UK’s opposition Labour Party gets a boost from a special election victory in Scotland

By JILL LAWLESS
Associated Press

LONDON (AP) — Britain’s main opposition Labour Party has won an emphatic victory in a special election for a Scottish district that was watched as an indicator of the party’s rebounding popularity ahead of a national election next year. Labour took the parliamentary seat near Glasgow from the Scottish National Party. Labour candidate Michael Shanks won more than twice the number of votes taken by SNP runner-up Katy Loudon. The result doubles Labour’s total of Scottish seats from one to two. Labour leader Keir Starmer called it a “seismic result.” Starmer’s party needs to regain ground in Scotland to win a majority of seats in a general election that must be called by the end of 2024.