The Conservatives suffered a humbling night in Rutherglen and Hamilton West – with their candidate Thomas Kerr losing his deposit after securing less than 5% of the vote.  

The Tories vote share crumbled to just 3.91%, dropping by more than ten points from their result in the 2019 general election.  

The Scottish Greens, tipped to split the SNP vote, also had a dismal evening - losing their deposit as well. 

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Candidates failing to win 5% of the vote share must forfeit their £500 deposit. 

Green hopeful Cameron Eadie secured just 601 votes, 1.97% of the total and just 202 more than David Stark of Reform on 403 (1.32%). 

The Herald:

At the 2017 general election the Conservatives secured 12% of the vote share - a figure that increased to 15% at the 2019 general election.  

Thomas Kerr, their candidate, Kerr currently serves as the Scottish Conservative councillor for the Shettleston Ward, having first been elected to the position in 2017. 

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He was subsequently re-elected in 2022 for his second term and took over the leadership of the Glasgow Conservative group in 2019 after serving as deputy for two years. 

He sits on a number of committees and was also chair of the Tory Reform Group. According to his profile on the Conservative website, he has a “keen interest in development, the economy, jobs and growth” in Glasgow. 

During the campaign, he said he would be a “straight-talker who'll get on with the job”.  

He vocally backed the current UK Government during election debates, and said although he understood “times are tough”, inflation was a global issue and was being felt across the world due to factors such as the war in Ukraine. 

“What the Chancellor and Prime Minister are doing is focusing on the job. Labour doesn’t have a plan for any of this stuff," Kerr said. 

Results in full: 

Michael Shanks (Lab) 17,845 (58.55%, +24.08%)
Katy Loudon (SNP) 8,399 (27.56%, -16.64%)
Thomas Kerr (C) 1,192 (3.91%, -11.06%)
Gloria Adebo (LD) 895 (2.94%, -2.25%)
Cameron Eadie (Green) 601 (1.97%)
David Stark (Reform) 403 (1.32%)
Niall Fraser (Scot Family) 319 (1.05%)
Bill Bonnar (SSP) 271 (0.89%)
Colette Walker (IFS) 207 (0.68%)
Christopher Sermanni (TUSC) 178 (0.58%)
Andrew Daly (Ind) 81 (0.27%)
Ewan Hoyle (Volt) 46 (0.15%)
Emperor of India Prince Ankit Love (ND) 34 (0.11%)
Garry Cooke (ND) 6 (0.02%)

Lab maj 9,446 (30.99%) — 20.36% swing SNP to Lab

Electorate 82,104; Turnout 30,477 (37.12%, -29.36%)

2019: SNP maj 5,230 (9.72%) – Turnout 53,794 (66.48%)
Ferrier (SNP) 23,775 (44.20%); Killen (Lab Co-op) 18,545 (34.47%);
Nailon (C) 8,054 (14.97%); McGeever (LD) 2,791 (5.19%); Mackay (UKIP)
629 (1.17%)