- Labour wins Rutherglen and Hamilton West.
- SNP faces electoral challenges.
- Voter turnout decreases in by-election.
In the Rutherglen and Hamilton West by-election, Labour has secured a victory over the SNP.
Michael Shanks, the candidate for the opposition party, won the Westminster seat with 17,845 votes, more than double the number of votes received by Katy Loudon of the SNP.
This result represents a 20.4% shift away from the SNP and towards Labour.
The by-election was called following the removal of former SNP MP Margaret Ferrier by her constituents for violating Covid regulations.
According to Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer, the residents of Rutherglen and Hamilton West have sent “a clear message” during this “seismic” night.
He added, “I have always said that regaining the trust of the Scottish people is essential. The journey to tonight’s victory has been marked by three and a half years of hard work and humility.”
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The 8,399 votes cast in support of SNP candidate Katy Loudon accounted for 27.6% of the total turnout, which was 16.6% lower than in the 2019 general election.
This by-election was the first significant electoral challenge for the SNP since Humza Yousaf took over as leader following Nicola Sturgeon’s departure.
The results were deemed “disappointing” by the First Minister and his party.
Mr. Yousaf acknowledged that the conditions “were consistently very difficult for us” and that Labour had benefited from the Conservatives’ loss of support.
“We have the opportunity to win back this seat in 2019, just as we lost it in 2017,” he continued. “However, we will consider the steps needed to regain the trust of the residents of Hamilton West and Rutherglen.”
The leader of the SNP at Westminster, Stephen Flynn, stated that the party must “immediately” learn from the loss.
“We cannot hide the fact that this is an extremely difficult set of results,” he said.
The importance of developing strategies to re-engage voters who “remained at home and did not vote SNP” was emphasized.
The victorious candidate, Mr. Shanks, stated that being elected to serve the citizens of Rutherglen and Hamilton West was “the greatest honor of my life.”
He called his campaign a “fresh start” from the SNP and Conservatives’ divisive agendas.
The voter turnout was 37.19 percent, a significant decrease from the 66.5% recorded in the previous general election.
Labour’s support increased by 24.1% compared to the 2019 general election.
Support for the Conservative Party decreased by 11% due to the loss of the electoral deposit by candidate Thomas Kerr, who claimed that tactical voting “squeezed” him out.
He stated, “We anticipated that different voter turnouts would have that effect, but we are also aware that a significant number of Conservative voters voted against the SNP in this constituency on a tactical level.”
“This was clearly an SNP/Labour two-horse race, and that’s how voters tactically voted yesterday.”
He predicted that voters will chose the candidate “best positioned to remove the SNP MPs.”
“We are looking now at the potential for an SNP wipe-out at the next general election,” added Mr. Briggs.
Professor of politics at Strathclyde University, Sir John Curtice, remarked that the outcome was “extraordinarily favorable” for Labour.
“The observed volatility in Scotland’s opinion polls is significantly greater than this.” The Labour vote has increased by 24 points, or nearly 59%.
“That means the Labour vote in the constituency is almost as high as it was in 2010 before the tsunami that swept the Labour Party from virtually every constituency in Scotland.”
The South Lanarkshire constituency was established in preparation for the 2005 general election. It has been exchanged between the Labour Party and the SNP in each of the previous three general elections.
It was a Labour stronghold until 2015, when Margaret Ferrier won it by 10,000 votes for the SNP.
Labour reclaimed the seat in 2017 by a margin of fewer than 300 ballots. Ferrier subsequently reclaimed the seat in 2019.
It had become one of the party’s most precarious Westminster seats due to the 5,230 majority.
Ferrier was sentenced to 270 hours of community service in 2020 for breaking Covid restrictions. In response, nearly 12,000 constituents signed a recall petition against him.
In Scotland, the by-election marked the debut of newly implemented voter ID regulations.
This by-election had to be won by Labour, and they had to do so effectively.
Why? In order to showcase their renewed relevance in Scottish politics and their capacity to significantly contribute to the party’s success across the United Kingdom in the upcoming general election.
The Rutherglen and Hamilton West Labour campaigners must be prepared to be amazed by their performance. The celebration has surpassed all expectations.
The incentive not only guarantees a twofold increase in the number of Scottish Labour Members of Parliament at Westminster but also a potentially transformative shift in the political discourse in Scotland.
Historically, the SNP has dominated the perception of political momentum; however, Labour has seized that from them for the first time in a significant period of time.
This appears to be a major issue for SNP leader Humza Yousaf, who is pulling ahead of Nicola Sturgeon. She left him major public service challenges and a police inquiry into the party’s finances.
The SNP is placed under significant pressure in this by-election due to the fact that, despite maintaining its top position in national opinion surveys, it is cognizant of the fact that a victory cannot be assumed.
