John Swinney admits Hamilton by-election now 'three-way contest'
First Minister says it is “difficult to call as to where our principle challenge comes from”
John Swinney has insisted the SNP will not ease up in a crunch by-election campaign next week after warning his party is embroiled in a “three-way contest” that could prove unpredictable.
The First Minister was speaking in Hamilton after being joined by eight SNP ministers including Health Secretary Neil Gray, Education Secretary Jenny Gilruth and Net Zero Secretary Mairi McAllan.
The SNP’s Katie Loudon is taking on Labour’s Davy Russell in the Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse by-election - but both parties face a challenge from Nigel Farage’s Reform UK, with Ross Lambie standing for the party which believes it can snatch an unprecedented victory.
But the First Minister, who was unable to say whether the SNP remained favourites to win the seat following SNP minister Christina McKelvie’s death, instead warning it was poised to be “a tight contest”.
Speaking to journalists in Hamilton, Mr Swinney warned that “it’s still very difficult to call”.
By-election three-way contest
He added: “I’m seeing Reform support on the doors, I’m seeing Labour support on the doors, I’m seeing SNP support on the doors. I’m thankfully seeing quite a lot of SNP support on the doors, which is heartening to me.
“But I think it is difficult to call as to where our principle challenge comes from.
“I think if people are worried about Farage getting a foothold in Scotland then their safest approach to take is to vote for the SNP to stop that.”
Pressed over whether eight ministers showing up to support him on the campaign trail was a sign of panic within the SNP, Mr Swinney said: “We’re working very hard.”
The SNP leader added: “It’s a tight contest. I think we’re still 10 days out from polling day, a lot can happen in 10 days. We’ve been working hard for ages.
“We’re seeing Reform support, it’s visible. Labour’s support is visible, our support is visible.
“We’re not seeing very much else. That’s a three-way contest and that can be very tight. We’re working very hard to make sure we end up on the right side of it.”
Asked if the SNP started the contest in the lead, given their victory in the 2021 Holyrood election, with a majority in the constituency of more than 4,500 votes, Mr Swinney admitted that “a lot of water has gone under the bridge since 2021”.
He added that “there’s been a few bumps in the road for the SNP”, but insisted “we’re campaigning to win”.
Mr Swinney added: “We’re setting out a positive and pro-active agenda to the public in Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse.”
Reform under fire for ‘racist’ advert
Labour could face the prospect of finishing in third place behind the SNP and Reform.
Asked about the impact Mr Farage joining the campaign trail could have, Mr Swinney said: “Nigel Farage has got to explain himself and the politics that he represents.
“I’ve made no secret of the fact that I am entirely and wholly opposed to his politics.”
The SNP has officially complained to Meta, the corporation that owns Facebook and Instagram, after Reform launched an advert misrepresenting the views of Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar, an advertisement Mr Swinney stressed was “blatantly racist”.
The ad wrongly claims the Scottish Labour leader will “prioritise” the Pakistani community in Scotland, as it plays clips of the politician calling for more political representation for those of South Asian heritage.
He warned that Meta should “remove that advert and take it down”, warning it was “a distortion of Anas Sarwar’s message”.
Mr Swinney added: “People can’t make informed judgments because they’re having misinformation peddled towards them.
“As a political rival of Anas Sarwar, I think that’s unacceptable, because it’s trying to use race in this campaign against one of my political rivals.
“I don’t think that’s acceptable, and the social media companies have got to act to address that circumstance.”
Mr Sarwar previously said Reform was resorting to “dirty tactics”.
He added: “I have seen it, and it’s a very deliberate dog whistle, which seeks to question my identity, question my loyalty and question my belonging in Scotland.
“I’m a proud Scot, I was born here, my kids were born here.
READ MORE: Nigel Farage's Reform is more of a threat to Labour in Scotland, says Professor Sir John Curtice
Reform councillor for Glasgow, Thomas Kerr, said: "John Swinney and Anas Sarwar are desperately trying to deflect attention away from the facts.
"This advert uses Mr Sarwar's own words - if he doesn't like them, he shouldn't use them.
"The SNP and Labour have both broken Scotland, it's no surprise they're now forming some sort of pathetic and panicky anti-Reform coalition.
"The more Reform grows the more desperate their lies and smears will get but we're ready for it, unlike them we aren't fighting for our careers, we're fighting for our country."
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 poised for policy U-turns
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.
READ MORE: John Swinney admits Reform surge blame after seeing first-hand support on by-election trail
Mr Swinney said: “I don’t know what the Labour government is going to do on the two child limit, but what I do know is they should have done this on their first day in office.
“They’ve now been in office for nearly a year and they still haven’t done it.
“They’re speculating about it, and they’re musing about it, but they are not actually doing it.
“Now my Government is taking the steps to remove the two child limit, and we will press on with that work.”
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