Will the Reform surge storm Scotland? Nigel Farage’s party ‘vying with SNP’ to win crunch Holyrood by-election TODAY… as Labour fear coming third
Reform could win its first seat in the Scottish Parliament today, as polls open in a Holyrood by-election that will show the scale of dissatisfaction with Sir Keir Starmer north of the border.
Scottish First Minister John Swinney said that the vote in the Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse seat was a ‘two horse race’ between his SNP and Nigel Farage’s party.
A Reform win would ring alarm bells for the nationalists in a constituency being contested following the death of MSP Christina McKelvie from cancer.
She had held the seat for the SNP since 2011, winning it comfortably in the 2021 Scottish election with a majority of 4,582 over Labour.
But while Sir Keir’s party is not expected to win, the result could also prove a major blow for him.
If candidate Davy Russell comes third, especially by some distance, it will increase pressure on the PM over policies which have gone down badly in Scotland.
Mr Swinney, who has made several campaign visits to the area, has spent much of his time attacking Nigel Farage and his party.
Reform have also come under attack from Labour, with a furious row prompted by an online ad which alleged Scottish leader Anas Sarwar would ‘prioritise’ the Pakistani community.
Labour have branded that ‘racist’, but as the war of words between the parties escalated, Mr Farage used a rare visit to Scotland earlier this week to accuse Mr Sarwar of ‘sectarian politics’.
Scottish First Minister John Swinney said that the vote in the Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse seat was a ‘two horse race’ between his SNP and Nigel Farage’s party .
A Reform win would ring alarm bells for the nationalists in a constituency being contested following the death of MSP Christina McKelvie from cancer.
Reform have also come under attack from Labour, with a furious row prompted by an online ad which alleged Scottish leader Anas Sarwar would ‘prioritise’ the Pakistani community.
Mr Sarwar still insists his party’s candidate Davy Russell can win the seat, despite him coming in for criticism over his failure to take part in a TV debate.
Speaking on Wednesday, the Scottish Labour leader branded Mr Farage a ‘pathetic, poisonous little man’.
Hitting out at his rivals Mr Sarwar said: ‘Reform have chosen a campaign of dirt and smear, the SNP have lacked all ambition, the best they can offer is ‘vote SNP to stop Farage’.’
Mr Swinney however was adamant that people needed to vote for SNP candidate Katy Loudon if they wanted to ‘stop Farage’.
Speaking ahead of polls opening at 7am on Thursday, the FM said: ‘Today, people in Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse can reject the politics of Nigel Farage and elect a local champion by voting SNP.
‘Farage doesn’t care about Scotland – he wants to cut our budget, undermine our Parliament and introduce charges for the NHS.
‘Labour have given up on the campaign and have barely even bothered to defend their record of scrapping the winter fuel payment and cutting support for disabled people.
‘So this by-election is a two-horse race between the SNP and Farage. And today, people in Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse can unite behind the SNP and defeat the gutter politics of Nigel Farage by voting for Katy Loudon.’
While Reform have not yet won an election north of the border, one poll last month suggested they could come in second to the SNP in the May 2026 Holyrood elections
The election comes as polls show a surge in support for Mr Farage’s party in Scotland.
While Reform have not yet won an election north of the border, one poll last month suggested they could come in second to the SNP in the May 2026 Holyrood elections.
Polls are open in the constituency till 10pm, with the result expected to be known in the early hours of Friday morning.
