Labour wins Livingston by-election
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.The party fought off a strong Scottish Nationalist challenge in Livingston in a key test of the Government's popularity.
Labour had been defending a majority of 13,000 in the seat where Mr Cook picked up more than half the vote in the May general election. But with turnout down from 58 per cent to 39, the margin dropped by three-quarters as Labour lost 10,000 votes.Jim Devine, Mr Cook's agent and a close family friend, was selected to fight the constituency.
The Scottish Nationalists poured resources into the contest and believed damaging publicity over Walter Wolfgang's removal from the Labour conference eroded the Government's vote.
Mr Cook died from a heart attack while mountain walking last month.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments