Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse by-election: Polls open as public cast votes to replace late MSP
The polls are now open in the Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse by-election.
It comes following the death of SNP government minister Christina McKelvie.
The MSP died in March at the age of 57, having last year taken medical leave to undergo treatment for secondary breast cancer.
Ms McKelvie, the minister for drugs and alcohol policy, had been an MSP since 2007 and represented the Central Scotland region up to 2011 before going on to serve Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse.
There are 10 candidates standing in the Holyrood by-election:
• Collette Bradley, Scottish Socialist Party
• Andy Brady, Scottish Family Party
• Ross Lambie, Reform UK
• Katy Loudon, Scottish National Party (SNP)
• Janice MacKay, UK Independence Party (UKIP)
• Ann McGuinness, Scottish Green Party
• Aisha Mir, Scottish Liberal Democrats
• Richard Nelson, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
• Davy Russell, Scottish Labour Party
• Marc Wilkinson, Independent
The contest takes place less than a year before the Scottish parliament election, with the result potentially offering a snapshot of how the political landscape north of the border will look in 2026.
Polls will close at 10pm on Thursday, with the votes set to be verified and manually counted at South Lanarkshire Council headquarters in Hamilton.
Sky News will be covering the count and result.
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Glasgow Times
33 minutes ago
- Glasgow Times
Sarwar says surprise by-election win could help Labour back to power at Holyrood
Mr Sarwar and his party celebrated in the early hours of Friday morning after Labour's Davy Russell was elected as the new MSP for Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse, winning the seat from the SNP. With the votes showing a swing of more than 7% from the SNP to Labour, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said on Friday the result showed people have 'voted for change'. The by-election had been held following the death earlier this year of Scottish Government minister Christina McKelvie. When the votes were counted, Mr Russell polled 8,559, SNP candidate Katy Loudon took 7,957 votes, while Reform's Ross Lambie secured 7,088. And although Mr Russell was elected with fewer votes than Labour secured in the seat in the 2021 Scottish Parliament election, the SNP's support fell from just over 46% of all ballots then to 29.35% in the by-election. Reform UK deputy leader Richard Tice insisting they were 'delighted' with coming third – despite speculation prior to the count that they could come in second or may even pull off a surprise victory. Labour's win came after Scotland's First Minister John Swinney – who made numerous campaign visits to the area – had declared the contest to be a 'two-horse race' between the SNP and Nigel Farage's Reform. Reform UK deputy leader Richard Tice (centre) insisted the party was 'delighted' after coming in third (Jane Barlow/PA) But speaking at a media event in Hamilton on Friday morning, Mr Sarwar accused the SNP leader of running a 'disgraceful' campaign. Mr Sarwar also insisted the by-election could 'help lead the way' to him becoming Scotland's next first minister in the May 2026 Holyrood elections. The Scottish Labour leader said he believed the victory to be 'even more significant' than the party's win in the nearby Rutherglen and Hamilton West by-election in October 2023 – which he said had been key in helping to secure Labour's general election win in July last year. Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar (centre) is hoping to become Scotland's next first minister (Robert Perry/PA) Mr Sarwar declared: 'I think in some ways this by-election result is even more significant than the Rutherglen by-election result two years ago. 'It is right to say, I believe, the result in Rutherglen helped lead the way in helping to elect a UK Labour Government and I also believe the by-election result here will help lead the way to elect a Scottish Labour government next year.' Looking ahead to that election, Mr Sarwar told the PA news agency: 'I want us to gain scores of seats across the country so we can remove this SNP government from office.' Anas Sarwar and new MSP Davy Russell celebrated the party's win in Hamilton with supporters on Friday (Robert Perry/PA) He went on to accuse Mr Swinney of running a 'disgraceful campaign' in the by-election, saying that despite the SNP having been in power for 18 years, 'the best he had to offer was 'vote SNP to stop Farage''. And while Reform UK came in third in the by-election, Mr Sarwar said Mr Farage's party could not win the Scottish Parliament elections. He insisted: 'Nigel Farage is not standing to be first minister. 'It is a straight choice – it is either going to be John Swinney, or it's going to be me.' The Scottish Labour leader continued: 'The choice is stark next year. Our Parliament is not about protests, our election is not about protest, it is about choosing a government here in Scotland. 'The choice is stark – a third decade of the SNP with John Swinney as first minister or a new direction for Scotland with me as first minister.' However, Mr Tice told BBC Radio 4's that the result in Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse was 'truly remarkable'. He said: 'We've come from nowhere to being in a three-way marginal, and we're within 750 votes of winning that by-election and just a few hundred votes of defeating the SNP, so it's an incredible result.' Mr Swinney, meanwhile, said the SNP was 'clearly disappointed' with the result. The party leader said Labour had 'won by an absolute landslide' in Rutherglen and Hamilton West – noting the SNP 'came much closer' this time round. But he added: '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.'
Telegraph
36 minutes ago
- Telegraph
How the ground war won it for Labour
It was the ground war 'wot won it' for Labour in the Hamilton, Stonehouse and Larkhall by-election, thanks to the hundreds of foot soldiers drafted in to pound the pavements in support of their candidate. And Davy Russell, the well-liked candidate in question, proved to be a tremendous bonus in a contest fought on old-fashioned terms and in which the media – especially the broadcasters – failed to set the agenda. His win will put a smile on the face of Scottish Labour and end the gloom of the last six months, in which the huge gains in last July's general election have disappeared and have even possibly been reversed by the SNP. Scottish Labour still has masses to do – but in this part of what used to be a traditional heartland, it showed it is up for a fight in next May's Scottish Parliament election. It can't just sit back and enjoy Reform UK hammering the Scottish Tories – Nigel Farage's party is taking lots of votes off Labour too. In this contest, Labour strategists highlighted what they claimed were Reform's 'dog whistle' tactics on race and its suggestion that the Barnett formula, which helps pay for Scotland's public services, might be scrapped. Mr Farage dismissed these claims as smears, but his critics believe that they helped 'crash his own campaign' and convince traditional Labour supporters to stay loyal. The result was a shock for the SNP, but the party can blame it on its tactics – the stupid talking up of Reform's chances and sending Nicola Sturgeon to canvass in the constituency where her policies caused a decline. There is no comfort in this result for the Scottish Tories. They scraped home with 6 per cent of the vote, just enough to save their deposit. It's difficult to know where they go from here – except perhaps to hope that the early signs of a civil war inside Reform will continue to fester. One overriding aspect of this campaign has been that Scottish Labour won in spite of, and not because of, its relationship with UK Labour and Sir Keir Starmer's Government. Too many of the Government's policies have proved hugely unpopular with the voters, as Sir Keir seems to have recognised. He was only 10 miles from Hamilton five days ago, launching his new defence policy in Glasgow. However, he wisely stayed away from the by-election campaign and nobody seems to have noticed. On a significant, but lighter, note I reckon that if ground wars clinched the Labour victory, 'star wars' played a part, too. In an area where not everyone supports Glasgow Rangers Football Club – although they tend to keep quiet about the fact – and where light blue and orange are favourite colours, Labour won tributes from just about the two biggest personalities you could imagine. Sir Alex Ferguson may have been manager of a hugely successful Manchester United, but in this constituency it's the fact that he had played for the 'Gers' that makes him a star. And the honours list for Graeme Souness includes 54 Scottish international caps and numerous other accolades – the most important in these parts, being a no-nonsense former player-manager of Rangers. Sir Alex was fulsome in his praise for Labour's candidate. He said that the surprise winner in this fiercely-fought local election was 'a man of integrity, determination, and deep commitment to his community'. He might have added, but didn't, that Mr Russell was also an occasional stand-in for the King, serving as a deputy lord lieutenant for Lanarkshire. But when it comes to Mr Souness, who was reputed to have never avoided a tackle, he didn't ignore Mr Farage in his support of Mr Russell. Resorting to that well-known Scottish insult, which is one short of calling someone a 'liar', he said the Reform leader was a 'chancer' who didn't care about Scotland. Yes, I know that my old friend Sir John Curtice could produce a long list of stats to provide a better explanation of Labour's win, but who's to say that, with a majority of just over 600 between first and second and less than 1500 votes between the first three, that personalities such as Sir Alex and Mr Souness didn't sway the voters. After all, few opponents argued successfully with them in their playing days.
Daily Record
44 minutes ago
- Daily Record
Davy Russell celebrates victory in Hamilton, Larkhall & Stonehouse by-election
The new Labour MSP saw his localised campaign concentrating on knocking doors and speaking to voters pay off with a surprise win Davy Russell says he is 'elated' and 'almost speechless' to be elected as MSP for his home constituency of Hamilton, Larkhall & Stonehouse and says he will immediately be focusing on local issues including improvements to Hamilton town centre as he takes his seat in his first political role. The Labour candidate registered a surprise victory in the constituency's Holyrood by-election, overturning the previous 4582 majority to finish ahead of the SNP, who had been bidding to retain the seat, and Reform – who came third just 869 votes behind the runner-up party with more than a quarter of the vote. Mr Russell was congratulated as the result was declared at 1.30am on Friday by Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar and deputy Dame Jackie Baillie, as they celebrated a landmark victory in an intense contest previously declared a two-horse race between the SNP and Reform by both of those parties. The new MSP told the Hamilton Advertiser the result was 'tremendous' and demonstrated the success of his 'back to basics' approach in which he eschewed broadcast interviews and set-piece events in favour of a highly-localised ground strategy of knocking on doors to speak to voters multiple times during the seven-week campaign. He noted that the three-hour count at South Lanarkshire Council's headquarters in Hamilton 'had been close' as ballot papers stacked up, but said: 'I was fairly confident because my campaign had been chapping doors and listening to people, and it has paid off. 'You need to listen to people [about] the real issues that they're concerned about. That's part of the problem, that they haven't been listening to anybody over the last 18 years. The NHS is a big thing, as is the state of Hamilton town centre – and other things, like Hamilton Accies staying in Hamilton rather than going to Broadwood, all matter to people.' Mr Russell now becomes the area's first constituency Labour MSP since Tom McCabe and Michael McMahon represented the respective predecessor Hamilton South and Hamilton North & Bellshill seats from 1999 until 2011. He was congratulated by prime minister Sir Keir Starmer and celebrated with Mr Sarwar and party activists at Castle Street in Hamilton on Friday morning. He told the Advertiser that Hamilton town centre is a top priority as he heads to Holyrood, saying: 'It's not going to be easy, but it's on my list. I can work with the council to see what we can do to improve it. 'I'm on a learning curve now – I've never been a politician, I've never been to Holyrood, so for the next week it'll be a learning curve to get me up to speed.' Speaking at the declaration at South Lanarkshire Council's headquarters, he thanked his 'sensational' Labour campaign team and said: 'I am so proud to be elected as member of the Scottish Parliament for my home and my community. I said that I will put our community first and I will work every single day to do that. 'Hamilton, Larkhall & Stonehouse has voted tonight to take a new direction with Scottish Labour. We feel let down by the SNP 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, it isn't Scotland, and we don't want your division here. They don't have answers to the issues we face and they can't beat the SNP here or replace them across Scotland.' Mr Sarwar, who like first minister John Swinney made dozens of visits to the constituency throughout the intensely-contested campaign, said: 'Ultimately what [local voters] have done today is lay the first stone in the pathway to electing a Scottish Labour government next year.' He told the Hamilton Advertiser: 'It's important that I reflect on not just the result, but on the many conversations I had on the doorsteps in Hamilton, Larkhall & Stonehouse; and I think there are three things that came across from people here. 'One is they do want a UK Labour government to demonstrate more quickly a positive difference in their lives; secondly, they are done with an SNP government that has done so much damage for our country in the past 18 years and want change here in Scotland; and third, they have rejected the poisonous politics of Nigel Farage and Reform.' The Labour leader said of the party's newest MSP: 'I think Davy deserves immense credit – to take the personal attacks on the chin and still remain so resolute in doing the work needed to make sure we won was phenomenal. 'I always thought there was an element of classism and elitism in some of the attacks that were made on them and ultimately, he has done his friends and his neighbours proud by winning this by election. 'He will be [as an MSP] what he has been in this campaign and what he has been for many years, which is someone who's going to put his community first; he's going to embed himself in this community, he's going to listen, he's going to reflect [people's] concerns, he's going to work really hard for them.'
