Swinney said the 7,088 people who backed Reform – more than a quarter of the vote – in the Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse ballot were “neither”, but were instead “angry at the cost-of-living crisis”.

But the other big winner was Reform UK who finished third behind the SNP. They recorded their best ever parliamentary election result in Scotland - with a 26% share of the vote. The party's deputy leader Richard Tice said the result was a "massive boost" going into the May 2026 vote.

Reform is an "electoral force north of the border" - finishing just three percentage points behind the SNP, writes Sky's Rob Powell.