Labour narrowly defeats the SNP to win the by-election in Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse, with Reform coming a close third
Davy Russell won the Scottish Parliamentary seat by just over 600 votes - see the full results
Introducing himself as an MSP, Russell says politicians have not been delivering for the people of South Lanarkshire and promises to bring their voice to Holyrood
Prime Minister Keir Starmer hails a "fantastic victory", saying "people in Scotland had once again voted for change" - here's how other parties are reacting
Labour's position has slipped in opinion polls in recent months, so this result will be a massive boost to party activists and politicians, our correspondent David Wallace Lockhart writes
The result was keenly awaited as it is less than a year until the Scottish Parliament election
Reform were the other big winner of the night - if they can do half as well in the contest next May, they can expect to have their first MSPs elected and gain a significant foothold at Holyrood, writes Scotland political editor Glenn Campbell
The by-election was held following the death of the SNP's Christina McKelvie
Watch: Davy Russell elected MSP for Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse
David Wallace Lockhart
Political correspondent at the Hamilton by-election count
It’s a 44.2% turnout - quite high for a by-election.
The figures were confirmed after all the boxes arrived from the various polling stations in the constituency.
The votes have been verified and now it’s just a case of counting them.
We’re expecting a result between 01:00 and 02:00.
Phil Sim
BBC Scotland political correspondent
Image source, PA MediaTurnout is often crucial in by-elections, and this is no different.
That doesn’t even need to be a reflection of how close the race might be.
Speaking to the parties, they all seem to find this by-election particularly hard to call because they can’t be sure which voters will turn up to cast a vote.
Will it be the ones they have canvassed? Will their traditional backers turn up, or will it be a more mysterious cohort who don’t usually engage?
It’s no use winning people over on the streets or the airwaves if you can’t then get them into a polling booth. Parties need a professional operation on the day to “get the vote out”.
One Holyrood hack observed that during Thursday's First Minister’s Questions, the Conservatives were actually the largest group in the chamber.
The bulk of the SNP and Labour parties had already decamped to Lanarkshire to coax their supporters down to the polls.
Angus Cochrane
BBC Scotland News
Image source, PA MediaThe count is well under way at South Lanarkshire Council's HQ
As we've been reporting, the counting of the vote is under way in Hamilton.
This 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.
Counting began as soon as polls closed at 22:00.
The result is expected between 01:00 and 02:00, but that is of course subject to change.
The residents of Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse will do it all again in less than a year, as the country heads to the polls for the Scottish Parliament elections in May 2026.
Paul Ward
BBC Scotland News at the count in Hamilton
Hamilton Park Racecourse staged a meeting earlier today
Races are common in Hamilton, albeit usually horse racing at the nearby track, rather than late-night political contests like here in South Lanarkshire Council headquarters.
There was actually a meeting at Hamilton Park racecourse this afternoon. One of the winners was called Two Auld Pals - not a description you’d give to the candidates competing in this by-election.
The bookmakers may have made the SNP heavy favourites to retain this seat but other parties believe they are still in the race.
The first ballot boxes have arrived for the count in the Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse by-election at the South Lanarkshire Council headquarters in Hamilton.
The polls closed at 22:00 and the crucial job of totting up the vote is under way in earnest.
Phil Sim
BBC Scotland political correspondent
Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse has been an SNP seat - indeed Christina McKelvie’s seat - since it was created in 2011.
Prior to that, all of the previous constituencies covering the area were held by Labour. Ms McKelvie defeated Tom McCabe, the former Labour MSP for Hamilton South, who had served as Jack McConnell’s finance minister.
In 2021 the SNP held the seat with a majority of 12.6% - down 6.2 percentage points from 2016, with a three-point swing from the SNP to Labour.
A double-digit majority means it would generally be viewed as a “safe” SNP seat, even after they’ve spent 18 years in government.
But it is in a part of the country where Labour’s Holyrood vote has held up relatively well, despite their slump to third place in the parliament behind the Tories.
And Labour did spectacularly well in this area in last year’s general election, winning the mostly-overlapping seat of Hamilton and Clyde Valley with a majority of 22.5%.
If you list off Labour’s strongest results in that general election they’re all in this region to the south and east of Glasgow - Hamilton, Motherwell, Airdrie, Coatbridge, East Kilbride and Rutherglen.
In that context, this is absolutely a seat that Labour should be looking to win, if they are serious about mounting a revival at next year’s Holyrood election.
But the central belt is also an area which has turned out reasonably strongly for Reform UK in the council by-elections we have seen since the general election.
They finished second - ahead of Labour - in a contest in West Dunbartonshire last month, and have had strong third place finishes in multiple seats in Glasgow.
Nigel Farage has played down their chances of winning, but he is certainty gunning for a momentum-shifting performance to send a message ahead of next year’s Holyrood contest.
Angus Cochrane
BBC Scotland News
Image source, Getty ImagesChristina McKelvie died in March, aged 57, after a long illness
The by-election was called following the death of local MSP Christina McKelvie.
She held Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse since the constituency was created in 2011.
The SNP MSP served in several government roles, latterly as drugs and alcohol minister.
She recovered from breast cancer in 2021 but took medical leave last year after being diagnosed with secondary breast cancer.
A mother and grandmother, she died aged 57 in March.
Emotional tributes were paid to her in the Scottish Parliament, with First Minister John Swinney describing her as a "kind, loyal and fun-loving colleague".
Her partner, SNP depute leader Keith Brown, called her “glamorous, sparkly and fun”.
Lynsey Bews
BBC Scotland political correspondent
Turnout could be key tonight.
Many of the voters we’ve spoken to in the constituency over the past few weeks have told us they’re fed up with all the political parties and were unlikely to cast a vote for any of the candidates.
Early indications are that turnout could be a bit better than expected. Although that is weighed against fairly low expectations.
Both the SNP and Scottish Labour seem to feel they’ve been pretty successful in getting their voters to the polls today. We’ll find out in a few hours.
Image source, PALabour MSP Jackie Baillie says the race in this by-election is too close to call
And the first party out the traps with the polls now closed is Scottish Labour.
Their deputy leader Jackie Baillie predicts the race is too close to call, but says there is "real hope for change in Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse".
Baillie praised the Labour candidate, Davy Russell, saying he'd led a "strong, positive" campaign focused on restoring pride to the community.
“Voters know the SNP has taken this area for granted for too long," says Baillie
“Scottish Labour will work tirelessly to earn their trust.”
David Wallace Lockhart
BBC Scotland political correspondent
There are three parties really in the mix tonight - the SNP, Labour and Reform UK.
One SNP insider told me they’re quietly hopeful. Labour seem a bit more optimistic than they did at earlier points in the campaign, and say they’ve made a good job of getting their vote out.
And what about the relatively unknown quantity in all of this - Reform UK?
One source told me they’re hoping for a “good third place”. Though Nigel Farage did indicate last week that he was hoping to squeeze into second.
At this point, it’s all up in the air. The only way to get some clarity is to count the votes. And that’s just getting under way…
Image source, Gettyy ImagesSo, who is standing in the by-election?
Well, there are a total of 10 candidates bidding to become the next MSP for Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse..
They are:
Good evening and welcome to our live coverage of the Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse by-election, with the count now beginning after the polls closed at 22:00.
This by-election was called following the death of the SNP's Christina McKelvie.
We'll be here throughout the night and into the early hours of the morning bringing you reports and analysis.
If you want to watch our BBC Scotland by-election special from midnight, just click on the Watch Live icon at the top of this page.
