Scottish Conservatives Secure Aberdeen South Seat in Westminster By-Election, Ending 57-Year Drought
The Scottish Conservatives have won the Aberdeen South Westminster by-election, taking the seat from the Scottish National Party (SNP). This victory represents the first time the party has gained a Westminster seat north of the border since 1967. Douglas Lumsden, a Conservative MSP and former oil and gas worker, secured the constituency with a majority exceeding 6,000 votes.
Lumsden, who must now resign his Holyrood seat due to a ban on dual mandates, stated that his constituents had delivered a clear message: “the destruction of the oil and gas industry must stop now.” Aberdeen, a focal point for the UK’s energy discourse, has been selected as the headquarters for GB Energy, the government’s nascent publicly owned energy company.
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch described the Aberdeen South result as “significant,” particularly highlighting support from voters who had not previously backed the party. Badenoch asserted that the outcome in Aberdeen South concerned “thousands of jobs in oil and gas across our country and the future of an entire city.”
Conversely, Greenpeace UK’s Amy Cameron criticised the Conservative’s “false promises,” arguing they would not guarantee a prosperous future for Aberdeen residents without a robust just transition away from fossil fuels.
Meanwhile, the SNP retained the Arbroath and Broughty Ferry by-election, with Lara Bird securing a majority of over 5,000 votes. Bird, a qualified lawyer, framed her victory as a rejection of “the politics of division and hate,” asserting that Scotland’s future “lies with independence.”
Former SNP MP for Aberdeen South, Stephen Flynn, now Scotland’s economy secretary, acknowledged a “tough night” and urged reflection within the party. The Aberdeen South defeat for the SNP follows a recent scandal involving former chief executive Peter Murrell, who admitted embezzling over £400,000 of party funds.
