Two signals for Great Britain
Labor wins Scottish by-election
October 6, 2023, 10:38 a.m
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It’s actually just a by-election in Glasgow, but the result could have a significant impact on Scotland and the whole of Great Britain. The Labor Party is stealing the mandate from the Scottish National Party (SNP) – and thus dampening hopes of independence.
The Labor Party has clearly won an important by-election to the British Parliament in a Scottish constituency. The Social Democrats’ victory over the Scottish National Party (SNP) is not only a blow to the independence movement, but also a further indication that Labor is on course to replace the Conservative government in London at the next election. Labor leader Keir Starmer spoke of a “seismic moment”.
Thursday’s by-election in the Glasgow district of Rutherglen and Hamilton West was made necessary after a former SNP MP lost her seat due to misconduct. Labor candidate Michael Shanks beat SNP candidate Katy Loudon by a margin of almost 10,000 votes, as was clear after the votes were counted on Friday night.
The significant swing in voter favorability, giving Labor its second Scottish MP in Westminster, could signal that the dominance of pro-independence supporters in Scotland is coming to an end, experts say. The SNP has dominated the political landscape in Scotland, which until then had been a Labor stronghold, since the Scottish independence referendum in 2014. This meant that Labor could no longer achieve an absolute majority in the British Parliament. If the recent success proves to be a trend, Labor would have a much better chance of winning its own majority in Westminster, as election expert John Curtice from the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow told the BBC.
The United Kingdom is expected to have a general election next year. So far, Labor is well ahead of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s ruling Conservatives in the polls.