Humza Yousaf to face first big electoral test as by-election triggered in Margaret Ferrier's seat

A total of 11,896 voters backed a recall petition – the first to be held in Scotland – to get rid of Ms Ferrier after she was suspended from Westminster for breaking Covid rules.

The move will trigger a by-election in Rutherglen and Hamilton West. A date has not been set for this, but it is expected to take place in October.

It will be fiercely contested by the SNP and Labour, and will be seen as a crucial moment for both parties. Labour will want to demonstrate its revival in Scotland ahead of the next general election, while Mr Yousaf will not want to fail what many consider to be an early test of his leadership.

Both parties have already been campaigning in the seat for months in anticipation of a by-election.

Mr Yousaf said his party’s candidate, Katy Loudon, is “the strong voice of progress for the constituents of Rutherglen and Hamilton West”. He said: “Every Labour candidate standing in Scotland – including here in Rutherglen and Hamilton West – does so on a regressive platform of maintaining among the very worst of Tory policies.

“Keir Starmer has made a political choice to keep children and working families in poverty. At every stage of this campaign, the SNP will promote the interests and needs of all the people of Rutherglen and Hamilton West. By contrast, Labour in Scotland is a mere branch office, doing the bidding of their bosses at Westminster."

Ms Loudon, who is a councillor in South Lanarkshire, said the constituency deserves an MP “who will do everything they can to help them through these tough times”.

She added: "That is why, unlike my opponents, I will oppose any policy that pushes children into poverty, such as the two-child benefit cap and bedroom tax. Keir Starmer’s U-turning to back Tory policy underlines that Labour in Scotland are just a branch office of Westminster.”

Scottish Labour’s deputy leader Jackie Baillie said: “The people of Rutherglen and Hamilton West have made their voices heard and demanded change. For far too long the area has been failed – let down by two incompetent governments and left voiceless in Parliament by their rule-breaking MP.

“This cannot go on a day longer than it needs to – the SNP must call a by-election at the very first opportunity so Rutherglen and Hamilton West can get the representation it deserves as soon as possible.

“Scottish Labour’s candidate Michael Shanks is ready to hit the ground running and be the local champion his home constituency deserves. It’s time for a fresh start in Rutherglen and Hamilton West and Scottish Labour can deliver it.”

Scottish Conservative deputy leader Meghan Gallacher said Ms Ferrier’s constituents “have delivered a very clear verdict on her reckless and selfish actions at the height of the pandemic”.

She added: “Of course, this by-election would have happened a lot sooner if she had done the right thing and resigned as an MP straight away. Instead, she brazenly stuck it out to the bitter end, which was a total insult to her constituents who made huge sacrifices during Covid.

“I am looking forward to campaigning with our superb candidate, Thomas Kerr, and speaking to voters in this constituency about their real priorities.

“The SNP are engulfed in chaos and continue to relentlessly pursue independence, rather than tackling issues that really matter, while Anas Sarwar’s Scottish Labour party are too weak to stand up to them on an overwhelming number of issues.

“Only the Scottish Conservatives and Thomas, our group leader on Glasgow City Council, are focused on the real priorities of people in Rutherglen and Hamilton West – such as tackling the cost-of-living crisis, fixing our NHS and strengthening our economy – and standing up to this out-of-touch and tired SNP-Green government.”

In June, Ms Ferrier was suspended from the House of Commons for 30 days, beginning the recall petition process. She travelled from Scotland to Westminster after testing for Covid in September 2020 and went on to speak in the House of Commons while awaiting the results. After the test confirmed she was positive for the virus, she took the train back to Scotland.

Originally elected as an SNP MP, she had the whip removed when her Covid rule-breaking came to light. In September last year she was handed a 270-hour community payback order after admitting culpably and recklessly exposing the public “to the risk of infection, illness and death”.

The 62-year-old had resisted calls to resign from her seat and urged her constituents not to sign the petition. She won the constituency with a majority of 5,230 in 2019, taking 44.2 per cent of the vote.

Voting in the recall petition – the process by which an MP can lose their seat in the Commons – closed on Monday after six weeks. A total of 14.66 per cent of the constituency’s 81,123-strong electorate signed the petition, passing the threshold of 10 per cent required for it to be successful.

The process has never happened before in Scotland, but there have been three recall petitions elsewhere in the UK. Two of these were successful. Labour's Fiona Onasanya of Peterborough was recalled in 2019, while former Conservative MP Chris Davies was removed from office in Brecon and Radnorshire that same year.

Former first minister Alex Salmond previously said Ms Ferrier was “thrown to the media wolves” by a disloyal SNP. The Alba Party leader said that despite her “serious mistake” in breaking coronavirus rules, there should not be a by-election.