Polls close in Hamilton by-election

Polls have closed in the Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse by-election.

Counting is expected to start imminently at South Lanarkshire Council’s headquarters in Hamilton, with the SNP hoping to hold on to the seat vacated following the death of Scottish Government minister Christina McKelvie.

The contest was initially viewed as a battle between the SNP and Labour, but Reform UK saw a surge during the campaign, with the party thought to have a good chance of unseating Labour and coming second.

The campaign has been marked by attack ads from the Nigel Farage-led party against Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar, accusing him of prioritising people from Pakistan and using a speech he gave encouraging people from a South Asian background to get into politics.

Opponents of Reform roundly criticised the ad as “racist.”

First Minister John Swinney described the contest as a “two-horse race” between his party and Reform, but Labour has consistently said they are still in with a chance.

The First Minister said voters should back his party in order to “stop Farage”.

He added: “People face a simple choice in this by-election.

“They can either vote for the SNP – elect an SNP MSP – or they will end up with a Reform MSP. That’s the simple choice.”

Reform are yet to win an election at any level in Scotland, but boasts a number of defected councillors.

Mr Farage himself, in a visit to Scotland this week, said it was unlikely his party would win, despite recent polls suggesting Reform was second in voter preference in Scotland with just 11 months to go to the next Holyrood election.