UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said people in Scotland had “voted for change” after his party's surprise by-election victory.
Mr Starmer congratulated Labour's Davie Russell on being elected as the new Member of Scottish Parliament (MSP) for Hamilton and looked forward to next year's Scottish Parliament elections, saying it was a chance to “pick up the pace”.
Mr Russell took up the seat in the area south-east of Glasgow left vacant by the death of Scottish Government minister and SNP MP Christine McKelvie.
On Friday morning, Mr Starmer posted the following message on social media: “The people of Scotland have voted for change again.
“There is a chance next year to speed up deliveries by putting Labour in power on both sides of the border. I look forward to working with you.”
The Labour candidate, who is deputy lord lieutenant of Lanarkshire, defeated the SNP's Katie Loudon, who suffered her third defeat since 2023.
The victory comes amid national polls that put Scottish Labour third behind the Scottish National Party and Reform UK, and is sure to bolster Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar's bid to become First Minister at next year's election.
Mr Sarwar told BBC Radio Scotland's Good Morning Scotland programme that he was confident Labour could win the contest.
Asked whether his party could beat the Scottish National Party, which has been in power in Scotland since 2007, Mr Sarwar said: “Absolutely.
“I believed that before this by-election and I continue to believe that now.
“Next year the choice is simple – a third decade for the Scottish National Party with John Swinney as First Minister, or a new direction for Scotland with me as First Minister.
“This is a choice for the people of Scotland, this is a campaign for next year and I am confident that we can win this campaign.
“I think yesterday the people of Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse paved the way for a change of government next year and a Scottish Labour government next year.”
He also said he would “continue to challenge the poison of Reform”, making clear he was “talking about the people who lead Reform” and not those who “might be tempted” to vote for them.
Hamilton's election campaign was dominated by advertising from the Reform UK party, which Labour and others have called “racist”, claiming Mr Sarwar would “prioritise” the Pakistani community.
A surge in support for Nigel Farage's party saw it finish third in Hamilton, just 800 votes behind the SNP, although there had been speculation that the Reform Party could come second or even win the seat.
Reform UK deputy leader Richard Tice said the party was “pleased” with the result.
He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: “It's really wonderful.
“We came from nowhere to a triple minority and we are only 750 votes away from winning a by-election and only a few hundred votes away from beating the SNP, so it's an incredible result.”
Earlier during the vote count, Mr Tice told the PA news agency he was “deeply thrilled” by the result.
When the votes were counted, Mr Russell had 8,559 votes, Ms Loudon had 7,957 votes and Reform's Ross Lambie had 7,088 votes.
Speaking to PA after the announcement, Mr Sarwar said: “I think people need to change the script because we have proven the pollsters wrong.
“We proved the commentators wrong, we proved the bookmakers wrong.
“We proved John Swinney wrong, as well as many others.”
In the final days of the campaign, Scotland's First Minister said it was a “two-horse race” between the SNP and Reform, and Mr Sarwar asked what it said about a government in power for 18 years when “all it has to offer in the campaign is a vote for the SNP to stop Farage”.
Mr Russell has been criticised for what he sees as his lack of media presence, but Mr Sarwar said such arguments were rooted in “an element of classism and elitism”.
Speaking from the stage after his victory, Mr Russell said: “Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse have voted tonight to take a new direction with Scottish Labour.
“Like people here in Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse, and across Scotland, we all feel that the SNP has let us down.”
The newly-minted MP also slammed the Reform Party, saying the victory had “sent a message to Farage and his gang tonight: the poison of the Reform Party is not us, it is not Scotland and we do not want you to split here.”
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Mr Swinney said Ms Loudon had “run an excellent campaign for the Scottish National Party” and that he was “obviously disappointed” that his party had failed to win.
“Less than a year ago, Labour won a landslide victory in this area. We are much closer to that target tonight, but the people of Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse have made it clear that we still have work to do,” he added.
“We will take time over the next few days to fully review the result.”
Sourse: breakingnews.ie
