Voters head to polls for Hamilton by-election
Voters are going to the polls in a by-election where Reform aims to gain its first victory in Scotland
The contest in Hamilton, Larkhill and Stonehouse was triggered by the death of the SNP's Christina McKelvie, a former minister, who had represented the seat in the Scottish Parliament since its creation in 2011
Labour has historically been the SNP's main challenger in the seat and its Westminster equivalent was won by Labour's Imogen Walker – who is married to Sir Keir Starmer's chief of staff Morgan McSweeney – in a massive swing away from the SNP in July 2024's general election.
But with Labour plummeting in national polls, Reform UK has suddenly become the primary challenger to the SNP in the constituency.
Reform UK's candidate is Ross Lambie, a 41-year-old South Lanarkshire councillor who controversially defected from the Conservative Party in March.
The architect has claimed that 'legacy parties' are to blame for wasteful spending and has campaigned for oil drilling in the North Sea.
Thursday's by-election is viewed as a bellwether contest ahead of 2026's Scottish Parliament election, with some polls showing Reform could overtake both Labour and the Tories to become the main opposition party.
The SNP is currently leading polls at 32 per cent, with Reform UK second on 21 per cent and Labour third on 19 points, according to a Survation poll carried out in May.
Despite the encouraging figures, Nigel Farage, the Reform leader, played down the party's chances in the contest, telling reporters during a visit to Scotland on Monday it was 'not impossible' but 'improbable' that his party would win.
Last Thursday, John Swinney, the First Minister, intervened by telling Labour voters to argue that the only way to stop Mr Farage's party winning was to vote SNP.
He claimed that the Labour campaign had collapsed in the area and described Mr Farage as a 'clear and present danger to our country'.
Dame Jackie Baillie, Scottish Labour's deputy leader, hit back by describing the comments as 'desperate and dishonest spin' and insisted the by-election was a 'direct fight' between Scottish Labour and the SNP.
She added: 'John Swinney wants to make this by-election about Reform because he has no ideas for the future and cannot defend his government's record.'
The polls opened at 7am on Thursday and were scheduled to close at 10pm, with a result expected at 2am on Friday.
Labour activists from across the UK travelled to the constituency on Thursday as part of a 'get out the vote' campaign, with many groups spotted leafleting across Hamilton town centre.
The party has the advantage of large numbers of enthusiastic activists it can call on to knock doors and rally undecided voters, something which Reform UK lacks.
Professor Sir John Curtice said the SNP remained favourites to win the seat, but if the constituency followed national polling, it will be a 'close contest'.
He told BBC Good Morning Scotland on Tuesday: 'It ought to be close between SNP and Reform, and maybe Reform will do somewhat better than in the national polls
'But we are looking at a winner with less than a third of the vote and winning by a small margin.'
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