SNP infighting begins after thumping defeat in Aberdeen by-election

Douglas Lumsden won the seat with almost 50 per cent of the vote and a thumping majority of more than 6,000 over the SNP.

It is the first Westminster by-election win for the Conservatives in Scotland since 1973.

The contest was dominated by the debate over North Sea oil and gas, and there are now calls within the SNP to rethink its stance.

First Minister John Swinney said he would “consider the implications” of his party’s defeat.

“A tough night in Aberdeen that some will need to reflect on, quite heavily,” wrote senior SNP minister Stephen Flynn on X.

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The by-election was called after Mr Flynn’s decision to swap Westminster for Holyrood at the Scottish election last month.

“We lost Aberdeen South to the Tories in 2017, and we won it back two years later,” he added. “I’ve no doubt that we can do so again. If we get things right.”

But Kate Higgins, a former special adviser to both Nicola Sturgeon and John Swinney, hit back at Mr Flynn.

“I do hope that ‘some’ includes you @StephenFlynnSNP - the by election was, after all, caused by your choices,” she wrote on X.

Mr Flynn provoked a backlash within the SNP when he first announced his intention to ditch Westminster for Holyrood.

Many suspect he is positioning himself as a future leader of the party, although he has denied this.

Mr Lumsden won 14,308 votes - a 49.5 per cent share - following a massive swing to the Tories driven by tactical voting.

The SNP’s Richard Thomson secured just 8,258 votes.

A senior SNP source hit out at the party’s stance on oil and gas – a key issue in a city which has been dubbed the oil and gas capital of Europe – suggesting voters do not understand the party’s energy policy or view it as “weak”.

Another senior insider said the party needed to be clearer about where it stood on the issue.

The Conservatives have championed development in the North Sea while Labour at Westminster is opposed to opening up new oil and gas fields.

The SNP, meanwhile, has walked a political tightrope over the issue.

It was frequently criticised for its hostility towards the sector under Ms Sturgeon but has since softened its position.

Earlier this year, Mr Swinney said the disruption in the Middle East had changed the "dynamics" of the debate around developments such as Rosebank and Jackdaw.

However, many want the party to go further and make its position clearer.

Mr Swinney said the result of the by-election was “obviously a disappointment”.

He said the Conservatives were “able to garner tactical voting in their favour”, adding: “Also, they were able to capture the anger, the understandable anger, that is felt in Aberdeen and the north east of Scotland around the issues in connection with oil and gas.

“As a consequence of that, we were not successful last night and we need to consider the implications of that result.”

UK Tory leader Kemi Badenoch said her party’s victory was about the “thousands of jobs in oil and gas across our country” as well as being about the future of the “entire city” of Aberdeen.

“Yesterday, the people of Aberdeen sent a message on behalf of the whole country,” she said. “Energy security is national security.

“They know it is common sense to use our own oil and gas rather than importing it from overseas.

“They know it is madness to make ourselves poorer, weaker and more dependent at a time when even the government’s own intelligence says we are under threat.

“The first duty of any government is to keep its people safe. The Conservative Party will always put Britain’s security first.”

Speaking to journalists after the result, Mr Thomson said the Tories had “thrown the kitchen sink” at the campaign.

“We like not to be out-campaigned, but on this occasion, I think, just the sheer amount of resources that we were up against made it difficult to get the result we’d hoped for,” he said.

The guilty plea of former SNP chief executive – and Ms Sturgeon’s estranged husband – Peter Murrell did not “make a bit of difference” to the party’s fortunes in Thursday’s poll, he added.

Murrell last month pleaded guilty to embezzling more than £400,000 from the SNP over 12 years and is due to be sentenced next week.

“If anybody raised it, it was usually an indication that they weren’t voting SNP anyway,” Mr Thomson said.

“I think any votes that were decided by that were decided a long, long time ago.”

GMB, one of the biggest unions in the energy sector, said the result confirmed voters’ lack of faith in the energy policies being pursued by ministers on both sides of the Border.

Louise Gilmour, GMB Scotland secretary, said: “It was entirely predictable that the Tories would win this by-election by promising to protect the North Sea.

“The only thing more predictable is ministers at Westminster and Holyrood continuing to promise green jobs tomorrow while thousands of well-paid, highly skilled workers in oil and gas are being abandoned today.”

Elsewhere, the SNP comfortably won the Arbroath and Broughty Ferry by-election, with Lara Bird taking the seat vacated by Stephen Gethins who, like Mr Flynn, quit Westminster for Holyrood.

Ms Bird – a lawyer and SNP adviser – won 9,802 votes in Thursday’s contest, with Reform’s Bill Reid second with 4,841.

Mr Swinney said the result was “a resounding endorsement of the SNP and the election of a fantastic Member of Parliament for this constituency in Lara Bird”.