Labour hails 'seismic' Rutherglen and Hamilton West by-election win over SNP with a huge majority of 9,446

The Scotsman

Labour hails 'seismic' Rutherglen and Hamilton West by-election win over SNP with a huge majority of 9,446  The party saw a swing of more than 20 per cent from the SNP.  Michael Shanks from Scottish Labour has overwhelmingly won the Rutherglen and Hamilton West by-election after the party recorded a huge 20 per cent swing from the SNP.  Mr Shanks won with 17,845 votes, with the SNP’s Katy Loudon second on 8,399. The Tories lost their deposit, with Thomas Kerr finishing on 1,192. Scottish Liberal Democrat candidate Gloria Adebo and Scottish Green Party candidate Cameron Eadie secured 895 and 601 votes respectively.  Scottish Labour says the win shows they are a “serious force” once again in Scottish politics, as they double the number of MPs they have in Westminster from one to two. Labour leader Sir Keir 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. The turn-out was particularly low at just 30,531, only 37.19 per cent of the eligible electorate.  Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar thanked everyone who had voted for Mr Shanks and said: “We will not let you down - this is just the start of building something special for our country.”  The loss of the seat to Labour will put further pressure on First Minister Humza Yousaf – who has seen his party’s fortunes decline in the polls in the wake of the ongoing police investigation in SNP finances.

Transcript

00:00 [Music]

00:04 Hi, I'm Rachel Aymore and I'm the Political Correspondent for the Scotsman.

00:07 We've just seen that Michael Shanks has had a massive victory for Labour in the

00:10 Brother Glen, Hamilton West by-election. They've had over 20% swing from the SNP

00:15 to Labour which is a massive victory for them. I've just spoken to Anna Sarwar and

00:19 Michael Shanks there who are very jubilant about it, saying they would have a great

00:23 impact on their election chances next year when it comes to the general election.

00:28 It's an incredibly important moment for the people that I've spoken to over the past few

00:30 months so yes it's emotional because it's a really important job and I'm looking forward

00:34 to getting on with it. What does that mean to you? It means the world that people put their trust in

00:38 me to represent them. Some of the stories I've heard have been incredible stories of people

00:43 needing help, needing a fresh start genuinely because they're living really challenging

00:47 circumstances just now and the fact they've put their trust in me is an incredible honour.

00:51 I think you can see the scale of the result there. It is a swing of well over 20% getting

00:58 more than the double of the SNP vote. This is a historic night in Scottish politics,

01:04 a seismic result and I think it has flipped Scottish politics on its head and I think

01:08 it's now getting clear that the people of Brother Glen, Hamilton West have sent a message to two

01:13 failing governments that they're sick of the incompetence, they're sick of the chaos, they're

01:17 sick of the division and they are ready for change, desperate for change and the vehicle for change

01:22 across our country is the Scottish Labour Party and Scotland will lead the way. So the message

01:27 from tonight is a resoundingly clear one. We've had more than enough of managed decline, more than

01:33 enough of division, more than enough of distracted chaotic government. It's time for change.

01:40 To the gain, lasting.

01:41 Thank you.

01:44 Today as well we're also going to have a special podcast episode of the steamy

01:52 and we're going to discuss what exactly this election result means particularly for the

01:57 Labour Party and for the SNP moving forward so make sure to keep an eye for that drop-in later on.

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