Overview
- Douglas Lumsden won Aberdeen South with about 14,308 votes to the SNP’s roughly 8,258, overturning the seat on June 19 and delivering the Conservatives their first Scottish Westminster by‑election gain since the late 1960s.
- Campaigning in the constituency centred on North Sea oil and gas, and Conservatives argued their plan to open new licences and cut levies would protect local jobs.
- Party sources and exit analysis say concentrated Tory resources, repeated visits by leader Kemi Badenoch and significant tactical unionist voting collapsed the SNP’s vote from 15,213 in 2024 to around 8,258 in the by‑election.
- The result came as Peter Murrell’s guilty plea for embezzling more than £400,000 hung over the SNP during the campaign, and the party’s leaders have pledged to 'consider the implications' of the defeat.
- In the second Scottish contest the SNP held Arbroath & Broughty Ferry with Lara Bird elected, and the Aberdeen outcome raises immediate questions about UK energy policy, Labour’s position on new drilling, and jobs in the north‑east energy sector.