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Sir Keir Starmer has declared that voters in Scotland have “chosen change” following Labour’s unexpected victory in the Hamilton by-election.
The Prime Minister congratulated Labour’s newly elected MSP, Davy Russell, and highlighted next year’s Scottish Parliament election as an opportunity to “turbo-charge delivery” with Labour in power both in Westminster and Holyrood.
Russell won the seat, which became vacant after the death of SNP minister and MSP Christina McKelvie. In a post on social media Friday morning, Starmer said: “Once again, the people of Scotland have voted for change. Next year’s election offers the chance to accelerate progress by electing Labour on both sides of the border. I look forward to working together.”
Russell, who serves as deputy lord lieutenant of Lanarkshire, defeated SNP candidate Katy Loudon, marking her third electoral loss since 2023.
The surprise win comes at a time when national polling still places Scottish Labour behind the SNP and Reform UK, but the result is expected to energize Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar’s campaign to become first minister in 2026.
Speaking on BBC Radio Scotland’s Good Morning Scotland, Sarwar expressed confidence that Labour could unseat the SNP, which has held power since 2007. “Absolutely,” he responded when asked if Labour could win. “I believed it before this by-election, and I believe it even more now.”
He framed next year’s vote as a clear choice: “A third decade of the SNP with John Swinney as first minister or a fresh direction with me as first minister.”
Sarwar also pledged to continue challenging Reform UK, saying his criticism was aimed at its leadership rather than voters who might be considering the party.
Much of the campaign in Hamilton was overshadowed by a controversial Reform UK advertisement, condemned by Labour and others as “racist,” which claimed Sarwar would prioritize the Pakistani community.
Reform UK ultimately came in third place in Hamilton, just 800 votes behind the SNP, with some expecting it might finish second or even take the seat. Deputy party leader Richard Tice called the result “remarkable,” telling BBC Radio 4 that the party had gone from “nowhere” to being within a few hundred votes of the SNP.
Tice told PA at the count that he was “thrilled to bits” with the outcome. Final results showed Russell received 8,559 votes, Loudon 7,957, and Reform’s Ross Lambie 7,088.
Speaking afterward, Sarwar claimed the result defied widespread expectations. “We’ve proved the pollsters wrong, the commentators wrong, the bookies wrong — and John Swinney wrong too,” he said.
Swinney had previously called the race a two-horse contest between the SNP and Reform, a claim Sarwar dismissed as indicative of how far the SNP had fallen, noting: “When a party in power for 18 years is reduced to saying ‘vote SNP to stop Farage,’ it shows how little they have left to offer.”
While Russell faced criticism during the campaign for keeping a low media profile, Sarwar dismissed those concerns, attributing them to “a degree of classism and elitism.”
Speaking after the result was announced, Russell said: “Tonight, Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse voted for a new path with Scottish Labour. Like so many across Scotland, people here feel let down by the SNP.”
He also condemned Reform UK, stating: “Tonight’s result sends a clear message to Farage and his mob — their brand of division doesn’t represent us, and it doesn’t represent Scotland.”
John Swinney praised Loudon’s efforts, calling her campaign “superb,” but acknowledged disappointment in the outcome. “Labour won this area by a huge margin less than a year ago. We closed the gap tonight, but the message from voters is that we still have work to do,” he said, adding that the SNP would reflect on the result in the coming days.
