By-Election Special
Live News
This video can not be played
Votes are being counted in the crucial Makerfield by-election, where turnout was just under 59%
Results are expected in the early hours of Friday morning – you can follow live coverage on this page
The by-election was triggered by the resignation of Labour MP Josh Simons. Labour's Andy Burnham is trying to return to Westminster – if he wins, he's expected to challenge Keir Starmer for the Labour leadership
His nearest challenger in Makerfield is expected to be Reform's Robert Kenyon
I would say without hesitation this is the most important by-election in my lifetime, writes our political editor Chris Mason
Meanwhile, the Conservatives comfortably win the Aberdeen South by-election, while the SNP holds Arbroath and Broughty Ferry
Edited by Angus Thompson and Owen Amos, with Chris Mason and Harry Farley in Makerfield, and James Cook in Aberdeen
SNP candidate Lara Bird (second left) is announced as the winner of the Arbroath and Broughty Ferry by-election
The SNP's new MP for Arbroath and Broughty Ferry, Lara Bird, tells her constituents she is ready to get to work.
She says that the by-election was "about the future we want for Scotland".
Bird adds that once again it has made clear that Scotland's future "lies with independence".
She says that "with every day that passes I become more certain that we will win our nation's independence".
The Conservatives' Douglas Lumsden – the winner of the Aberdeen South by-election – has described the the vote as a referendum on the oil and gas industry.
He says during his victory speech the Conservatives have "sent Labour the message that destruction of the North Sea oil and gas industry must stop now".
"I promise I will be a strong voice for the city, standing up for you and your livelihood against shortsighted policies," he says, thanking his friends, supporters and volunteers.
The SNP's Lara Bird has won the Arbroath and Broughty Ferry by-election.
We'll bring you more on the vote share shortly.
The returning officer is announcing the result for the Arbroath and Broughty Ferry by-election.
You can watch or listen at the top of the page by pressing the "watch & listen" tab.
Douglas Lumsden wins Aberdeen South with a majority of more than 6,000 votes.
The SNP's Stephen Flynn was the MP before winning a seat in the Scottish Parliament this year.
Conservative Party candidate Douglas Lumsden wins the seat for Aberdeen South.
We'll bring you more details on the vote share shortly.
Watch live in our stream at the top of the page.
Louise Cowie
BBC Scotland reporter at the count in Arbroath
They’re about to start adjudicating here, meaning a result shouldn't be too far away.
Senior Labour MP Louise Haigh says that she is "quietly confident" that Labour has won the Makerfield by-election.
Speaking from the count she tells the BBC's Laura Kuenssberg that she does not want to pre-empt the result but she is "optimistic and confident about the result here".
Haigh says she expects the result will be clear in around an hour.
The SNP's Stephen Flynn has said that it is "a tough night in Aberdeen that some will need to reflect on, quite heavily".
In a post on X he sends his commiserations to his party's candidate Richard Thomson and congratulates Douglas Lumsden, the Conservative candidate.
"We lost Aberdeen South to the Tories in 2017, and we won it back two years later," he says.
"I’ve no doubt that we can do so again. If we get things right."
Flynn was the MP for Aberdeen South before winning a seat in the Scottish Parliament this year.
Harry Farley
Political correspondent at the Makerfield count
Labour sources believe the high turnout in the Makerfield by-election is good for them.
They say it is roughly what they were expecting, meaning they believe they roughly know how many votes they expect to get.
One source close to Andy Burnham was cautiously optimistic at the start of the night. I’ve just spoken to them again and they say are even more confident now.
Remember it’s still early days in the counting process and none of this is confirmed. But certainly people in Labour circles here seem chipper.
Restore Britain's leader Rupert Lowe says his party is "bringing people back to vote who haven't voted for a long time".
Lowe, who was elected as a Reform MP in 2024 before launching Restore, says he is "encouraged" by the support his party has.
Speaking from the count in Wigan, he tells the BBC's Laura Kuenssberg he's confident they'll get "much higher" than a suggestion of 2%.
"I think there's an enthusiasm for what we're doing," the Great Yarmouth MP says, adding that the high turnout of 58.75% "should be good" for the party.
Responding to Lowe, Reform's Danny Kruger says he gets the impression Restore's appeal is "largely online" though adds "it may be they do better than expected".
But the PA news agency is reporting that Restore Britain has not got as big a share of the vote as some had anticipated, according to a "Labour source".
James Cook
Scotland editor at the Aberdeen South count
Senior SNP source — “we have lost” Aberdeen South.
The SNP have accepted defeat in the Aberdeen South by-election, the PA news agency reports, with a senior source saying it is the "Tories’ night", but pledging to "win it back in 2029".
Our reporter at the count, Andrew Kerr, earlier said the Conservatives were "extremely positive".
Baroness Smith of Labour tells the BBC she's encouraged by the turnout following the official confirmation of 58.75% eligible voters casting their ballot.
"If we've managed to get that many Labour voters to go out and it's made the difference, that could be good news for us," she says.
But Reform's Danny Kruger refers to earlier remarks by Sir John Curtice, who says high turnouts occur in by-elections when there is an insurgent party, "and that's what's happening now".
"Whatever does happen though it seems obvious we've done extremely well," he says.
Voted being counted in Wigan for the Makerfield by-election
Andrew Kerr
BBC Scotland political correspondent at the Aberdeen South count
Shadow Scottish Secretary Andrew Bowie on BBC
The shadow Scottish Secretary Andrew Bowie was live on our TV programme when the Conservative Party chairman Kevin Hollinrake received a message saying his party had won the Aberdeen South seat.
Bowie hadn't heard anything as definitive – and quickly pulled out his earpiece at the end of the interview just to check what colleagues were saying.
The Conservatives are extremely positive and are thinking it certainly looks like they've won – smiles all round for them.
Meanwhile, the SNP are looking very glum in the corner of the count hall.
The official turnout for the Makerfield by-election was 58.75%, with 45,510 votes being cast.
Louise Cowie
BBC Scotland reporter at the count in Arbroath
In Arbroath and Broughty Ferry, the turnout has been confirmed as 31.36% – that is 23,827 voters.James Cook
Scotland editor, at the count in Aberdeen
The last time the Conservatives gained a Westminster seat in a Scottish by-election was 1967 – the year the Beatles released Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.
It looks like that long streak is about to end.
Both sides seem pretty certain that the Tories have won this seat. There are lots of glum Scottish National Party faces at the Aberdeen South count and plenty of Conservative smiles.
The SNP candidate, Richard Thomson, looks particularly disconsolate.
If victory for the Conservative candidate, Douglas Lumsden, is confirmed, it will be a boost for the party’s UK leader, Kemi Badenoch who visited Aberdeen South three times, campaigning hard on a promise to support the flagging oil and gas industry, which is based here.
Copyright © 2026 BBC. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking.
About the Author
