Scottish Conservatives win Aberdeen South in first Westminster by-election victory in more than 50 years

The Scottish Conservatives have won the Westminster by-election in Aberdeen South, taking the seat from the SNP in a result that marks their first such victory in more than 50 years. The contest was triggered after the SNP's Stephen Flynn resigned from the House of Commons following his election to Holyrood. The result comes alongside a separate SNP hold in Arbroath and Broughty Ferry, where Lara Bird retained the seat for the party.

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Douglas Lumsden, a Scottish Conservative MSP and former oil and gas worker, won Aberdeen South by a margin of more than 6,000 votes. The Conservatives took more than half of all ballots cast, according to the reported result. Lumsden said his constituents had sent a message that the destruction of the oil and gas industry must stop now.

He is unable to sit in both parliaments because of the Holyrood ban on dual mandates, and is expected to resign from the Scottish Parliament after only six weeks following his re-election as a North East MSP. The Aberdeen South result is notable because it breaks a long run of Westminster by-election defeats for the Scottish Conservatives north of the border. The party last won a Westminster by-election in Scotland in 1973, when it held Edinburgh North, and had not gained a seat in such a contest since 1967.

The SNP victory in Arbroath and Broughty Ferry, meanwhile, gave the party a separate success on Scotland's east coast, with Bird winning by a majority of more than 5,000 votes over the Conservatives. The two by-elections were both caused by resignations from the House of Commons after MPs were elected to Holyrood. That makes the results part of a wider reshaping of representation between Scotland's devolved parliament and Westminster.

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They also come after the SNP won a comfortable victory at last month's Scottish election, but the party has since been affected by a scandal involving former chief executive Peter Murrell, who admitted in court to embezzling more than £400,000 of party funds over a 12-year period. For the Scottish Conservatives, the Aberdeen South win offers a rare electoral breakthrough and a claim that their message on the oil and gas sector is resonating in the north-east. For the SNP, holding Arbroath and Broughty Ferry limits the damage from losing Aberdeen South and shows the party remains competitive in other parts of the country.

Stephen Flynn, now Scotland's economy secretary, said on social media that it had been a tough night in Aberdeen and suggested the party could win the seat back again if it gets things right. What remains unclear is how far the Aberdeen South result will shift the wider political balance in Scotland, and whether it signals a lasting change in voter behaviour or a localised protest vote. Lumsden's move back to Holyrood will also need to be resolved quickly because of the dual mandate rules.

The next point to watch is whether either party can turn these by-election results into momentum ahead of future contests.

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