Polls close in Rutherglen and Hamilton West by-election
dailyrecord.co.ukThe polls have closed in Rutherglen and Hamilton West following a drawn-out by-election.More than three years after former SNP MP Margaret Ferrier broke Covid rules, voters have finally had the opportunity to replace her yesterday.The polls opened at 7am this morning and closed at 10pm.
Counting is taking place at South Lanarkshire Council Headquarters in Hamilton overnight.The result is expected in the early hours of Friday morning.Labour candidate and Michael Shanks voted at Rutherglen West and Wardlaw Hill Parish Church in the morning, while the SNP's Katy Loudon did the same in the afternoon at St Charles' Primary School in Cambuslang.Both encouraged constituents to get out and vote via Twitter on Thursday morning.Shanks and Loudon were among 14 candidates standing in the by-election.
These include the Tories' Thomas Kerr, the Lib Dems Gloria Adebo and the Greens' Cameron Eadie.Ferrier was booted out of office in August after 15 per cent of her constituents signed a recall petition.The recall petition was sparked after she was suspended from the House of Commons for 30 days.The former MP had received a custodial sentence and was suspended by the SNP for travelling between Glasgow and London after testing positive for Covid in September 2020.Ferrier had initially won the seat in 2015, before losing it to Labour's Ged Killen in 2017.
She won it back two years later with a majority of 5,230. To sign up to the Daily Record Politics newsletter, click here.
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