Hamilton by-election result: Live updates as Labour narrowly defeats SNP and Reform

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Summary

Labour narrowly defeats the SNP to win the by-election in Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse, with Reform coming a close third
Davy Russell won the Scottish Parliamentary seat by just over 600 votes - see the full results
Introducing himself as an MSP, Russell says politicians have not been delivering for the people of South Lanarkshire and promises to bring their voice to Holyrood
Prime Minister Keir Starmer hails a "fantastic victory", saying "people in Scotland had once again voted for change" - here's how other parties are reacting
Labour's position has slipped in opinion polls in recent months, so this result will be a massive boost to party activists and politicians, our correspondent David Wallace Lockhart writes
The result was keenly awaited as it is less than a year until the Scottish Parliament election
Reform were the other big winner of the night - if they can do half as well in the contest next May, they can expect to have their first MSPs elected and gain a significant foothold at Holyrood, writes Scotland political editor Glenn Campbell
The by-election was held following the death of the SNP's Christina McKelvie

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Watch: Davy Russell elected MSP for Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse

Live Reporting

Edited by Mary McCool and Paul McLaren

The headlinespublished at 14:03 British Summer Time
- Labour has taken a narrow victory over the SNP and a surging Reform in the Hamilton, Larkhall and Stone house by-election.
- The vote followed the death of SNP MSP Christina McKelvie, who had represented the constituency since 2011.
- New MSP Davy Russell has been speaking to the media after his victory - he says politicians have not delivered for voters in his area and promised to regenerate Hamilton town centre.
- He also dismissed the "invisible man" title he was given by opponents and pundits and says his focus during the campaign was "chapping doors".
- Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar vows to make his party a "credible alternative" to the SNP ahead of the Holyrood election next year.
- First Minster John Swinney says the SNP has made some progress but not enough since the "disastrous" general election last year.
- Reform UK's deputy leader Richard Tice hails his party's third place finish as "truly remarkable" and adds they had "come from nowhere".
- Scottish Conservative MSP, Miles Briggs says it was a "difficult" night for his party and they fell victim to "protest voting".
- Alba leader Kenny MacAskill says he narrowness of the Labour victory showed his pro-independence party was right not to field a candidate.
- The Scottish Liberal Democrats and the Greens have yet to comment.
That brings an end to our coverage - thanks for ing us. This live page was edited by Mary McCool and Paul McLaren. It was written by Megan Bonar, Paul O'Hare, Craig Hutchison and Jonathan Geddes.
Disappointment in turnout and Reform successpublished at 14:00 British Summer Time
Georgina Hayes
BBC Scotland News

Image caption,
Norma Hastie volunteers at a community group in Larkhall - she is disappointed in voter turnout
At a community lunch group in Larkhall, Norma Hastie told us she was very disappointed - both at the turnout and how well Reform performed.
"[Reform] is not a party I would vote for at all," she said. "I don’t like their political views at all. It’s not a party I would want to be in government at all."
Norma, who volunteers at Larkhall and District Community Group, said she was "disappointed at the low turnout" and feels it's important that local people have their say at a government-level.
Turnout was 44.2% for this by-election, a drop from 60% in 2021 - though it is normal for turnout to be lower in by-elections.
"It’s the town, it’s where we live, if people complain then you should vote and do something about it," she said. "People fought for that and we should take advantage of it."
While Norma didn't want to tell us who she voted for, she did say she feels that the UK Labour party and Keir Starmer had inherited a difficult job when they took over last year.
She added: "I think he went into a very difficult job. I don’t know how you fix the mistakes.
"It’s a hard job, I just don’t know if he’s doing enough, I don’t know if he’s making enough impact at the moment but it is going to take a long time."
Reform voter had 'genuine concern' about illegal immigrationpublished at 13:48 British Summer Time
Andrew Kerr
BBC Scotland political correspondent

Image caption,
Reform voter Matthew Bell shared his concerns with the BBC
Matthew Bell spoke to us in the centre of Hamilton and said that he had opted for Reform in the by-election vote.
He said he personally agreed with the policies they were offering - in particular their stance on illegal immigration.
He said: “One of my genuine concerns at the moment is the lack of progress in dealing with illegal immigration.
"Legal migration by all means, brilliant - but there’s a lot of money being spent just now on a problem that could quite easily be handled."
ing Christina McKelviepublished at 13:37 British Summer Time

Image source, PA Media
This by-election was called following the death of SNP MSP Christina, aged 57, following a battle with cancer.
McKelvie had been MSP for Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse since May 2011, having initially been elected as a Central Scotland representative in 2007.
She served as the Scottish government’s drugs and alcohol minister until she stepped back last summer after announcing she had secondary breast cancer.
Following her death, First Minister John Swinney said his party was aching as he paid tribute to “a parliamentarian of the highest motivation”.
Read Christina McKelvie’s obituary.
Result will provide parties with vital insights for Holyrood electionpublished at 13:26 British Summer Time
Philip Sim
BBC Scotland political correspondent

It’s usually best not to draw wider conclusions from by-elections, which can turn on particularly local issues or just the desire of voters to give governments a mid-term kicking.
But parties will definitely take lessons from this for next year’s Holyrood election.
The SNP decided to frame themselves as the anti-Reform vote, hoping the prospect of Nigel Farage would scare up for them.
Will they feel they need to go more directly up against Labour next May, given the two parties are scrapping for a very similar slice of the electorate? Or will they lean more heavily on independence as their core issue?
Labour will take heart from the success of their ground operation. But ultimately they know they will need to take a stronger part in the “air war” of broadcast interviews and debates if they are to win a nation-wide election.
Reform UK too will be feeling hopeful, after a campaign where they won attention by courting controversy, with their attack ad about Anas Sarwar.
But is their vibes-based anti-establishment message likely to secure as much in a national contest where voters are choosing the next Holyrood government, and there is far more focus on policy proposals?
Having seen the success of Labour’s infrastructure knocking on doors and getting their vote out, they will want to put their own party machinery in place too.
The Conservatives meanwhile will be pretty worried about the continued collapse in their vote, and will be looking for issues to keep themselves relevant.
Ultimately it will be a very different contest next May. But this result will provide some vital insights for those planning the campaigns.
What went wrong for the SNP?published at 13:11 British Summer Time
Lunchtime Live
BBC Radio Scotland

We've been hearing from the SNP's former communications director Fergus Mutch over on Lunchtime Live. He says that the SNP's tactics "backfired" this time round.
"They played the man, not the ball - and they managed to get the wrong man.
"John Swinney spent six weeks talking about Nigel Farage when, if he was going to go on the negative, he should have put Keir Starmer on the negative given Labour’s woes at Westminster."
As well as that, he says the SNP didn't give voters any "motivating factor" to vote for them - he says for independence is over 50% whereas for the SNP is sub-30% and it will be a "worrying" 11 months for the party.
Reform were the real winners, claims local organiserpublished at 12:54 British Summer Time

Reform UK organiser for Perthshire, Helen McDade tells Lunchtime Live that her party was last night's "real winners".
She says it's "astonishing" that the Labour party can say "they've done well", and claims Labour is simply glad Reform didn't win.
"Coming from nowhere and without background, the canvassing and the knowledge they had locally, we did extremely well," she says
She also claims Scottish Labour only won the seat because they fielded a local candidate.
Russell will be a 'local champion', says Labour's Jackie Bailliepublished at 12:47 British Summer Time
Lunchtime Live
BBC Radio Scotland

Image source, PA Media
Scottish Labour's deputy leader Dame Jackie Baillie says she is not concerned by the party's narrow margin of victory.
She also tells BBC Radio Scotland's Lunchtime Live programme that pundits, including those who had predicted Labour might finish third, had got it wrong.
Dame Jackie says: "We have, I think, the best ground operation of any of the political parties and a candidate who was essentially a local champion for this area."
The Dumbarton MSP, who was elected to Holyrood in 1999, said she was not worried about Reform and describes it as "the Tory party in disguise".
Watch: Winner Davy Russell responds to 'invisible man' critiquepublished at 12:43 British Summer Time

Media caption,
'I wasn't invisible on the doorstep' - Davy Russell
Reform - the other big by-election winnerpublished at 12:38 British Summer Time
Glenn Campbell
BBC Scotland Political Editor

Image source, PA Media
The SNP repeatedly framed this contest as a two-horse race between them and Reform UK. Their billboards in the constituency still make that claim. It was obviously wrong.
The Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse by-election was a surprise win for Labour - giving the party a much needed boost with eleven months to the full Scottish Parliament vote.
Reform UK was indeed another big winner, finishing third behind the SNP.
They recorded their best ever parliamentary election result in Scotland - with a 26% share of the vote.
If John Swinney is to remain as Scotland's first minister, it seems he cannot rely on presenting the SNP as the only alternative to Nigel Farage and Reform UK.
Read more analysis here.
What presence does Reform have in Scotland?published at 12:17 British Summer Time

Image source, Getty Images
Image caption,
Thomas Kerr is among the Scottish councillors that defected to Reform from the Tories
We've been reporting on the surge in votes for Reform. Much of the party’s success has come in England, but it does have a growing presence in Scotland.
The party has 14 councillors across the country - all of whom defected to the party, mostly from the Scottish Conservatives and one from Scottish Labour.
They received 26% of the vote in last night's by-election, and 6% of the nationwide vote in last's year's general election - although this returned them no MPs here.
While they haven’t got any elected representatives, they have promised to heavily contest next year’s Scottish Parliament elections, where they are expected to gain some success due to the election's additional member voting system.
According to the party website, they have 10,800 .
Larkhall is not where the Tory fightback starts - Badenochpublished at 12:06 British Summer Time

Image source, PA Media
Responding to last night’s by-election result Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch says: “Larkhall is not the place where the Conservative Party fightback starts”.
She said that it’s “interesting” that Reform UK is “causing problems for all parties, we live in a very competitive political environment” and the “situation has changed”.
Speaking at a press conference in Westminster she said her job was to “change the Conservative Party to ensure we can fight in an era of multi-party politics”.
The Conservatives came a distant fourth place in yesterday’s by-election for the Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse Scottish Parliament seat with just 6% of the vote.
Nigel Farage’s Reform UK party took 26% of the vote in third place behind Labour, who won, and the SNP.
Watch: Swinney says SNP got into the running after 'disastrous' general electionpublished at 11:54 British Summer Time

Media caption,
SNP made some progress, but not enough - Swinney
All hope is not lost for John Swinney and the SNPpublished at 11:44 British Summer Time
Kirsten Campbell
BBC Scotland political correspondent

The SNP leader and first minister John Swinney has been speaking about the result.
He's disappointed but not as downbeat as you might expect following the loss of a seat the party has held since 2011.
He says the result reflects the national opinion polls and so shouldn't come as a surprise.
Mr Swinney also points to the context. The SNP took a hammering in Scotland in the general election last year, but came within a few hundred votes of holding on to this seat.
The first minister says he encountered a lot of anger on the doorsteps, with voters voicing concerns about the cost of living and NHS waiting times.
But John Swinney says there's time to address those priorities before the Holyrood elections next May.
He believes the SNP is back in the running and back in contention. While they didn't do quite enough to claim victory in Hamilton last night, all hope is not lost that they can still win what would be a remarkable fifth term in power.
Russell: I was out on the streets, people shook my handpublished at 11:35 British Summer Time

Asked about the "invisible man" title he had been given by opponents and pundits, he says: "I may have been invisible to them because they weren’t out chapping doors. I was out chapping doors, talking to people and the results have proved it.
"A social media campaign doesn’t mean you are visible, I walked down that street today and at least a dozen people shook my hand."
Russell added he has "no qualms" about the SNP and Reform's "smeary, lowlife" campaigns, but he likes to keep everything above board.
The new MSP itted he is a bit of a crooner and when asked his favourite song, Russell somewhat fittingly responded: “Don’t ask me a mountain of questions” – which was not a brush off but the opening line of the 1962 Del Shannon hit The Answer To Everything.
Davy Russell vows to bring message of the people to Holyroodpublished at 11:22 British Summer Time

Image source, PA Media
Davy Russell has been speaking in Hamilton after being elected to the Scottish Parliament.
Asked to introduce himself, he a smile beams across his face as he says: “I’m David Russell, the member of the Scottish Parliament for Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse.”
He says the title is a "bit long-winded, but "good none-the-less".
"For far too long the people of Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse, in fact across Scotland, they’ve been listening to the politicians - but the politicians haven’t delivered for them," he says.
He added he intends to put the message of the people across in Holyrood, and will make the regeneration of Hamilton town centre a key issue.
SNP leader says campaigners encountered 'angry' voterspublished at 11:10 British Summer Time

Journalists asked John Swinney earlier about the reaction of his former colleague Kenny MacAskill to the by-election result.
MacAskill, leader of the Alba party, said independence voters stayed at home because the SNP didn't talk about the issue.
Swinney says: "What I'm doing about independence is relating it to the everyday lives of people in Scotland."
He adds there was a lot of "anger" on the doorsteps over issues such as energy prices, the cost of living and the state of the NHS.
The invisible man: Who is Labour's new MSP Davy Russell?published at 11:05 British Summer Time
Kirsten Campbell
BBC Scotland political correspondent

Image source, PA Media
In modern times, when gaffes can go viral on social media and reach a much wider audience than the original interview, Labour decided to be cautious during the campaign.
They fielded their man Davy Russell as a local candidate, through and through.
Russell still lives his constituency in Quarter, South Lanarkshire - the small former mining village where he was born and raised.
"I've lived here my whole life. I'm a dad and a granddad," he said in his election pitch.
"And like many of you, I care deeply about the future of our community."
Read more here about the victorious candidate, who opponents dismissed as the "invisible man".
Swinney surprised to be in running after general election 'hammering'published at 10:52 British Summer Time

Back to First Minister John Swinney's interview - he says it is important to look at the context of the SNP's performance.
Last year the party won just nine seats in Scotland compared to Labour's 37.
He tells BBC Scotland News: "If somebody had said to me 12 months ago the SNP would have been in contention to win in the Hamilton area when, frankly, we had taken an absolute hammering in the general election last year I would have been pretty surprised."
New MSP Davy Russell treats journalists to a songpublished at 10:48 British Summer Time

We're hearing that in his first press conference since last night's victory, Labour's Davy Russell treated journalists to a few bars of music.
BBC Scotland political editor Glenn Campbell asked him for his favourite song.
His response - The Answer To Everything, by Del Shannon, which has the opening line "Don't ask me a mountain of questions".
A very obliging Russell sang a couple of lines when asked how the song goes - we'll bring you footage from the press event later on.