LONDON — The Scottish Labour Party won a crushing victory over the Scottish National Party in a key by-election Friday morning, as the party eyes a wider revival at the next general election.
Labour candidate Michael Shanks won 58.5 percent of the vote in the Rutherglen and Hamilton West contest, vastly outstripping the SNP’s 27.5 percent in a 20.4 percent swing since the last election. While Labour had been expected to re-take the seat — which they last held in 2017 — the margin of victory was notable.
The by-election for the House of Commons seat was triggered after local MP Margaret Ferrier was forced out by constituents, following multiple COVID rule breaches in 2020 that sparked fury and saw her booted out of the SNP.
Scottish Labour set their sights on the seat, as they seek to challenge SNP hegemony in Scotland.
Labour were once-dominant in Scotland but have struggled under a succession of leaders to reverse SNP gains in their heartlands. Under current leader Anas Sarwar — and as Keir Starmer established a polling lead across the U.K. — Labour’s position in the opinion polls has improved.
“This is, I believe, a seismic moment, I think it is a significant point in Scotland’s political history,” Sarwar told broadcasters at the count in Hamilton.
His deputy leader, Jackie Baillie, echoed that sentiment — and told the BBC the margin of victory makes Labour “competitive” in 42 Scottish seats. Scottish Labour held just one of Scotland’s 59 constituencies before the by-election result, compared to 44 for the SNP.
A revival for Labour in Scotland is also good news for U.K. leader Starmer, whose path to an overall parliamentary majority in an election expected next year would be made much simpler with gains in Scotland.
“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,” Starmer said.
The result is a blow for new SNP leader Humza Yousaf as he tries to take his warring, pro-Scottish independence party forward. An ongoing police investigation into the SNP’s finances has overshadowed his opening months in the role. SNP figures will hope that the by-election’s low turnout — just 37 percent — is a sign that they are in less trouble than the headline result suggests.