The Scottish Conservative Party captured the Aberdeen South Westminster seat from the Scottish National Party on 18-19 June 2026, marking the party's first Westminster by-election victory in more than 50 years. Douglas Lumsden won with 14,308 votes, representing 49.6% of the total, against 28.6% for the SNP's Richard Thomson, delivering a majority of more than 6,000 votes. Reform UK finished third with 2,478 votes. On the same night, the SNP retained the Arbroath and Broughty Ferry Westminster seat, where SNP candidate Lara Bird won with 9,802 votes, ahead of the Conservatives on 4,524 and Reform UK on 4,341.
Both Westminster seats had been vacated by SNP politicians who moved to Holyrood. Aberdeen South was formerly held by SNP Westminster leader Stephen Flynn, who stood down after being elected as a Member of the Scottish Parliament and appointed Secretary for Economy, Tourism and Transport. The Aberdeen South campaign centred on North Sea oil and gas policy. Following the declaration, Lumsden said 'the people of Aberdeen have given a resounding answer: that we back the oil and gas industry' [Source: GB News].
The result comes against a difficult backdrop for the SNP. On 25 May 2026, former SNP chief executive Peter Murrell pleaded guilty at Edinburgh High Court to embezzling £400,310.65 from the party between August 2010 and October 2022. Murrell used party funds to purchase items including a £124,550 motorhome and a Jaguar I-Pace worth more than £81,000, falsifying accounting records and creating fake invoices. He was remanded in custody following his guilty plea and is due to be sentenced in June 2026. On 3 June 2026, First Minister John Swinney admitted that the £667,000 ring-fenced 'independence fighting fund' had been spent on general party business.
The Aberdeen South result represents a notable reversal from the 2024 general election, at which the SNP held the seat with a 3,758-vote majority over Labour. The SNP nonetheless secured a fifth consecutive term at the 7 May 2026 Scottish Parliament election, winning 58 seats, though that total left the party seven short of a Holyrood majority. Labour and Reform UK were tied at 17 seats each in that contest.
Sources: Sky News, BBC News, GB News, Bloomberg, ITV News, PollCheck, Wikipedia