Jackie Baillie: No SNP or Tory seat safe from Labour surge after by-elections

Labour won Selby and Ainsty – overturning a more than 20,000 seat majority – from the Tories on Thursday.

Dame Jackie Baillie said the people of Britain were ‘crying out for change’ (Andrew Milligan/PA) (PA Wire)

No seat is safe from a “Labour surge” after the party won a by-election in England, Scottish deputy leader Dame Jackie Bailie has said.

Labour overturned a 20,000 vote majority in Selby and Ainsty on Thursday to take the seat from the Tories, but failed to win the constituency of ex-premier Boris Johnson – losing by less than 500 votes in Uxbridge and South Ruislip.

Scottish Tory chairman Craig Hoy said on Friday the next election was not a “foregone conclusion”, but Scottish Labour grandee Dame Jackie said the party’s win show Brits were “crying out for change”.

“This remarkable victory shows that change is coming to Britain and no Tory or SNP seat is safe from the Labour surge,” she said.

This remarkable victory shows that change is coming to Britain and no Tory or SNP seat is safe from the Labour surge

Dame Jackie Baillie, Scottish Labour

“The people of Britain are crying out for change and it is the Labour Party that will deliver it.

“While the Tories try to spin dismal failure into victory and the SNP look on in fear of a Labour resurgence, Labour is getting to work to gain the trust and support of working people.

“From the cost of living crisis to the jobs of the future, it is only the Labour Party that has a plan for this country. Join us as we build a better future for all.”

The comments come in the hours after Mr Hoy said the Tories could still have a good showing at the next election – expected next year.

The Tories have been plunging in the polls in recent months but managed to retain the Uxbridge and South Ruislip seat previously held by ex-prime minister Boris Johnson in Thursday’s votes, with the majority cut from more than 7,000 votes to less than 500.

Speaking to BBC Radio Scotland’s Good Morning Scotland programme on Friday, Mr Hoy said: “I don’t think the next election is lost.

“The Prime Minister set out key pledges and he’s delivering on them.”

The election will also be fought against a different background in Scotland, he said, where polls suggest the SNP’s previously firm grip may be slipping following the resignation of Nicola Sturgeon along with her arrest and that of her husband Peter Murrell – the former party chief executive – and the then treasurer Colin Beattie.

All three were released without charge, pending further investigation.

“In one of the most recent by-elections in East Kilbride, for example, our vote was up, the SNP vote was down significantly,” he said.

The East Kilbride West council by-election, fought earlier this month, was won by Labour candidate Kirsty Williams, with the party’s vote increasing by 13.7%, while the Tories moved into second with a 6.3% jump in their share and the SNP lost the seat, along with 8.3% of its vote compared to last year.

“In the seats that we hold, or the seats that we’re targeting, it’ll be a straight choice between the Scottish Conservative and Unionist candidate and the SNP, there’ll be a very different dynamic at the next general election in Scotland,” Mr Hoy added.

If the party is able to “get our message out there” and “fight a positive general election campaign” on local issues, Mr Hoy said: “I don’t think we will see those kinds of results here in Scotland.”

Speaking to the same programme, Scottish Wellbeing Economy Secretary Neil Gray said the by-elections were a “disappointing night” for both the Tories and Labour.

“The Conservatives have lost two seats in their heartlands area, the Labour Party were widely expected, widely tipped and accepted the fact they would probably take Boris Johnson’s seat but have missed out,” he said.

“The next GE (general election) is going to be about delivering change.

“We want to see the back of the Conservative Government, but Keir Starmer over the last short while, has been making U-turn after U-turn, most noticeably recently on social security where he accepted the Tory policy of the brutal two-child policy and rape clause, so we know now the only way of delivering real change at the next election is through the SNP and, thereafter, independence.”

Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton said his party’s victory in Somerton and Frome proves it has “returned as a force in British politics”.

“We are showing that we can challenge this out-of-touch Conservative Government and offer a powerful alternative to a stagnated status quo,” he added.

“Across rural and metropolitan parts of the country, we are showing that we are the ones who can overthrow the Conservatives and we will be bringing that same energy to Scotland as we look towards a general election.”