With all the attention concentrated on Makerfield, it was easy to forget that two other by-elections were taking place yesterday, both in Scotland. In Arbroath and Broughty Ferry, a six per cent swing in their favour allowed the SNP to retain the seat, while in Aberdeen South the Tories recorded a thonking 25 per cent swing to topple the Nationalists. The voters have spoken. God knows what they’re saying.
Aberdeen, a city once swimming in oil wealth, had been battered by more than a decade of Net Zero fundamentalism
Arbroath is a tale of contentment with the SNP, or rather a willingness on the part of the voters to settle for the devil they know. This constituency was one of the few that remained loyal to John Swinney’s party in the 2024 general election, while dozens others returned to the Labour fold.
Events since might have convinced punters in Arbroath and the Ferry that they were right to stick with the yellow team. A fair old whack of the seats they lost two years ago would revert to the Nats if another general election were held tomorrow.
Not, however, Aberdeen South. I had a piece in the Daily Mail a few days ago, one of only a handful of articles the London papers have run about this particular by-election. The tl;dr (too long; didn’t read) summary was that Aberdeen, a city once swimming in oil wealth, had been battered by more than a decade of Net Zero fundamentalism. That the Granite City’s labour market had shrunk by ten per cent since 2010 and its housing market recorded the biggest house prices dip of anywhere in Scotland. Voters there had also kept the faith with the SNP in 2024 but they were increasingly desperate, while the Nationalists remained soldered to their Sturgeon-era hostility towards oil and gas exploration.
