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21 Jan 2026
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21 Jan 2026
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Holyrood’s upcoming by-election will be very close, the leader of Scottish Labour has said.
Anas Sarwar said the Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse ballot will be a contest between his party and the SNP.
It is the Scottish Parliament’s first by-election since 2019 and it was called after the death of SNP minister Christina McKelvie.
Ahead of the vote on June 5, Reform UK leader Nigel Farage is expected to campaign in the constituency.
Speaking during a visit to the Machan Trust charity in Larkhall on Wednesday, Mr Sarwar told the PA news agency: “This is a by-election that is going to be very close.
“Ultimately, it’s going to result in either a Labour MSP or an SNP MSP.
“The message we’re getting across to people is that after 18 years of SNP failure, where our NHS has record long waiting times, where more and more people are forced to go private, where our schools are falling down the international league table, and we have an SNP Government that’s addicted to wasting your money, that we have got to get change here in Scotland.
“That means removing the SNP from office and, ultimately, only Scottish Labour can do that.”
The SNP has been approached for comment.
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