“ Reform’s success will push the two-party system to the brink

The voters have spoken in the biggest electoral test of Keir Starmer's Labour government and their verdict is damning.

- Robert Ford

It was a dire day for Labour in all three constituent nations of Britain, and while the political drama in each country had its own plotlines, some common themes are clear. Labour is struggling, Reform UK is on the march, and the party system is fragmenting as voters hungry for change scatter in multiple directions.Scotland defied these trends, as the Scottish National party (SNP) topped the Scottish parliament poll for a fifth consecutive election. Yet the overall SNP vote fell sharply to its lowest level since 2007, with the Liberal Democrats, Labour and the Scottish Greens all gaining constituency seats, while Scottish Conservatives held on in the Border regions. While a fragmented opposition helped the SNP dominate constituency contests, despite a reduced vote, these seat gains ensured the nationalists would not get the majority they framed as a mandate for another independence referendum.

The big winners on the opposition benches were Reform, while the big losers were Labour, whose Westminster rebound in Scotland two years ago proved to be a false dawn.