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Labour have comfortably won the Rutherglen and Hamilton West by-election.
In a major boost for Keir Starmer ahead of the party’s annual conference in Liverpool, Michael Shanks defeated the SNP’s Katy Loudon by 9,446 votes.
It means Labour have doubled their number of Scottish MPs from one to two.
Labour’s victory is significant because a comeback for the party in Scotland is crucial to Starmer’s hopes of becoming prime minister.
Shanks received 17,845 votes and Loudon 8,399, with the Tories’ Thomas Kerr in third place on 1,192. Turnout was just 37.19%.
Starmer described Labour’s victory, on a 20% swing from the SNP, as a “seismic result”.
The by-election was called after sitting MP Margaret Ferrier was effectively sacked by her constituents following her criminal conviction for breaking lockdown rules during the pandemic.
Ferrier won the seat for the SNP at the 2019 general election with a majority over Labour of 5,240.
She had been sitting as an independent MP since being kicked out of her party in 2020.
Margaret Ferrier with then SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon during the 2019 election campaign.The SNP have been the dominant party in Scotland for more than a decade, and at the last general election won 48 seats to Labour’s one.
However, tonight’s result suggests Labour are on course to achieve their target of winning at least 20 seats in Scotland at the general election expected next year.
That would put Keir Starmer well on the way to winning an overall majority at Westminster and therefore becoming PM.
Starmer said: “This is a seismic result. People in Rutherglen and Hamilton West have sent a clear message – it is time for change and it is clear they believe that this changed Labour Party can deliver it.
“I have always said that winning back the trust of people in Scotland is essential. Tonight’s victory is the culmination of three and a half years of hard work and humility on that journey.
“I am grateful to everyone who has put their faith in us today – we will work every day to repay it.
“Voters across Scotland and across Britain want a government determined to deliver for working people, with a proper plan to rebuild our country. They want to move on from two SNP and Tory governments that offer only more division, more chaos and more infighting.
“The country deserves a government firmly on their side and focused on their priorities – and Labour will deliver that for them.”
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