John Swinney claims Labour has 'given up' on by-election and contest is between SNP and Reform

The First Minister was speaking as the campaign for the Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse vote entered its final weekend.

With the "crucial" vote taking place on Thursday June 5 , Mr Swinney said backing the SNP candidate means people in the area will "elect an MSP who will deliver on their priorities".

Labour however insisted the by-election - taking place after the death of Scottish Government minister Christina McKelvie - is a "chance to call time on SNP failure and choose a new direction".

Dame Jackie Baillie , the Scottish Labour deputy leader, insisted only her party can defeat the SNP.

She said Reform UK "can't win" the seat, while adding that the SNP "don't deserve" to do so.

Dame Jackie said: "We can see the consequences of SNP incompetence right across this community - people languishing on NHS waiting lists, high street shops struggling to stay open, and kids not getting the education they deserve.

"It's clear the SNP does not deserve to win this by-election and only Scottish Labour can beat them."

She added that Reform UK, led by Mr Farage, "can't win here" - declaring: "This is a direct fight between Scottish Labour and the SNP, no matter how much Reform and the SNP want to pretend otherwise.

"This weekend Scottish Labour campaigners will be talking to voters the length and breadth of Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse so we can deliver a new direction for this community and elect local champion Davy Russell."

‘Things are really tough right now’

Mr Swinney accepted "things are really tough right now for many people, with the cost of living a real issue".

But the First Minister insisted that "while others shout, the SNP is acting".

He pointed to action his party is taking at Holyrood to scrap peak rate rail fares, to pay winter fuel payments to pensioners, and to end the two-child cap on some benefits - a move expected to come in next year.

Mr Swinney continued: "Labour have let people across Scotland down, and they have quite clearly given up on this by-election.

"Thursday's vote is now a straight contest between the SNP and Nigel Farage - and I am urging people to reject the ugly, divisive politics of Nigel Farage and to unite behind the SNP."

Katy Loudon , the SNP's candidate for the seat, meanwhile declared if she is voted into Holyrood, she will "get on with the job from day one".

She said: "This by-election is an opportunity to put the priorities of people in Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse first, and my promise to local people is this - I will always stand with you, fight for you and deliver for you."

Mr Swinney said on Friday he is willing to debate with Mr Farage , following a challenge laid down to the Reform UK leader by Mr Sarwar.

A social media video by Reform UK has prompted furore from parties in the Scottish Parliament , as it claimed Mr Sarwar would "prioritise" the Pakistani community.

The advert - which the SNP and Labour have demanded be removed by Meta - shows clips of Mr Sarwar calling for more representation of Scots with south Asian heritage, although he did not say he would prioritise any one group.

Row over ‘blatantly racist’ Reform ad

Labour has previously described the ad as "blatantly racist", and Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has accused Mr Farage of "introducing poison into our politics".

Voters go to the polls on June 5 in the Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse Holyrood constituency - a by-election called following the death of SNP MSP Christina McKelvie.

Mr Sarwar has said he is willing to debate the Reform UK leader, saying "I'll challenge him any time, any place in Hamilton, any town hall".

During a visit to the Auchentoshan Distillery near Glasgow on Friday, the First Minister was asked if he too is ready to debate Mr Farage.

Swinney challenges Farage to debate

He said: "I would, of course, debate with Nigel Farage.

"But what's important is that we've got a contest on Thursday, which is an attempt by Farage to insert his politics of racism and poison into Scotland.

"I want to make sure the SNP wins the two-horse race in the Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse by-election.

"It's crystal clear to me, the Labour campaign is collapsing and only votes for the SNP will stop Farage."

Reform UK spokesman and Glasgow councillor Thomas Kerr had earlier responded to the Prime Minister's attacks on his party.

He said: "Reform UK won't take any lectures on 'restoring trust in politics' from Sir Keir Starmer .

"This is a Prime Minister whose first decision in office was to plunge millions of pensioners into fuel poverty.

"Labour's campaign in Hamilton has been a calamity of car-crash gaffes from a candidate who ducks the media, a leader who forgets the candidate's name, and a Prime Minister who refuses to even turn up.

"Starmer and Sarwar have broken Scotland . Reform will fix it."

Labour has seen its chances of winning next year’s Holyrood election tumble in the polls as voters that helped it oust the Tories at last year’s Westminster election have deserted the party, with many now ‘undecided’.

Labour’s slump in the polls has led Sir Keir Starmer’s government to suggest it will U-turn on two of its most controversial policies - scrapping winter fuel payments and the two-child benefit cap.