Scottish Conservatives Win Aberdeen South, Ousting SNP
The Scottish Conservatives have won the Aberdeen South by-election, defeating the SNP in a contest that became a referendum on North Sea oil and gas. The victory marks a significant swing away from the SNP.
The Scottish National Party (SNP) has lost the formerly safe seat of Aberdeen South in a shock loss to the Scottish Conservatives. The Scottish Conservatives’ Douglas Lumsden beat the SNP’s Richard Thomson by 6,050 votes, with a 14.69% swing away from the SNP. The Tories' vote share was 49.51%. Lumsden’s vote tally was 14,308, with Thomson on 8,258. Jo Hart for Reform came a distant third with 2,478 votes. The turnout was just 38%.
In his victory speech, Lumsden said the people of the city had spoken “loud and clear” that the “destruction of the North Sea oil and gas industry must stop now.” He added: “We said at the start of this campaign that it is a referendum on the oil and gas industry and the people of Aberdeen have given a resounding answer that we back the oil and gas industry.” The Tories threw significant resources into the contest, with its UK party leader, Kemi Badenoch, visiting the constituency three times as they sought to make it a battle over increased North Sea oil and gas production.
The SNP did hold onto Arbroath and Broughty Ferry in a separate by-election, with Lara Bird taking the seat vacated by Stephen Gethins who quit Westminster for Holyrood.
The SNP’s Stephen Flynn, who gave up the Aberdeen South seat in order to take a seat in Holyrood, wrote on social media: “A tough night in Aberdeen that some will need to reflect on, quite heavily.” He added: “We lost Aberdeen South to the Tories in 2017, and we won it back two years later. I’ve no doubt that we can do so again. If we get things right.”
The by-election was called after Flynn stood down to take up a seat at the Scottish parliament in May. The law does not allow people to hold seats in the Scottish parliament and the House of Commons simultaneously. He had held Aberdeen South in the 2024 general election with a 3,758-vote majority.
The SNP’s defeat suggests some voters rebelled against the party over Peter Murrell’s theft of £400,000 in party funds while he was chief executive and married to Nicola Sturgeon, the former first minister.
