The Scottish National Party has conceded defeat in the Aberdeen South by-election to the Scottish Conservatives, with a senior party source pledging to "win it back in 2029." The seat was vacated after Stephen Flynn, the SNP MP who won the constituency at the 2024 general election, resigned to take up a place at Holyrood.
Voters in Aberdeen South went to the polls on Thursday, June 18, in a closely watched Westminster by-election that offered an early indication of the political mood in Scotland following last month's Holyrood contest. Polling stations opened at 7 a.m. and closed at 10 p.m., with counting continuing into the early hours of Friday morning.
The SNP conceded defeat just after 1 a.m., with a senior source describing it as the "Tories' night." Earlier, senior SNP figures were pessimistic about the party's fortunes, with early sampling of postal votes showing a heavy tactical vote skewed towards Scottish Tory candidate Douglas Lumsden. Senior Tory sources said they were "cautiously optimistic" ahead of the result.
Stephen Flynn, who gave up his Aberdeen South seat for 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."
This was the first Westminster-level vote in the constituency since the introduction of mandatory photo ID, which all voters were required to present at polling stations. The SNP entered the contest defending a majority of almost 4,000 votes, though rivals believed recent party turbulence could swing the result in their favour.
The Aberdeen South by-election coincided with another SNP by-election in Arbroath and Broughty Ferry, vacated by Stephen Gethins, and a third by-election in Makerfield, Greater Manchester, adding to a night of significant political scrutiny across the UK.
The candidates for Aberdeen South were: Scottish National Party - Richard Gordon Thomson; Scottish Labour Party - Nurul Hoque Ali; Scottish Greens - Jorg Shelton-Eckstein; Scottish Liberal Democrats - Mel Sullivan; Scottish Conservative and Unionist - Douglas Lumsden; Reform UK - Jo Hart.
