Vote for Reform... wake up to SNP win, warns Ruth Davidson ahead of a crunch by-election

By MICHAEL BLACKLEY, SCOTTISH DAILY MAIL POLITICAL EDITOR Published: 18:16, 12 June 2026 | Updated: 18:16, 12 June 2026 Former Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson has warned pro-UK voters in a crunch by-election that they risk letting in an SNP MP if they back other parties like Reform UK. The House of Lords peer urged voters in Aberdeen South to unite behind Tory candidate Douglas Lumsden to hand John Swinney a humiliating defeat in the seat previously held by former SNP Westminster leader Stephen Flynn. She said constituents need an MP who will relentlessly champion the oil and gas industry. But Reform UK’s candidate in the knife-edge by-election said both the SNP and Tories have let down oil and gas workers. Ms Davidson will be campaigning in the seat over this weekend in a bid to persuade pro-Union voters to back her party. Ahead of her visit, she said: ‘Aberdeen South’s next MP will either be a Scottish Conservative MP, in Douglas Lumsden, who will relentlessly champion the oil and gas industry, or an SNP MP who will only accelerate the decline of the North Sea.  'No other party can beat the SNP here. That is why pro-UK voters in Aberdeen South must unite on Thursday and vote for Douglas Lumsden to be their new MP. ‘If they vote for any other party, including Reform, then they will wake up on Friday morning with another SNP MP.’ Former Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson will be campaigning in Aberdeen South to persuade pro-Union voters to back her party In last month’s Holyrood elections, the Tories endured heavy losses and fell from 31 seats after the 2021 vote to just 12. Reform UK secured 17 seats, putting it in joint second place with Labour, while the SNP won 58 seats despite a huge slump in its vote share compared to 2021. But the Tories are pushing hard to begin their fightback by defeating SNP candidate Richard Thomson, a former MP, in Aberdeen South. Mr Lumsden said: ‘I’m delighted Ruth is going to be joining me on the campaign trail again with the vote just a few days away. ‘This by-election is personal for me having worked in the industry for 25 years. I’m angry about what anti-oil-and-gas SNP and Labour politicians are doing to this city. ‘If all pro-UK voters unite behind me then Aberdeen South can have an MP who will always stand up for oil and gas workers and back plans to get Britain drilling again.’ Losing the by-election could pile pressure on SNP leader John Swinney in the wake of the Peter Murrell scandal.  The SNP plunged from 48 seats at Westminster following the 2019 general election to only nine at the 2024 general election. Duncan Massey, Reform MSP for North East Scotland, said: ‘It is fact that Reform UK Scotland is more committed to Scotland’s oil and gas sector than any other party.  Only Jo Hart can be trusted to stand up for Scotland’s energy workers, defend the North Sea and challenge the failed SNP-Tory consensus that has let the sector down for far too long.’ The comments below have not been moderated. The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.