Davy Russell becomes Labour’s new MSP after standing for election for the first time. The 63-year-old lives in the former mining village where he was born and raised, South Lanarkshire.

He has a civil engineering certificate from Motherwell Technical College and worked as an apprentice. From there, he became a senior manager at Glasgow City Council and looked after transport and roads, as well as waste services.

In his election pitch, he said: “I’ve lived here my whole life. I’m a dad and a granddad. And like many of you, I care deeply about the future of our community.”

Russell revealed in his victory speech that he will put “community first”.

He said: “We all feel we have been let down by the SNP. They’ve broken our NHS, they’ve wasted our money and after nearly two decades, they don’t deserve another chance. This community has also sent a message to Farage and his mob tonight – the poison of Reform isn’t us, it isn’t Scotland and we don’t want your division here.”

Speaking on BBC Radio 4, Reform UK Deputy Leader Richard Tice said: “We’ve come from nowhere to being in a three-way marginal. We were within 750 votes of winning that by-election, and just a few hundred votes of beating the SNP, so it’s an incredible result.”

However, Reform were actually 1,471 votes behind Scottish Labour.

Although Labour won last night’s election, the party’s vote share has declined since 2021, down 2 points compared to 2021. Meanwhile, Reform received a boost of +26.1.

Nigel Farage has said he is happy with today’s results and wrote in a post on social media that Reform is “only just getting started in Scotland”.

Anas Sarwar took a swipe at the SNP following Labour’s victory this morning.

“The message is clear – people are tired of SNP failure, have rejected Reform’s poison and are ready for a new direction with a Scottish Labour government,” he said in a post on X.

Taking to X, PM Kier Starmer wrote: ” Congratulations to @DavyRussell4HLS and the team on a fantastic victory.

“People in Scotland have once again voted for change. Next year there is a chance to turbo charge delivery by putting Labour in power on both sides of the border. I look forward to working with you.”

Director of More in Common UK Luke Tryl says that the results show that Reform has a “real presence” in Scotland.

Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar told PA: “I think people need to change the script, because we’ve proven the pollsters wrong.

“We’ve proven the commentators wrong, we’ve proven the bookies wrong. We’ve proven John Swinney wrong and so many others wrong too.”

SNP Westminster Leader Stephen Flynn congratulates a winning labour candiddate in a post on X. He wrote: “Congratulations must go to Davy Russell – I’m sure that was an incredible moment for both himself and his family. And commiserations to @KatyLoudonSNP . A wonderful person and candidate who has given her all for our party and movement.”

The party released a post from it’s X account minutes after victory was declared.

Labour wins Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse

Labour has secured victory in the Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse constituency, with Davy Russell set to become the area’s new MSP.

Here’s how the votes were cast:

Labour: 8,559 (Winner)

SNP: 7,957

Reform: 7,088

Conservative: 1,621

Greens: 695

Liberal Democrats: 533

Scottish Socialists: 278

Scottish Family: 219

Independent: 109

UKIP: 50

Labour’s win marks a key gain in a closely contested race, with the SNP and Reform close behind.

Reform UK’s deputy leader Richard Tice arrived at the Hamilton by-election count on Thursday evening, where he was immediately surrounded by reporters.

Asked about the resignation of party chairman Zia Yusuf earlier that day, Mr Tice said: “As Nigel said, I’ve said, we’re very sad that Zia has resigned. He’s worked incredibly hard. He’s been instrumental in driving the party forward.

“One of the reasons that this result could be very close, we don’t know which way it will go, is because of the success of what Zia has achieved. It’s very sad. You know, politics is difficult. It’s time-consuming.”

Mr Tice reacted strongly when asked whether Reform was a racist party.

He said there should be a “national debate” on the wearing of the burka, adding that there ought to be discussion on “all these important issues, as opposed to not discussing anything and smearing and labelling people.”

Mr Yusuf stepped down following a public dispute with a Reform MP over a proposed burka ban.

New Statesman data jouralist Ben Walker has pointed to the turnout in Hamilton reliative to the previous by-election, via his X account: “It’s typical for turnout in by-elections to be 60% of what it was in the national election. Hamilton’s turnout was 60.9% in 2021. A typical BE turnout for Hamilton should be 37%. 44% is somewhat eyebrow raising.”

Labour’s deputy leader in Scotland has said the outcome of the Hamilton by-election remains uncertain, describing the race as “too close to call”.

In the 2021 Scottish Parliament election, the SNP beat Labour in this constituency by 4,000 votes. But Labour believes it has a strong chance of overturning that margin tonight, as support for the SNP dips across the country.

Jackie Baillie said: “With votes still to be counted this race is too close to call, but there is real hope for change in Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse.

“Voters know the SNP has taken this area for granted for too long – from the crisis in our NHS to neglected town centres and opportunities snatched away from young people.

“It is clear from the thousands of conversations we have had that voters feel the SNP have lost their way.”

LBC Scotland Political Editor Gina Davidson has posted via her X account that both parties are on edge, with no representatives yet displaying any indication that they may have won:

“Normally around this time at election counts the party which is winning begins to appear relaxed. That’s not the case in Hamilton tonight – both SNP and Labour saying it’s too close to call. Reform tho has gone back to saying third place will be a good night.”

A Labour victory in tonight’s by-election will not indicate the party is on course to lead the next Scottish Government, according to Professor Sir John Curtice.

Speaking to BBC Scotland, the elections expert urged caution over interpreting the result, warning that whoever wins will likely have done so with a “low share of the vote.”

Sir John explained: “If, for the purpose of argument, Labour win this by-election with 32 per cent of the vote and the SNP get 31 per cent, that will not mean that the Labour party are doing anything like as well as they did last summer and will not mean that they’re doing well enough to suggest that Anas Sarwar will be able to form the next Scottish Government.”

He added: “That would be good news for Labour and disappointing for the SNP. But the truth is, probably, whoever wins this by-election is going to win it on a relatively low share of the vote.”

Zia Yusuf’s resignation as chairman of Reform UK may appear to be a jaw-dropping development for outside observers tracking Nigel Farage’s steady ascent in British politics. But for staff working at the party’s Milbank Tower headquarters and across the country, his departure comes as little surprise.

Just two hours ago, the Daily Express published an exclusive report detailing rising tensions surrounding Mr Yusuf, who had been increasingly sidelined from what was once the party’s second most senior position after Mr Farage. The report made it clear he had effectively been stripped of power, “shunted” into the party’s ‘DOGE’ campaign, which targets council-level waste.

In his absence, key responsibilities had been gradually taken over by Aaron Lobo, a close Farage ally from his GB News days. Lobo’s most visible contribution to date has been adding fireworks to Mr Farage’s energetic stage appearances.