Rutherglen and Hamilton West by-election – live: Labour lands Scottish victory ahead of next general election

Rishi Sunak confirms HS2’s Manchester leg will be scrapped

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Labour has won the Rutherglen and West Hamilton by-election with a big victory over the SNP.

In the end, the party’s candidate Michael Shanks won 17,845 votes, out of a total of 30,531 cast and the margin of a 20 per cent victory was twice what pundits had predicted.

Out of an electorate of 82,104, some 37.19 per cent turned out to cast a vote.

The Rutherglen and West Hamilton contest was triggered by the ousting of former SNP Margaret Ferrier, who was found to have broken Covid rules when she travelled between Glasgow and London after testing positive for the virus during lockdown in 2020.

Ms Ferrier was ejected from the seat following Scotland’s first-ever recall petition — a mechanism that allows voters to remove an MP by signing a petition.

With his party commanding a large lead in national polling, Labour’s candidate Michael Shanks was expected to come out on top against the SNP’s Katy London and the Conservative Party hopeful Thomas Kerr.

The SNP was always likely to be heavily punished for the sins of Ms Ferrier, whose breach of Covid rules was a source of anger and frustration among locals who were unable to see or visit their loved ones during lockdown.

Show latest update 1696490142Voters go to the polls in Rutherglen and Hamilton West by-election

Voters are going to the polls in the Rutherglen and Hamilton West by-election.

The seat was vacated after former SNP MP Margaret Ferrier was ousted in a recall petition.

Ms Ferrier was kicked out of the SNP for breaching Covid regulations by travelling between London and Glasgow after testing positive for the virus.

Speculation about her position followed by the recall petition and subsequent ballot have led to months of campaigning in the seat.

SNP candidate Katy Loudon goes up against Labour’s Michael Shanks and Tory hopeful Thomas Kerr in the by-election on Thursday.

Tara Cobham5 October 2023 08:15

1696489242Lord Bethell: ‘Sunak smoking ban should be first step’

Lord Bethell welcomed Rishi Sunak’s smoking ban, and said the measure should be “the first step in several”.

The Tory former health minister called for a levy on tobacco profits to help people quit, tougher measures to ensure licensing of shops and new measures to tackle obesity.

“There isn’t a Taliban rebellion on this at all,” he said, suggesting early opposition from Liz Truss and others opposed to so-called nanny state policies was limited.

Lord Bethell added: “People realise that the health of the nation is poor.

“The pandemic showed that, the waiting lists show that. We’ve got too much chronic disease. The workforce absence we’ve got around the country shows there are too many people who are poorly and people are a bit fed up with it.

“I think we do need to make concrete steps to improve.”

Archie Mitchell5 October 2023 08:00