Hamilton by-election: What was the result last time voters went to the polls?
Both SNP and Reform UK have said it's a 'straight contest' between their candidates, with both dismissing Scottish Labour candidate Davy Russell from the running.
But if these predictions are true, it would represent a massive change since the last Holyrood election in 2021, when Reform UK scored just 0.2% of votes in the region.
In 2021, the region cast 36,394 votes and ultimately re-elected long-standing SNP MSP Christina McKelvie for the third time.
She comfortably won the seat with 14,924 votes, making up 41% of the vote.
McKelvie's Scottish Labour opponent was the runner up, with 25% of the vote (9,187).
The Tory party scored 22% of votes (7,925).
Reform UK, which until recently was considered a fringe political party, scored only 58 votes for its candidate in 2021.
However, those political allegiances could all change this week.
Voters in Hamilton, Larkhall, and Stonehouse will head to the polls on Thursday to cast their votes for a new MSP at Holyrood.
It follows the death of McKelvie in March, which triggered the by-election. SNP candidate Katy Loudon will be fighting to hold the seat for the party.
Loudon will go head to head with Scottish Labour candidate Davy Russell, Reform UK candidate Ross Lambie, Tory candidate Richard Nelson, and others.
McKelvie's successor to represent the seat at the Scottish Parliament will be announced in the early hours of Friday morning after votes are counted.
The vote will take place on Thursday, June 5 with polling stations open between 7am and 10pm. Candidate name Party Collette Bradley Scottish Socialist Party Andy Brady Scottish Family Party Ross Alexander Lambie Reform UK Katy Loudon Scottish National Party (SNP) Janice Elizabeth Mackay UK Independence Party (UKIP) Ann McGuinness Scottish Green Party Aisha Jawaid Mir Scottish Liberal Democrats Richard Nelson Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party Davy Russell Scottish Labour Party Marc Wilkinson Independent
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
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Record
14 minutes ago
- Daily Record
Peter Murrell still waiting on court date five months after first appearance in front of judge
The former long-serving SNP chief executive, who is separated from Nicola Sturgeon, faces one count of embezzlement. Peter Murrell is still waiting for a second court date to be confirmed five months after he first appeared in front of a judge. The former SNP chief executive is charged with one count of embezzlement and made no plea or declaration after appearing at Edinburgh Sheriff Court on March 20. The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) told the Record there was no update on when he would next appear in court. Murrell, who is separated from his wife Nicola Sturgeon, was SNP CEO for over 20 years before he stood down from the post in 2023 following a row over membership numbers. He was arrested in April that year as part of the Operation Branchform police probe into the party's finances, but was released without charge pending further investigation. Murrell was charged with embezzlement in 2024 and subsequently appeared in court in March this year. Prosecutors have been working on the case since police completed their Branchform investigation in August last year and handed their findings to the Crown. Alex Neil, a former SNP health secretary, said it was unfair for anyone in the justice system to wait so long for their day in court. He told the Record: "You have to look at it from two angles. Those are impacted by the alleged crime, but also the individual accused. "This has been going on for an inordinate amount of time. It's very unfair for anyone who has been accused to be kept waiting this long." The Record previously revealed how taxpayers are set to foot the bill for Murrell 's legal costs. Solicitors acting for the ex-CEO had an application for legal aid approved. According to the Scottish Legal Aid Board, an application for solemn legal aid by his solicitors was granted on April 30 and no payments have been made to date. A spokesperson for the SLAB previously said: 'When assessing an applicant's eligibility for legal aid we look at their financial position at the time of their application to ensure they meet tests set by legal aid legislation. 'This includes information they give us about their salary, the amount of money they have in the bank and any investments, which might be available to fund their own defence privately. ' Peter Murrell 's application met the tests we have to apply when deciding whether to grant legal aid.'
The National
34 minutes ago
- The National
Israeli government approves illegal West Bank settlement
Israeli far-right finance minister Bezalel Smotrich said the approval "finally buries the idea of a Palestinian state, because there is nothing to recognise and no-one to recognise". Settlement development in E1, an open tract of land east of Jerusalem, has been under consideration for more than two decades – but was frozen due to US pressure during previous administrations. READ MORE: Paul Weller sues ex-accountants after being dropped over Gaza comments On Wednesday, the project received final approval from the Planning and Building Committee after the last petitions against it were rejected on August 6. If the process moves quickly, infrastructure work could begin in the next few months and construction of homes could start in around a year. The plan includes around 3500 apartments to expand the settlement of Maale Adumim, far-right finance minister Bezalel Smotrich said during a press conference at the site last Thursday. Smotrich cast the approval as a riposte to western countries that announced their plans to recognise a Palestinian state in recent weeks. For example, Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the UK will recognise a Palestinian state in September unless Israel meets certain conditions, including agreeing to a ceasefire in Gaza and reviving the prospect of a two-state solution. Smotrich told reporters: 'This reality finally buries the idea of a Palestinian state, because there is nothing to recognise and no-one to recognise. 'Anyone in the world who tries today to recognise a Palestinian state will receive an answer from us on the ground.' The location of E1 is significant because it is one of the last geographical links between Ramallah, in the northern West Bank, and Bethlehem in the southern West Bank. The two cities are 14 miles apart by air, but Palestinians travelling between them must take a wide detour and pass through multiple Israeli checkpoints, adding hours to the journey. The hope for final status negotiations for a Palestinian state was to have the region eventually serve as a direct link between the cities. READ MORE: Scottish councillor joins Nigel Farage's Reform UK after quitting 'autocratic' Labour Peace Now, an organisation that tracks settlement expansion in the West Bank, called the E1 project 'deadly for the future of Israel and for any chance of achieving a peaceful two-state solution' which is 'guaranteeing many more years of bloodshed'. Israel's plans to expand settlements are part of an increasingly difficult reality for Palestinians in the occupied West Bank as the world's attention focuses on the war in Gaza. There have been marked increases in attacks by settlers on Palestinians, evictions from Palestinian towns, and checkpoints that choke freedom of movement, as well as several Palestinian attacks on Israelis. More than 700,000 Israelis now live in the occupied West Bank and east Jerusalem, territories captured by Israel in 1967 and sought by the Palestinians for a future state. The international community overwhelmingly considers Israeli settlement construction in these areas to be illegal and an obstacle to peace. Israel's government is dominated by religious and ultra-nationalist politicians with close ties to the settlement movement. Smotrich, previously a firebrand settler leader and now finance minister, has been granted Cabinet-level authority over settlement policies and vowed to double the settler population in the West Bank. Israel has annexed east Jerusalem and claims it as part of its capital, which is not internationally recognised. It says the West Bank is disputed territory whose fate should be determined through negotiations. Israel withdrew from 21 settlements Gaza in 2005.
Daily Mirror
43 minutes ago
- Daily Mirror
Epping hotel controversy: 13 councils to jump on ruling to remove asylum seekers
A wave of local authorities are vowing to block asylum seekers being housed in hotels after Epping Forest District council won a shock victory in the High Court following weeks of protests Nigel Farage has claimed that all councils controlled by Reform UK will "do everything in their power" to block asylum hotels being set up in their areas after yesterday's controversial Epping ruling. Ministers are bracing for further legal challenges from councils across the country after the Essex local authority won a High Court injunction to evict asylum seekers from the Bell Hotel. The Home Office had warned the judge that an injunction could "interfere" with its legal obligations, while lawyers representing the hotel's owner argued it would set a dangerous "precedent", leaving authorities with few options for providing emergency accommodation for migrants. The shock ruling followed weeks of at-times violent protests outside the hotel, after a man from Afghanistan was charged with sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl. Now, the Reform UK leader has vowed his party would seek to block any hotels being used for asylum processing in the council areas it currently controls - and a Tory council has already pledged to follow Epping Forest council's lead. Which councils are planning to block asylum seekers? The following Tory and Reform councils and mayoral areas have indicated that they are going to take action over asylum seekers staying in local accommodation: Broxbourne Derbyshire Doncaster Durham Greater Lincolnshire (mayoralty) Hull & East Yorkshire (mayoralty) Kent Lancashire Lincolnshire North Northamptonshire Nottinghamshire Staffordshire West Northamptonshire What has Nigel Farage said? In a column for the Telegraph this morning, the Reform UK leader urged people to hold "peaceful protests outside the migrant hotels" and "put pressure on local councils to go to court to try and get the illegal immigrants out". He added: "I can say today that the English local councils controlled by the party I lead, Reform UK, will be doing everything in their power to follow Epping's lead." What will the government do? Number 10 has already announced plans to move asylum seekers from hotels into houses of multiple occupancy into other forms of accommodation by the end of this parliament - but the new ruling is likely to give the Home Office a headache as to what to do in the meantime. Security minister Dan Jarvis told Times Radio today: "We're looking at a range of different contingency options following from a legal ruling that took place yesterday, and we'll look closely at what we're able to do." Epping Forest council had successfully argued that the use of the Bell Hotel for asylum seekers was not a permitted use of the hotel for planning purposes. Asked whether other migrant hotels have the proper planning permission, Mr Jarvis said: "Well, we'll see over the next few days and weeks. Other local authorities will be considering whether they wish to act in the same way that Epping (Forest) District Council have."I think the important point to make is that nobody really thinks that hotels are a sustainable location to accommodate asylum seekers. That's precisely why the Government has made a commitment that, by the end of this Parliament, we would have phased out the use of them."
