'You blew the doors off': Starmer hails Labour's 'seismic' victory in Rutherglen and Hamilton West
Thursday’s by-election saw the SNP’s majority overturned by Labour, ITV News' Scotland Correspondent Peter Smith reports
Labour has overwhelmingly won Scotland’s first recall by-election in what party leader Sir Keir Starmer described as a "seismic" victory.
Michael Shanks won the Rutherglen and Hamilton West seat after securing more than twice the votes of his SNP rival Katy Loudon.
Thursday’s by-election saw the SNP’s majority overturned by Labour after Mr Shanks won 17,845 votes, well ahead of the 8,399 votes returned for Ms Loudon.
After securing more than 58% of the votes cast Mr Shanks now has a majority of 9,446.
The result will pile more pressure on SNP leader and Scottish First Minister Humza Yousaf – who has seen his party’s fortunes decline in the polls in the wake of the ongoing police investigation into its finances.
The by-election was called after a recall petition against Margaret Ferrier who had the SNP whip removed after breaching Covid rules in 2020. She had won the seat for the SNP in 2019 with a majority of 5,230.
Ms Ferrier was later suspended from the House of Commons as an independent MP resulting in the recall petition.
Sir Keir said “this is a seismic result", adding Labour “blew the doors off” in the by-election.
Speaking at a victory rally in Scotland, the Labour leader said to applause: “They said that we couldn’t change the Labour Party and we did it.
“They said that we couldn’t win in the south of England and the north of England, and we did it. They said ‘you’ll never beat the SNP in Scotland’ and Rutherglen, you did it.
“When I left here a week ago with the team, I said ‘you’ve got to win it’. You blew the doors off!”
He said he was “so proud” of Mr Shanks and his campaign.
The Labour leader said the electorate had "turned their back" on a Tory government "which didn't represent them".
The Scottish Conservatives came in third place, with Thomas Kerr polling 1,192 ahead of Scottish Liberal Democrat candidate Gloria Adebo and Scottish Green Party candidate Cameron Eadie who secured 895 and 601 votes respectively.
Scottish Secretary Alister Jack said his party’s result in the Rutherglen and Hamilton West by-election – where Mr Kerr lost his deposit – showed the constituency was a “two-horse race”.
A total of 30,531 votes were cast in the by-election, with turnout standing at 37.2%, well below the 66.5% turnout in the last general election.
Mr Yousaf, who made frequent visits to the constituency during the election campaign, said his party was facing “some very difficult circumstances”.
But he said the buck would stop with him if his party failed to hold on to the seat, afterwards conceded it had been a “disappointing night” for the SNP.
He posted on X that the “collapse in the Tory vote” had gone straight to Labour, saying this was a “significant factory” in the result.
But the SNP leader added: “We lost this seat in 2017, and like 2019 we can win this seat back.
Prior to the by-election Labour had just one MP in Scotland, with the party now hoping the result in Rutherglen and Hamilton West will be a springboard for the next general election, expected to be held sometime next year.
Mr Shanks said afterwards it was the “honour of his life” to be elected as MP for the area.
Speaking at the count in Hamilton he said: “The message from tonight is a resoundingly clear one – we have had more than enough of managed decline, more than enough of division, more than enough of distracted, chaotic government.”
Mr Shanks added the result showed that “there is no part of this country where Labour can’t win”.
He declared: “Labour can kick the Tories out of Downing Street next year and deliver the change people want and this country so badly needs. Tonight is one part of that journey.”
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