[SCOT goes POP!] Exactly as nature intended, the SNP have defeated Labour in the Battle of Bannockburn

[ALBA-Bot]

Exactly as nature intended, the SNP have defeated Labour in the Battle of Bannockburn

To answer Keaton's question from the previous thread, the SNP's gain from Labour in the Bannockburn by-election is a 'technical' one rather than a 'real' one, because although Labour were defending the seat, the SNP won the popular vote in the ward last time around.  However, there has been a swing from Labour to SNP, which arguably makes it as good as a real gain anyway.

Bannockburn by-election result on first preferences (23rd January 2025):

SNP 35.9% (+7.2)
Labour 23.9% (+3.1)
Reform UK 22.7% (n/a)
Conservatives 10.7% (-8.4)
Liberal Democrats 3.5% (+1.4)
Greens 3.4% (+1.0)

Apart from the SNP's strikingly strong performance, it's once again the breakthrough for Reform UK that stands out.  23% is on the high side for them, even by the standards of recent Scottish by-elections.  But that's been offset by a relatively poor result for them in the Colinton/Fairmilehead by-election in Edinburgh.  That was the ward where the Liberal Democrats had a stunning by-election gain towards the end of last year, only to see their winning candidate resign as a councillor about ten seconds later.  Understandably they've been punished for that, with their vote collapsing and a lot of it returning to the Tories.

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Please stay safe in the storm today.  I was in a public place in Glasgow last night when the sirens on people's mobile phones started going off simultaneously.  It was just a tad sinister because for a minute or two it was far from clear what was going on.  You really need a warning about the warning.

Source: Exactly as nature intended, the SNP have defeated Labour in the Battle of Bannockburn