Nicola Sturgeon hits campaign trail in Hamilton by-election this weekend

Former First Minister Nicola Sturgeon is hitting the campaign trail in the Hamilton by-election on Saturday – and she’s specifically planning to target young people.

The SNP will be fighting to hold the Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse seat in honour of the late MSP Christina McKelvie, who died earlier this year.

Sturgeon’s public appearance on Saturday comes ahead of the Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse by-election on June 5.

The election was called after the late SNP MSP Christina McKelvie died earlier this year.

The SNP has already announced that councillor Katy Loudon – a serving SNP councillor in South Lanarkshire –will be fighting to hold the seat for the party.

She’ll be campaigning alongside the former first minister on Saturday. Loudon said it’s “great” to have the former first minister campaigning in the seat.

“What’s clear is that this community feels incredibly let down by the Labour Party, and it’s more important than ever that the SNP is delivering on their priorities and offering hope when times are tough,” she said.

Ahead of the visit, the former first minister said she will “highlight some of the actions the SNP is delivering to transform lives and create opportunities for Scotland’s next generation”, including the Scottish child payment, the expansion of childcare and the baby box.

Sturgeon said the approach of her party is in “stark contrast” to that of the Labour Government at Westminster.

“Whilst Keir Starmer is refusing to scrap the cruel two-child cap, the SNP is stepping up and ending the two-child limit in Scotland – lifting over 15,000 children out of poverty in the process,” Sturgeon said.

“The SNP will always take the action we can to ensure every child, regardless of their circumstances, gets the best start in life.

She added: “With Labour kowtowing to (Reform leader Nigel) Farage’s corrosive brand of politics, it’s only the SNP who is providing real help and real hope for the next generation.”

However, other politicians have been critical of Sturgeon’s campaign tactics.

“It is a bold choice for Nicola Sturgeon to begin what is surely a national apology tour at this by-election,” Scottish Labour deputy leader Dame Jackie Baillie said.

“From leaving the NHS on its knees, wasting hundreds of millions in public money and kickstarting the housing emergency – she is the architect of the failure people here live with every day.”

Scottish Conservative deputy leader Rachael Hamilton added: “Nicola Sturgeon appears to be shamelessly hijacking this by-election to try and desperately talk up her own record.

“Voters in this constituency and up and down Scotland won’t be fooled. They are still suffering from her failures and her focus on the politics of division.

Hamilton said it’s “thanks to Sturgeon” that voters in Scotland feel “more disconnected than ever from Holyrood”.

“By welcoming her along on the campaign trail, it is also clear John Swinney remains happy to stand by her toxic legacy, which he backed every step of the way,

The full list of candidates for the Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse seat: