Polls close in Hamilton by-election

The ballot was held in South Lanarkshire following the death of the local MSP

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

The vote was held following the death of the South Lanarkshire constituency's former MSP, Christina McKelvie.

The count began as polls shut at 22:00, with a result expected in the early hours of Friday morning.

In what is the first Holyrood by-election since 2019, parties are aiming to build momentum ahead of next year's Holyrood elections.

Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse had been held by McKelvie since the constituency was created in 2011.

The SNP MSP served in several government roles, latterly as drugs and alcohol minister.

She died aged 57 in March after being diagnosed with secondary breast cancer.

The new MSP will only be in place for less than a year before the Scottish Parliament elections, scheduled for May 2026.

SNP MSP Christina McKelvie died aged 57 in March

McKelvie won the seat for the SNP comfortably in the 2021 Holyrood election with a majority of 4,582 over Labour.

Yet First Minister John Swinney has claimed the by-election is a "two-horse race" between the SNP and Reform.

He said: "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."

Scottish Labour deputy leader Jackie Baillie said the contest was "too close to call".

She added: "It is clear from the thousands of conversations we have had that voters feel the SNP have lost their way."

Who are the candidates?

There are 10 candidates contesting the by-election. They are:

• Collette Bradley - Scottish Socialist Party

• Andy Brady - Scottish Family Party

• Ross Lambie - Reform UK

• Katy Loudon - SNP

• Janice Mackay - UK Independence Party

• Ann McGuinness - Scottish Green Party

• Aisha Mir - Scottish Liberal Democrats

• Richard Nelson - Scottish Conservative

• Davy Russell - Scottish Labour

• Marc Wilkinson - Independent

In the lead up to the vote both Labour and the SNP accused Nigel Farage's party of racism over an online advert criticising Scottish leader Anas Sarwar.

The video, posted on Facebook and Instagram, features clips from a speech Sarwar made in 2022. Reform added text claiming that Sarwar wanted to "prioritise the Pakistani community" - despite the Glasgow MSP not saying that.

Farage has defended the video and during a visit to Scotland earlier this week he accused Sarwar of "sectarian politics".

The Scottish Labour leader rubbished that claim and called Farage a "pathetic, poisonous little man".

The by-election is a first-past-the-post ballot, meaning the candidate with the highest number of votes will become the constituency's new MSP.

The BBC Scotland News website is running a live page providing updates from the count in Hamilton, as well as expert analysis from correspondents and pundits.

A BBC Scotland by-election special, presented by Martin Geissler, is being aired on BBC One Scotland, the BBC News channel and the BBC Scotland News website from midnight.