For years, opponents of the Conservative Party in Scotland teased that there were more pandas in Edinburgh Zoo than Tory MPs. In recent times, this joke could have been made about the Labour Party. However, with Sir Keir Starmer’s decisive victory in Rutherglen and Hamilton West, Scotland’s political panda threshold has been met – and, as soon as newly-elected MP Michael Shanks makes his way to Westminster, there will be two Scottish Labour MPs in the UK Parliament.
The win, which saw a 20.4% swing from the Scottish National Party (SNP) to Labour, is a huge boost for the latter, with Sir Keir Starmer’s eyes firmly set on next year’s general election. With further gains in Scotland, he hopes to ease his path to Downing Street. Edinburgh South’s Ian Murray will also be pleased to have secured some company.
As Professor John Curtice notes, if the swing in Rutherglen and Hamilton West is replicated across Scotland, Labour could soon return to the glory days of the 1960s and 1970s, when the party sent more than 40 MPs to Westminster in every general election. However
Read the full article from The BBC here: Read More