Starmer paves way to No10

Similar poll swing would be enough to give him 40 seats north of border

- Nicholas Cecil , Jitendra Joshi

SIR Keir Starmer opened up a path to No10 today through Scotland with a “seismic” by-election win in Rutherglen and Hamilton West.

Labour crushed the Scottish National Party, with a swing of more than 20 per cent. Candidate Michael Shanks secured 58 per cent of the vote, more than twice that of SNP rival Katy Loudon. The Tories’ vote collapsed to 3.9 per cent and the party embarrassingly lost its deposit.

If the swing to Labour was replicated at a general election it could mean Labour gaining 40 seats in Scotland, compared with the one it had held until today. Rutherglen was the first recall by-election in Scotland, so the result needs to be treated with caution.