Labour demand SNP set earliest date for key by-election - October 5

Ms Ferrier was elected as the SNP MP for the area in 2015 and 2019, before losing the party whip over her lockdown breach in 2020.

Once the Commons resumes in early September after the summer recess, it is for the SNP to move the writ to set a by-election date.

READ MORE: Margaret Ferrier ‘will not stand in by-election’ after being ousted

Launching his party's campaign today, candidate Michael Shanks was asked if the SNP should call the vote "as soon as practicable" which would be October 5.

"They absolutely must do that," said Mr Shanks.

"It can be 5th October so there is absolutely no reason why that shouldn't be done. And saying they will move the writ on day one is not the same thing as saying they will have the election on 5th October.

"People have been waiting almost three years for a fresh start. We've been unrepresented in Parliament for three years. The recall petition has now finished. People want their say and there can be no delay. It is bizarre we have to follow this protocol to call an election. It should just be automatic but 5th October is the earliest it can be and there is no logical reason why the SNP can't make it the 5th October."

He added: "Margaret Ferrier should have stood down years ago and she didn't and now it's time to move on to our positive message for this community."

READ MORE: What do Rutherglen voters think as by-election campaign gets underway?

Labour believe the SNP may want to delay the by-election to allow time for anger in the area to subside over Ms Ferrier's breach of lockdown laws, and also for the ongoing police investigation into SNP finances to be completed. It is not known how long the probe will continue for or whether any charges will be brought.

A Labour campaign poster at today's launch declared "The SNP must not delay. We deserve our say."

Voters in the constituency had six weeks to sign the recall petition, which was automatically triggered after Ms Ferrier was suspended from the Commons for 30 days after being convicted of breaking travel rules during lockdown.

More than 10% of eligible voters did so, triggering a by-election contest that Scottish Labour and the SNP consider a crucial test in advance of the next general election. In total, 11,896 of 81,124 (15%) eligible constituents signed the petition.

Labour's Michael Shanks speaking to reporters at the party's by-election campaign launch. Photo Colin Mearns.

Ms Ferrier confirmed last night she would not stand in the by-election. In a statement to Sky News, she said the petition process had been “difficult and taxing” and she did not want to prolong it.

“I respect the outcome of the petition,” the statement said.

In a seat that has swung between Labour and the SNP in recent elections, both parties consider this a key indicator of what polls suggest is a step-change in Scottish politics after Nicola Sturgeon’s resignation in February.

Polls suggest that the SNP’s dominance is diminishing, as the party struggles with questions of transparency and governance linked to the police investigation into its financial conduct, with Labour the beneficiary.

READ MORE: Katy Loudon insists cost of living is voter priority not police probe

With no clear route to a second independence referendum and the public overwhelmed by cost of living concerns, there are strong indications that Scottish voters are now less likely to choose which party to back based on their constitutional preferences.

Ms Ferrier faced widespread outrage after she visited local businesses and travelled to and from the Commons in September 2020 despite knowing she was Covid positive.

The SNP have yet to commit to a date for the by-election but have said they will move the writ as the earliest opportunity.

Speaking to reporters today Mr Shanks also insisted he will campaign against controversial policies even if they are backed by the UK party.

He described the UK's two-child benefit cap as a "heinous" policy at the launch of his campaign and said he would vote to abolish it if he wins the most votes in the by-election.

His opposition to the policy puts him at odds with UK Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer, who has previously said he will not scrap the two-child cap if his party wins power in the next general election.

Mr Shanks also said at Wednesday's campaign launch in Rutherglen he was opposed to the so-called bedroom tax, another welfare policy members of the UK Labour party have refused to rule out keeping if they are elected to govern.

Questioned about his position on the UK two-child benefit cap, Mr Shanks said: "It's a heinous policy, dreamt up by a Conservative party out of touch with people's priorities.

"Scottish Labour is opposed to the two-child cap, we'll continue to oppose it and I'll campaign against it."

Asked why he was seeking election within a party that has said it will not remove the cap, Mr Shanks replied it was committed to other reforms of benefits that would put more money in people's pockets.

"I'll be fighting for a whole suite of measures to lift people out of poverty like Labour did when they were last in government," he said.

On the subject of the bedroom tax, Mr Shanks said he was opposed to that policy as well but suggested Labour might be unable to get rid of it while trying to balance the books, should the party win power.

"I don't think the bedroom tax is a good idea and I would be campaigning against that," he said.

"But the reality is we're going to inherit an economic mess from the Conservative party and it's right that an incoming Labour government is responsible with fiscal policy.

"We can't just announce spending commitments before we've decided where the money would come from."

Pressed on whether people in his constituency could be assured he would vote against policies backed by his prospective UK colleagues, Mr Shanks answered: "I will campaign for the abolishment of both these things because they are heinous policies."

Asked how he rated his chances of winning, he replied: "People in this constituency have been let down for three years and are crying out for change."

But First Minister Humza Yousaf took issue with Mr Shanks' assertions about how he would vote.

Speaking to journalists at the launch of the SNP candidate Katy Loudon's campaign less than a mile from the Labour launch today, he said: "The voters of Rutherglen and Hamilton West have a really stark choice - they can either vote for an excellent SNP MP who will stand up for them and stand up for Scotland, or they can have a Labour MP that will do Keir Starmer's bidding and back cruel Tory policies that have seen tens of thousands of children, many of them in this constituency, plunged into poverty."

Challenged on Mr Shanks' assertions that he would not back such policies, Mr Yousaf said he would only be able to vote against them if a Labour government brought them to a vote, adding: "I'm afraid the Labour MP will do whatever, I'm certain, Keir Starmer tells him to do - but not only that, you can't vote for something if Keir Starmer refuses to even bring it to Parliament."

It is "simply not good enough" for Mr Shanks to be his party's candidate, while saying he would vote against them on certain issues, the First Minister said.

The South Lanarkshire seat is the first parliamentary test for Mr Yousaf as leader of the SNP, but also the first major election in almost 25 years where Peter Murrell will not be at the helm.

Seen as a driving force for the SNP's formidable campaigning machine, Mr Murrell oversaw election wins in Holyrood since 2007 and in Westminster since 2015, taking the party to the greatest electoral success in its history.

Mr Murrell - who resigned earlier this year after misleading information was given to journalists about membership numbers and was subsequently arrested in the probe into SNP finances before being released without charge pending further investigation - is "one individual", the First Minister said as he touted the party's commitment to winning the seat vacated by Ms Ferrier.

While Mr Murrell was a "proven election winner", the First Minister said the party's best assets were its members, who would be "flooding the streets" in the constituency and "knocking every single door multiple times".