Arguing the by-election was a “turning point” for Scottish Labour, party leader Anas Sarwar said: “I think the clear message is that people are sick of two failing governments, two incompetent, divisive governments, and people are demanding change.
“And they can now see that the only vehicle for that change is the Scottish Labour Party and Scotland can lead the way in delivering a UK Labour Government.”
Pressed on what the result means for the general election and Sir Keir Starmer, he said: “I’ll just say this is I believe a seismic moment – I think it is a significant point in Scotland’s political history.
“And I think this is going to have huge reverberations as we head towards that next general election. But we need to wait for the official declaration.”
He said Labour was “really confident” of gaining a strong result, saying: “That can be a springboard going into the next election.
Although the turnout was low, he said it was higher than that in the Airdrie and Shotts by-election in 2021.