly on defence procurement and jobs. Formulate a proper industrial policy for Scotland, and back any project that would enhance jobs and prosperity for Scotland. Refuse nothing and put the onus on unionists to explain their plans in detail. Trident: are the unionist plans for keeping Trident in Scotland similar to those for Diego Garcia? Nuclear power: why do they think Scotland should have it, given its high-cost electricity and the extensive lags on construction? What of waste disposal and site security? The SNP should be in favour of local pricing for electricity as a draw to attract jobs, and for North Sea oil/gas production (until Scots are empowered to decide its future). A Labour/SNP coalition? It looks like the only feasible outcome. GR Weir, Ochiltree. • For all the fuss about the Hamilton by-election, it should be noted that almost 56% of the electorate really don't care who represents them in the Scottish Parliament. Malcolm Parkin, Kinross. Russia claim is baseless Brian Wilson ("Yes, we should stand firm over Putin, but let's not make Russia our implacable foe", The Herald, June 5) tells us today that the rights of the former Soviet republics to seek security (membership of Nato) should have been balanced against Russian fears of encirclement. This raises two issues. Firstly, the Soviet Union consisted of 15 republics: the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (Russia itself) and 14 others. Of these, only three (the Baltic states,which were independent between the wars) have joined Nato. I am unclear as to how this constitutes encirclement. Does Mr Wilson envisage the Central Asian former republics (Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan etc) expressing a wish to join the alliance at some point, thus making encirclement a reality rather than a baseless claim? Secondly, does Mr Wilson not wonder why these small countries wished to be under the umbrella of the Nato alliance? To avoid the current fate of Ukraine perhaps? Alan Jenkins, Glasgow. • Brian Wilson expresses the hope that we should not categorise the Russian people as being inevitably in the enemy camp. He concluded his article by observing that narratives about Russia should have "due regard to past history and also future potential for peaceful co-existence". Such narratives should certainly not fail to take account of the contribution made by Russian armed forces and the civilian population during the Second World War, which is estimated to have resulted in some 25 million Soviet deaths. It is clear that the Russian effort during that war was profoundly influential in assisting toward the eventual defeat of Germany. The Russian people at the time called upon impressive levels of love of country and perseverance in the fight toward victory over a formidable enemy. Once we were allies. While Russia remains in the firm grip of the dictatorial, ambitious and ruthless Vladimir Putin, it is difficult to see to what extent meaningful steps can be taken to pursue the "potential for peaceful co-existence". Ian W Thomson, Lenzie. A Pride rally in Glasgow (Image: PA) Pride needed now as much as ever Gregor McKenzie (Letters, June 6) suggests that LGBT Pride has had its day. In fact, since the end of the pandemic restrictions, more people have been going to more Pride events across Scotland than ever before. Why? I think it's in part because people see how, after several positive changes in the law for LGBT people in the past 25 years, things are now starting to get worse again. Mr McKenzie asks why we can't all just let people be, and I wish we could. But the increased restrictions being introduced on trans people in the UK are quite the opposite of that. Trans people just want to get on with their lives, but the new rules make that much more difficult. And trans people are constantly maligned currently by some parts of the media. So Pride events are needed as much now as ever. They are a celebration of how far we have come in the 30 years since the first Pride Scotland, and they are a protest against the regression we're seeing now. One day perhaps Pride will be solely a celebration, but that day still seems some way off. Meanwhile people join together in the streets to say "Not going back". Tim Hopkins, Edinburgh.
STV News
06-06-2025
- Politics
- STV News
John Swinney: 'SNP progress not nearly enough'
John Swinney said he got the SNP 'back in contention' for Thursday's Hamilton, Larkhall, and Stonehouse by-election, but the progress was 'not nearly enough'. The First Minister's party narrowly missed out on holding the Holyrood seat after confidently declaring the contest to be a two-horse race between the SNP and Nigel Farage's Reform UK in the run-up. Scottish Labour stunned the SNP to win the Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse by-election by just 602 votes early Friday morning. When the votes were counted, Russell polled 8,559, with the SNP's Katy Loudon coming second on 7,957, ahead of Reform's Ross Lambie, who secured 7,088 votes. Speaking about his defeat on Friday morning, Swinney insisted that the SNP had 'made progress' in the area compared to the UK general election last July, but admitted it was not 'nearly enough'. 'We narrowly missed out on election, but if you go back 12 months I don't think many people would have said the SNP would be in contention to win a by-election in Hamilton,' the First Minister said. 'So I've got us back into contention, I've got us into a position where we can contend for leadership in Scotland. We've made some progress, but not enough. We'll need to build on that for the period ahead.' Swinney emphasised that SNP candidate Katy Loudon was only 600 votes away from winning the seat on Thursday. He compared that to the regions 9,000 vote defeat at the UK general election last year. Swinney also doubled down on calling the election a 'two-horse race' between the SNP and Reform. He said he 'called it the way he saw it', and he said he had seen the Labour vote collapsing in Hamilton compared to the general election last summer while the Reform UK vote surged. 'In that context, I thought the SNP was best placed to see off Reform because of the scale of collapse in the Labour vote,' Swinney said. The First Minister said the Labour vote is down 20% from where it was last summer. 'I don't want Farage's poisonous politics in Scotland,' Swinney said. 'So we positioned ourselves to stop Farage, recognising the Labour vote was collapsing, which it has.' The First Minister reaffirmed his commitment to leading the SNP party through the Scottish Parliament elections next May, and said there was more work to do to rebuild trust and engagement with the people of Scotland. He cited his government's cost of living focus and his plans to scrap peak rail fares in September. Swinney also said the SNP must take forward progress on NHS improvements. 'I've got to improve wait lists. I've got to make sure I improve access to GP services. These lie at the heart of the Government's programme,' Swinney said. 'What people can be assured of is that we will take forward the building of public services, and the building of an agenda to tackle the cost of living crisis, and we want to make sure we address the real concerns of the people of Scotland.' Get all the latest news from around the country Follow STV News Scan the QR code on your mobile device for all the latest news from around the country
