Sir Keir Starmer has said people in Scotland have “voted for change” following Labour’s shock win in the Hamilton by-election.
The prime minister congratulated Labour’s new MSP Davy Russell and looked ahead to next year’s Scottish Parliament election, saying it is a chance to “turbo-charge delivery.”
Russell took the seat vacated by the death of Scottish Government minister and SNP MSP Christina McKelvie.
Posting on social media on Friday morning, Starmer said: “People in Scotland have once again voted for change.
“Next year there is a chance to turbo-charge delivery by putting Labour in power on both sides of the border.
“I look forward to working with you.”
Labour’s candidate, who is the deputy lord lieutenant of Lanarkshire, beat the SNP’s Katy Loudon, who fell to her third defeat since 2023.
The win comes against the backdrop of national polls which place Scottish Labour in third place behind the SNP and Reform UK, and will undoubtedly give a boost to Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar’s bid to become first minister in next year’s election.
Sarwar told BBC Radio Scotland’s “Good Morning Scotland” programme he is confident Labour can win that contest.
When asked if his party can defeat the SNP, which has been in power in Scotland since 2007, Sarwar declared: “Absolutely.
“I believed it before this by-election and I continue to believe it now.
“Next year the choice is simple—a third decade of the SNP with John Swinney as first minister or a new direction for Scotland with me as first minister.
“That is the choice facing the people of Scotland, that is the campaign over the next year, and that is a campaign I am confident we can win.
“I think what the people of Hamilton, Larkhall, and Stonehouse did yesterday was lead the way to that change of government next year and a Scottish Labour government next year.”
He also said he will “continue to challenge the poison of Reform,” making clear he is “talking about the people who lead Reform” and not those who “may be tempted” to vote for them.
Mach of the Hamilton campaign had been dominated by a Reform advert—branded “racist” by Labour and others—which had alleged Sarwar would “prioritise” the Pakistani community.
A surge in support for Nigel Farage’s party saw it come in third place in Hamilton, just 800 votes behind the SNP, although there had been speculation Reform could come second or possibly even win the seat.
Reform deputy leader Richard Tice insisted the party is “delighted” with the result.
Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s “Today” programme, he said: “It’s truly remarkable.
“We’ve come from nowhere to being in a three-way marginal, and we’re within 750 votes of winning that by-election and just a few hundred votes of defeating the SNP, so it’s an incredible result.”
At the election count earlier, Tice told the PA news agency he was “thrilled to bits” with the result.
When the votes were counted, Russell polled 8,559, Loudon took 7,957 votes, and Reform’s Ross Lambie secured 7,088.
Speaking to PA after the declaration, Sarwar said: “I think people need to change the script, because we’ve proven the pollsters wrong.
“We’ve proven the commentators wrong, we’ve proven the bookies wrong.
“We’ve proven John Swinney wrong and so many others wrong too.”
In the final days of the campaign, the first minister had said it was a “two-horse race” between the SNP and Reform, and Sarwar asked what it says about a government that has been in power for 18 years when “all it has to offer in a campaign is vote SNP to stop Farage.”
Swinney said Loudon had “fought a superb SNP campaign” and that he was “clearly disappointed” his party was unable to win.
“Labour won by an absolute landslide in this area less than a year ago—we came much closer tonight, but the people of Hamilton, Larkhall, and Stonehouse have made clear that we still have work to do,” he added.
“Over the next few days, we will take time to consider the result fully.”
