Reform candidate Fiona McDermott won the Larkhall ward by-election on Thursday, securing 1150 votes in the first round of counting and maintaining her lead through subsequent rounds of single transferable vote redistribution at South Lanarkshire Council headquarters in Hamilton.
Election Results and Turnout
McDermott finished ahead of SNP candidate Leigh Payne (975 votes), Labour's Chris Roarty (799), and Conservative Gary Burns (342). She was elected at the fourth stage after reaching the electoral quota, with results announced by returning officer Paul Manning. Turnout was 20.9% in the by-election triggered by the death of Labour councillor Lesley McDonald in April.
McDermott's Victory Statement
McDermott becomes Reform's first directly-elected council member, giving the party three seats on South Lanarkshire Council alongside Clydesdale representatives Ross Lambie and Poppy Corbett, who joined in March 2025. She thanked voters, saying: "They have delivered a powerful message. They want change and they want it now." She added: "I am deeply thankful that the people of Larkhall have placed their trust in me. This victory belongs to every person in Larkhall who believes our family, community and country."
Party Reaction and Campaign Support
Reform called the win "another historic by-election victory" and "another major breakthrough in communities long taken for granted by Labour and the SNP," adding it "confirms the party's growing momentum." McDermott was joined on the campaign trail by Reform MSPs including leader Malcolm Offord, deputy Thomas Kerr, and Central Scotland member Graham Simpson. Offord said: "Taking this seat from Labour is a major milestone for Reform UK Scotland. Communities have been taken for granted for too long while standards decline, council taxes rise and local people are ignored – voters in Larkhall are standing up and saying enough is enough."
