Politics latest: Starmer hails 'fantastic victory' in Scotland by-election - as Reform UK surges

SNP leader: We've made progress since the general election - but not enough

In the wake of last night's by-election defeat, the SNP leader has told Sky News that his party has "made some progress since the election last summer, but not enough".

Speaking to our political correspondent Rob Powell after losing the seat of Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse, First Minister John Swinney said the "blunt reality" is that they have "got to make more progress" ahead of next year's Holyrood elections.

Swinney was challenged by Rob on what it says about the SNP that they can't defeat Scottish Labour, despite the unpopularity of Sir Keir Starmer's government in Westminster.

He replied: "The Labour government at Westminster and the Labour Party have suffered a calamitous fall in their share of the vote - they're down 20% on where they were last year.

"The SNP's made some progress, but not enough, and we've got to make further progress before the elections next year."

It was 'absolutely right' to describe by-election as two-horse race, Swinney insists after defeat

In the days leading up to the Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse by-election, SNP leader John Swinney argued it was a two-horse race between the SNP and Reform UK, with Labour out of the running.

But as it turned out, Labour won the contest, and Nigel Farage's party surged to within just a few hundred votes of the SNP.

Asked by our political correspondent Rob Powell what he got wrong, the first minister replied: "What we could see on the doorsteps is what has really transpired in this election. The Labour vote was collapsing, and it has since the election last summer, and the Reform vote was rising significantly.

"So the warning I gave to voters last week was absolutely correct because Labour were falling and Reform were rising.

"The SNP was the party that I judged, on the basis of what I was seeing last week, was strong enough to defeat Reform."

He went on to say that "thankfully" the "poisonous politics of Farage" was defeated, but said Reform's appeal is a "warning for all of us".

"That means that people like me have got to make sure that we address the core priorities and concerns of members of the public in Scotland," he added.

Swinney also insisted that he is "taking Reform deadly seriously", labelling the party a "real threat to the values of our society, because they're offering easy solutions where those solutions don't exist".

His job, he said, is to "address the concerns and the anger that people feel in our society - principally about the cost of living, and the fact that people feel they're working harder for less".

"My government is trying to address those issues, but I recognise we've got to do more to make sure that we focus ever more on the concerns than the priorities of people in Scotland."

Starmer will be breathing a sigh of relief after clinching shock by-election victory

Anything other than a win for Labour would have been a humiliation in this contest.

It wasn't any old local by-election - this was a contest where Labour knew it could act as a mini barometer of Sir Keir Starmer's recent U-turn on winter fuel payments and become a test of how popular the politics of Nigel Farage are in Scotland.

Labour are power hungry and have, for a long time, set their sights on forming the next Scottish government.

The prime minister will this morning be breathing a sigh of relief after clinching this shock victory over the SNP and Reform UK.

This contest on the outskirts of Glasgow came at a time where Labour had been firefighting and grappling with polling suggesting they had blown their chances of ousting the SNP from power in Edinburgh after almost 20 years.

The SNP had a spring in their step during this campaign after a chaotic couple of years.

First Minister and SNP leader John Swinney had apparently stemmed the bleeding after the infamous police fraud investigation, endless fallout over gender identity reforms, and last year's general election where they were almost wiped out.

This result leaves them no further forward than 12 months ago, with questions over the party's strategy.

Badenoch to launch review of ECHR membership - but shadow home secretary says we should leave

Tory leader Kemi Badenoch is giving a speech at 11am to announce a commission to review the UK's international and domestic law around immigration.

She will suggest that the way the law is currently written prevents the UK from being able to deport foreign national offenders and failed asylum seekers.

We heard from the shadow home secretary, Chris Philp, on Sky News Breakfast, and he told Matt Barbet that the Tories are "increasingly of the view" that the UK needs to leave the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).

"The way that the Strasbourg court and actually domestic UK courts apply the European Convention means that some of the things that the British public elected parliament to do actually can't be done," he said.

"That applies to things like protecting veterans from vexatious prosecution, including things like oil and gas drilling, but it also applies to immigration, where, for example, we think every single foreign criminal in this country should be returned to their country of nationality - not some of them, but all of them. And the ECHR prevents that."

He went on to say the party does not want to "shoot from the hip and do this without proper thought", which is why they are announcing a "detailed legal review".

Matt asked Philp if he personally thinks we need to leave the ECHR, and he replied: "My view in principle is that we should, because we need to let the democratically elected parliament do what the public want us to do, which is control our borders and protect veterans and everything else.

"But I also agree that before we commit to that, we should have it properly, legally reviewed so that we know the full implications, we understand what the challenges are, we understand how those challenges can be overcome, we understand what it'll enable us to do."

'Obviously we have more work to do', says senior Tory after by-election pummelling

We've just been speaking with shadow home secretary Chris Philp, and we asked for his reaction to Reform UK surging in the Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse by-election overnight, and the Tories plummeting to fourth.

He insisted that the Tories are still relevant in Scotland, telling Sky's Matt Barbet: "The Conservatives are the opposition in the Scottish Parliament. And you know we are fighting hard in Scotland, as we are across the whole country."

He noted that in that particular constituency, the Tories have "always struggled", it being a Labour heartland historically.

"Obviously we have more work to do," he said. 

Philp also hit out at Reform UK after the party chairman, Zia Yusuf, abruptly quit his role last night.

The senior Tory described the party as a "one-man personality cult" around Nigel Farage "that seems to be falling apart".

He insisted that the Tories have "no obsession" with Reform UK, however.

A Reform source pointed out this morning that the Tories have had seven party chairmen since July 2022, which is one every five months on average.

The Wargame: New podcast simulates Russian attack on UK

A top team of former government ministers and military and security chiefs have taken part in a wargame that simulates a Russian attack on the UK for a new podcast series by Sky News and Tortoise Media.

As the government unveils its strategic defence review, the scenario is designed to test Britain's defences and national resilience at a time of mounting tensions with Russia.

It also explores the reliability - or otherwise - of key allies like the US.

The first two episodes will premiere on 10 June across Sky News.

Reform UK deputy leader hails 'seismic result' in Scotland by-election

While Labour emerged victorious in the Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse by-election, Reform UK surged into third place, winning 26.2% of the vote.

From a base of no seats at all, the insurgent right-wing party came just a few hundreds votes behind the governing party, the SNP, whose voted share plummeted.

The Scottish Conservatives won just 6% of the vote - although they were not expected to do well in the seat.

-SKY NEWS