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Telegraph
3 days ago
- Business
- Telegraph
Reform in ‘cat fight' with SNP and Labour to win Scottish by-election
Reform UK is in an 'absolute cat fight' with Labour and the SNP to win a bellwether Scottish by-election this week, Richard Tice said, ahead of a campaign visit by Nigel Farage. Mr Tice, Reform's deputy leader, told The Telegraph that the SNP remained 'hot favourites' to win Thursday's contest for the Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse seat in the Scottish Parliament. But, speaking ahead of a joint visit with Mr Farage, the Reform leader, to the constituency on Monday, he said they were 'chuckling at the apparent desperation' of Labour and the SNP over what to do about Reform. Between them, he said both parties had 'completely dominated' Scottish politics for decades and now appeared 'terrified'. The by-election is being viewed as a bellwether for next year's Scottish Parliament contest. First Minister John Swinney claimed last week that the Labour campaign had collapsed and the by-election was a straight fight between the SNP and Reform. However, Mr Tice said there was a 'lot of management of expectations' going on and Mr Swinney's ploy was to try and get Labour supporters to vote tactically for the SNP. The Boston and Skegness MP also said that he and Mr Farage would use a press conference in Aberdeen on Monday morning to provide more details on Reform's plan to scrap net-zero targets. Sir Keir Starmer's ban on further exploration in the North Sea is deeply unpopular in the north east of Scotland, where thousands of oil and gas workers are based. Mr Tice said Reform wanted to 'drill, Scotland, drill' and to 'change the course of direction for the Scottish oil and gas industry, and therefore the prospect of jobs and wealth creation.' Mr Farage's trip to Aberdeen and the by-election are his first campaign visits to Scotland for years, with Mr Tice saying he hoped it was a significant moment for the party. Although he failed to make a single trip north of the border during last year's general election, Reform still attracted seven per cent of the popular vote. Its support has surged over the past year and one poll has predicted it will be the second largest party at Holyrood after next year's election. Victory in Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse would be Reform's first election win in Scotland. However, even a second-placed finish for Mr Farage's party would be humiliating for Labour. The by-election was supposed to be a straight fight between the SNP and Labour when it was called in mid-April, following the death of Scottish government minister Christina McKelvie. But both parties' activists have been left surprised by the strength of support for Reform on the doorsteps and are worried that it could pull off an unlikely win. Mr Tice said: 'Obviously the SNP are hot favourites but we've also noticed a lot of chat (Reform could win). I know our team, are working very hard and let's see. 'These things work in riddles. For all we know there could be a lot of deliberate managing expectations by the SNP and Labour. It's hard to tell.' He said Reform has had a 'really good campaign' and it is 'about getting the vote out on the day.' However, he added: 'We're sort of chuckling at the apparent desperation from two parties that have completely dominated Scottish politics for the last three or four decades. And all of a sudden they're in an absolute cat fight. And they both seem to be terrified of Reform.' Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar had accused Reform UK of 'dog whistle' racism over a campaign advert claiming he wants to 'prioritise the Pakistani community.' However, Reform has denied it is racist and insisted it was merely highlighting Mr Sarwar's own words, with Mr Farage accusing him of introducing sectarianism into Scottish politics. Mr Swinney said: 'Be in no doubt, Nigel Farage doesn't care about Scotland. He poses a threat to our values and must be stopped, and only the SNP can do that. 'In this by-election, the SNP is the only party investing in Scotland's future, delivering for families and confronting Farage. On Thursday, vote SNP to stop Farage.' Stephen Flynn, the SNP's Westminster leader and Aberdeen South MP, added: 'He won't like the comparison, but it's the one he deserves - Nigel Farage is just as dangerous to Scotland's long-term energy and economic future as the activists who would shut down the oil and gas industry tomorrow. 'Those who work in the energy sector understand that there is an obvious path to follow that protects the oil and gas jobs of today whilst at the same time developing the net-zero jobs of tomorrow – and by doing so you can secure skills and investment for generations to come.'
Telegraph
29-05-2025
- General
- Telegraph
Race row threatens to turn Scottish by-election into one of the bitterest ever
Election veterans fear that next week's Scottish by-election could turn into one of the most bitter and controversial contests ever seen as Labour, Reform UK and the SNP all blame each other for the campaign descending into a series of angry and racist insults. The bile will be flowing thick and fast this weekend while, in an astonishing development, John Swinney, Scotland's First Minister and SNP leader, has urged Labour voters to vote SNP to stop Nigel Farage's party winning its first Scottish seat. Meanwhile, politicians with decades of experience believe that the furious infighting in the Hamilton Stonehouse and Larkhall contest, due to take place on June 5, is reminiscent of one of the foulest ever such contests that took place a smidgen over 30 years ago, in a constituency only eight miles away – Monklands East. That vacancy was caused by the sudden and unfortunate death of John Smith, then leader of the Labour Party, who had held the seat since it was created in 1983, having previously held the predecessor seat of North Lanarkshire from 1970. That battle back then between Labour and the SNP was dogged by angry sectarian overtones in a constituency which was split between Catholic and Protestant voters, with the latter accusing Catholic councillors of favouring their co-religionists in council spending. Relations between the candidates got so bad that Labour and the SNP traded sectarian insults in a campaign that culminated in Labour's victory with a 1,640 majority – compared to John Smith's winning lead of 15,712. The campaign in next Thursday's by-election has been a slow-burn compared to 1994. After picking up votes in local government elections and winning defections from the Scottish Conservatives, Nigel Farage has been determined to prove that Reform is not a wholly English party. Winning in Hamilton would go a long way towards proving that, even if next week's contest is for a Holyrood, not a Commons, seat. But last week things hotted up with Labour accusing Reform of playing the race card by showing a speech by Anas Sarwar, the Scottish Labour leader, in which it was claimed he said he would 'prioritise the Pakistani community'. But Sarwar insisted he did not say those words. He accused Reform of 'dog-whistle politics' but it refused to back down and has now published another Sarwar speech in which he is claimed to be complaining that senior figures in Scottish public life were overwhelmingly white. This latest video includes statements by Farage saying: 'We don't care about skin colour.' The advert had the caption 'Anas Sarwar is the one obsessed with race'. For his part, Sarwar has accused Farage of a 'blatant attempt to try and poison our politics', and has challenged the Reform leader to a debate in the run up to next Thursday's vote. Perhaps the strangest aspect of this contest has been Mr Swinney's intervention, urging Labour supporters to vote SNP to stop a Reform win, adding that Labour has no chance of taking the seat. His message to Labour is: 'Vote SNP to stop Reform.' But from this observer's point of view, wouldn't it be great if all the voters who support the maintenance of the United Kingdom and are fed up with the SNP's perpetual whine about independence banded together? That way all those Unionists – assuming that's what Reform voters believe too, might stop the SNP next Thursday? A nice thought but I fear it won't happen. Instead the SNP, Labour and Reform are locked in a life-and-death struggle that can only get nastier in the few remaining days leading to June 5. There's not a shred of doubt in my mind that Reform first introduced the 'race' element into this campaign. Nigel Farage is due in Scotland early next week and no doubt he'll continue to say: 'Who, me?' The rest of the Scottish political world knows perfectly well that there's only one answer to that.
