Reform UK wins first Scottish council by-election in Whitburn and Blackburn, signaling shift in West Lothian
Voters in a former mining town back Reform UK amid concerns over costs, migration and services as Holyrood race looms
Reform UK won a council by-election in Whitburn and Blackburn, West Lothian, marking the party’s first electoral triumph in Scotland and signaling a potential reshaping of the political dynamic ahead of next May’s Holyrood election. The outcome came just days before the Scottish contest, where the SNP and Labour are the dominant forces in most council chambers. West Lothian’s 33 council seats are split with the SNP and Labour controlling the bulk, and the by-election result does not alter that balance, but it does introduce a new factor into the campaign.
In Whitburn, a town between Glasgow and Edinburgh long shaped by coal and manufacturing, residents described a shared sentiment of being fed up with politics as usual, a mood many attributed to rising costs, concerns about migration, and perceived stagnation in public services. The by-election win for Reform UK comes as polls in Scotland have at times placed the party in second place behind the SNP and on par with Labour, suggesting it could win a noticeable number of seats at Holyrood next year even as the current council makeup remains SNP- and Labour-dominated.
At the town’s popular Andy’s Coffee House on Whitburn’s main street, supporters of Reform UK were visible, and owner Andy Valentini said he allowed leaflets from Labour, the SNP and Reform to be distributed in his café during the campaign. He noted that Reform material appeared to be the most picked up by customers and argued the country needs sizable change to address rising energy costs and business pressures. Valentini, who has faced electricity bills rising from about 300 pounds to 900 pounds a month in recent years, said he wants the next government to curb what he regards as excessive regulatory and tax burdens. He also spoke in favor of tighter controls on migration, even as he emphasized lawful immigration and recounted his grandfather’s arrival from Italy to Scotland.
Darren Ainslie, who stopped by the café on his way to collect waste, said many locals feel economically squeezed and believe the nation’s politicians have not listened. He said small boats and asylum-seeker housing are among the issues people discuss, and that Reform’s emphasis on tightening immigration, along with broader reforms, could resonate with voters who want change. Ainslie said he plans to back Reform at the next Holyrood election if he sees a clear plan to address the cost of living and public service pressures.
Not everyone in Whitburn welcomed those arguments. Susan Snow, a former health-care worker now retired, told the BBC Scotland team she was uneasy about Reform and questioned Nigel Farage’s sincerity. Others cautioned that Reform’s platform could echo the 1930s era politics and raised concerns about how inclusive the party’s policies would be in practice. Several residents who spoke to reporters described themselves as feeling underserved by current political choices and expressed a broad frustration with the status quo, even if they did not uniformly back Reform.
The local mood around Whitburn mirrors a wider national thread: voters expressing discontent with public services, from the NHS to potholes, and a perception that the benefits bill and migration policy are not being adequately addressed. In the immediate aftermath of the by-election, the SNP said its campaign focused on addressing the real challenges faced by communities, while Scottish Labour acknowledged voter frustration but urged voters to consider alternatives beyond Reform and the SNP.
The by-election outcome adds a new dimension to conversations about Scotland’s political future. National polls have shown Reform UK as a rising force, occasionally placing it in second behind the SNP and sometimes matching Labour’s level of support. Analysts say the result in Whitburn could foreshadow how issues like energy costs, public services, and immigration will shape the Holyrood campaign, even as the SNP and Labour remain the dominant players in most councils.
Industry and small-business owners in Whitburn described a difficult economic climate. A frequent concern was rising electricity costs, with some operators reporting substantial increases that threaten sustainability. The discussions in the town also touched on the UK government’s stated aim to end the practice of housing asylum seekers in hotels by the time of the next general election, a policy position that intersects with local anxieties about housing and public services. Reform UK’s focus on what party officials describe as a need for stricter migration controls and a pro-business agenda appears to have found a receptive audience among a segment of Whitburn residents who say the established parties have not delivered.
The results from Whitburn and Blackburn come amid a broader conversation in Scotland about how to balance economic needs with social policy, and how to respond to rapid global and domestic changes. Politically, the outcome reinforces the unpredictability of Scotland’s electoral climate, where a shift at the margins could complicate arrangements for governance if Reform UK seeks to convert local momentum into Holyrood seats.
As Scotland heads toward its May election, observers will weigh Whitburn’s result against broader polling and regional heartlands where Reform UK has seen pockets of strength. If the party sustains momentum, it could complicate the SNP’s path to a second consecutive majority and alter how parties prioritize their local and national messages. In Whitburn, residents will watch closely to see whether the by-election victory translates into durable support or remains a localized anomaly tied to a moment of frustration with the status quo.
The West Lothian by-election result provides a concrete data point for this political moment, even as voters continue to grapple with immediate concerns about cost of living, public services, and the paths for legal and orderly migration. The road to Holyrood is long, and in Whitburn and Blackburn, as in communities across Scotland, residents say they want politics to deliver tangible improvements in daily life. Whether Reform UK can translate a local victory into broader, sustained influence remains one of the central questions shaping the coming campaign season.
