Tory defector named as Reform UK candidate for Holyrood by-election

Reform UK has announced its candidate for a by-election sparked by the death of a Scottish Government minister.

Councillor Ross Lambie will stand in the Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse constituency on June 5 in an effort to replace the SNP’s Christina McKelvie after her death at 57 from secondary breast cancer last month.

Lambie currently represents the Clydesdale South ward on South Lanarkshire Council and defected to the party from the Tories earlier this year.

The announcement of his defection, alongside Renfrewshire councillor John Gray, was somewhat overshadowed by Reform UK deputy leader Richard Tice appearing unable to name the two, describing them only as “John and Ross” when pressed.

Responding to the announcement, Lambie said: “The hard-working folks of Hamilton, Larkhall, and Stonehouse are turning to Reform as we are the only party which understands how urgently people’s lives need to improve.

“Only Reform is calling out the decades of failure in Scotland by Labour and the SNP – they have crippled our economy, ruined a once world-famous education system, made us all poorer with their net zero obsession and consigned a generation of young people to the scrapheap.

“Reform has the guts to make the big changes needed to turn Scotland around, to end the wokery, to take a chainsaw to the bloated bureaucracy that stifles our country at every level. Only then can Scotland regain its dignity and pride.”

While the seat is widely considered a two-horse race between Labour and the SNP, Reform will likely garner attention as a result of the recent surge in polling, with some suggesting the party could elect 10 or more MSPs to Holyrood in next year’s election.

The SNP have already announced councillor Katy Loudon will attempt to hold the seat, while Labour will stand Lanarkshire’s deputy lord lieutenant Davy Russell.