Newly elected Reform councillor sends firm message after breakthrough victory in Scotland: ‘Old parties are dead!’
Newly elected Reform UK councillor David McLennan has declared that the “old parties are dead” after securing a decisive breakthrough victory in West Lothian.
Mr McLennan said the result showed voters across Scotland had finally “had enough of the ideological parties that came before” and were actively seeking something different.
The comments come after Reform UK has secured its first-ever electoral victory in Scotland, marking what the party feel is a breakthrough moment north of the border.
Mr McLennan claimed the Whitburn and Blackburn seat on West Lothian Council after Thursday’s by-election, garnering 1,177 first-preference votes under the single transferable vote system.
The SNP finished second with 1,028 votes, while Scottish Labour trailed in third place on just 627, a result that saw Reform nearly double Labour’s tally.
The Scottish Conservatives managed only 129 votes, with the Liberal Democrats on 102 and the Greens on 101.
The contest was triggered by the resignation of Davy Russell, who departed to take up his seat as MSP for Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse.
Speaking to GB News after his victory, Mr McLennan said that he was “quietly confident” that he would win the election.
Mr McLennan said that he was “quietly confidant” that he would win the election.
| GB NEWS
GB News host Mark White said: “In terms of the trajectory here, your victory is clearly an important one.
“Do you think it genuinely heralds a turning of the corner, a sea change, and that we could now see many more breakthroughs for Reform as we move towards next May’s Scottish Parliament elections?
Mr McLennan responded: “I think the interesting thing from today’s numbers was Labour’s showing or lack of it.
“We won by a massive majority over Labour, which is a complete shift from last year. If that’s the direction we’re heading in for next May, Scottish Labour really do have something to worry about.”
