John Curtice
By-election shows Reform could stop Labour winning power in Scotland.
Tories at risk of recording worst-ever result in a Scottish election next year.
Richard Tice, Reform deputy leader, talks with candidate Ross Lambie at the Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse count Credit: Getty/Jeff J Mitchell The result of the Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse by-election underlined the scale of the impact that the rise of Reform could have on the future shape of Scottish politics.
|  | Labour pulls off shock by-election win in HamiltonHumiliation for John Swinney as SNP support collapses and Reform takes third place |
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| | Hamilton by-election results live: Scottish politics ‘a three-horse race...Reform UK declared Scottish politics was now a “three-horse race” after the party finished a close third in the ... |
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| | How the ground war won it for LabourWhile foot soldiers played a part in Davy Russell’s tremendous victory, Scotland’s footballing legends helped cl... |
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The party’s performance was well above its 19 per cent tally in the most recent Scottish polls – even though Hamilton did not seem like particularly fertile ground for Nigel Farage’s party.
Polls indicate that much of Reform’s support comes from those who back Brexit, while, at 38 per cent, support for Leave in the constituency in 2016 was just as low as in Scotland as a whole.
Yet this did not stop Reform from turning Hamilton into a three-way marginal in which no party won as much as a third of the vote.
In the meantime, support for the Conservatives collapsed to just 6 per cent, 11 points down on the tally in the constituency at the last Holyrood election in 2021.
| | The case for uniting the Right has never been strongerExpect one word to crop up repeatedly as Reform and Tory voters digest this result: pact |
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Never before has the party’s support fallen so heavily in a Scottish Parliament by-election. However, its doleful performance was fully in line with its current standing of 12 per cent in Scotland-wide opinion polls. DT.
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The result of the Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse by-election underlined the scale of the impact that the rise of Reform could have on the future shape of Scottish politics.
Labour pulls off shock by-election win in Hamilton
Humiliation for John Swinney as SNP support collapses and Reform takes third place
Hamilton by-election results live: Scottish politics ‘a three-horse race...
Reform UK declared Scottish politics was now a “three-horse race” after the party finished a close third in the ...
How the ground war won it for Labour
While foot soldiers played a part in Davy Russell’s tremendous victory, Scotland’s footballing legends helped cl...
Polls indicate that much of Reform’s support comes from those who back Brexit, while, at 38 per cent, support for Leave in the constituency in 2016 was just as low as in Scotland as a whole.
Yet this did not stop Reform from turning Hamilton into a three-way marginal in which no party won as much as a third of the vote.
In the meantime, support for the Conservatives collapsed to just 6 per cent, 11 points down on the tally in the constituency at the last Holyrood election in 2021.
The case for uniting the Right has never been stronger
Expect one word to crop up repeatedly as Reform and Tory voters digest this result: pact