Russell wins with 8,559 votespublished at 01:38 British Summer Time 6 June
The number of votes for the top three parties were:
Ross Lambie, Reform UK – 7,088
Katy Loudon, SNP - 7,957
Davy Russell, Scottish Labour – 8,559
Summary
Labour narrowly defeats the SNP to win the by-election in Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse, with Reform coming a close third
Davy Russell won the Scottish Parliamentary seat by just over 600 votes - see the full results
Introducing himself as an MSP, Russell says politicians have not been delivering for the people of South Lanarkshire and promises to bring their voice to Holyrood
Prime Minister Keir Starmer hails a "fantastic victory", saying "people in Scotland had once again voted for change" - here's how other parties are reacting
Labour's position has slipped in opinion polls in recent months, so this result will be a massive boost to party activists and politicians, our correspondent David Wallace Lockhart writes
The result was keenly awaited as it is less than a year until the Scottish Parliament election
Reform were the other big winner of the night - if they can do half as well in the contest next May, they can expect to have their first MSPs elected and gain a significant foothold at Holyrood, writes Scotland political editor Glenn Campbell
The by-election was held following the death of the SNP's Christina McKelvie
Watch: Davy Russell elected MSP for Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse
Russell wins with 8,559 votespublished at 01:38 British Summer Time 6 June
Scottish Labour win Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse electionpublished at 01:34 British Summer Time 6 June
BreakingDavy Russell is the new MSP for Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse
Declaration about to be madepublished at 01:32 British Summer Time 6 June
The candidates are on the stage to hear the result.
Where is the swagger of optimism?published at 01:30 British Summer Time 6 June
David Wallace Lockhart
BBC Scotland political correspondent at the count in HamiltonSometimes, by this point at a count, you have a fairly good idea of who has won.
It can be the case that one party is wearing much bigger smiles than the others, and there’s a bit of swagger and optimism around one set of activists.
That’s simply not the case here. It feels like the SNP and Labour are both genuinely unsure who has won.
It’s hard to go five minutes without hearing the phrase “too close to call”.
SNP's McAllan: This result is 'on a knife-edge'published at 01:29 British Summer Time 6 June
The Scottish government's net zero and energy secretary Mairi McAllan tells BBC Scotland the SNP always believed tonight's vote was "on a knife-edge" between themselves, Labour and Reform UK.
This is despite John Swinney's comments previously when he referred to the by-election being a "two-horse race" between the SNP and Reform.
McAllan says those remarks were due to hearing locally that Labour struggled with their campaign, bringing up candidate Davy Russell declining to appear at debates.
She adds that Reform "must be resisted" and that the SNP will tackle Nigel Farage's party "square-on", something she claims Labour are not doing.
When will we get a result?published at 01:24 British Summer Time 6 June
Our political correspondent Lynsey Bews is at the count and she is being told we could have a result by 01:40, so not long to go.
How times have changed for the Toriespublished at 01:20 British Summer Time 6 June
David Wallace Lockhart
BBC Scotland political correspondentThis is the sort of seat where the Conservatives have put in a respectable showing in recent years. They came third with around 18% of the vote back in 2021.
But times have changed. Now the party is talking about holding onto their deposit (which requires getting 5% of the vote).
Even that may be a tall ask for them tonight.
'I think we're going to get a disappointing result' - Tory MSP Hoypublished at 01:17 British Summer Time 6 June
Back in the BBC Scotland studio, Tory MSP Craig Hoy is asked if his party's candidate, Richard Nelson, will lose his deposit tonight.
"This was always going to be a challenging election for us," he replies.
"I think we're going to get a disappointing result tonight.
"By-elections have a national flavour to them and we're still dealing with the backwash of the tail-end of the last Conservative government."
He its there is a lot of work to be done to "rebuild and restore trust".
Nonsense to suggest Reform is a racist party, says Ticepublished at 01:14 British Summer Time 6 June
James Cook
Scotland editor at the count in HamiltonThe deputy leader of Reform UK, Richard Tice, says there should be a "national debate" about whether or not to ban the burka.
Tice refused to say what his position would be in such a debate.
His comments came as he arrived at the Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse by-election following Zia Yusuf's resignation as Reform UK chairman over the matter.
Speaking to journalists at the count, Tice denied that the implication of Yusuf’s resignation was that Reform was a racist party, calling the suggestion “nonsense”.
Tice insists Reform not in chaos after Yusuf quitspublished at 01:04 British Summer Time 6 June
David Wallace Lockhart
Political correspondent at the count in HamiltonSpeaking at the count, Reform UK deputy leader Richard Tice says it’s “very sad” that Zia Yusuf has resigned as the party’s chairman.
Tice insists the party is not in chaos and is doing “rather well”.
In his resignation announcement, Yusuf said working to get the party elected was no longer "a good use of my time", having ed the party less than a year ago.
It came after he said it was "dumb" for the party's newest MP to call on Sir Keir Starmer to ban the burka.
Asked if the burka should be banned, Tice said “let’s have a discussion”.
Reform deputy leader Tice arrives at the countpublished at 00:58 British Summer Time 6 June
Image source, PA MediaImage caption, Richard Tice has arrived for the count in Hamilton
The deputy leader of Reform UK, Richard Tice, has just arrived at the count in Hamilton.
The Boston and Skegness MP is swiftly swarmed by a media scrum, after a day which saw the party's chairman Zia Yusuf resign from the role.
How Reform were accused of 'blatant racism' over Sarwar adpublished at 00:54 British Summer Time 6 June
Image source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Reform UK leader Nigel Farage defended the use of the controversial advert
This has been an extremely controversial election campaign - with accusations of racism and sectarianism being traded by party leaders.
Scottish Labour described a Reform UK social media advert featuring Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar as "blatantly racist".
The online video posted ahead of the by-election in South Lanarkshire featured text which said: "Anas Sarwar has said he will prioritise the Pakistani community".
Image source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar attacked Reform UK's tactics
Labour accused Reform of questioning Sarwar's "identity, loyalty and belonging".
Reform insisted the advert was not racist and said it had no plans to remove it.
The advert has been condemned by other political parties across Scotland.
Reform's McDade defends controversial advertpublished at 00:53 British Summer Time 6 June
Reform's Helen McDade is asked about the controversial social media advert the party ran, focused around claiming Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar wanted to prioritise Scots with Asian backgrounds.
It was a speech worthy of "examining", she says, and that she is "perfectly proud" of the advert as a whole, with other lists shaking their heads as she speaks.
McDade goes on to say that the issue was about not letting people "pick and choose" what their children are taught in school, and that the advert was focused on education, as Sarwar's comments were "interesting".
She adds that Reform politicians are more "under threat" than any other party, due to comments suggesting the party is racist. She denies Reform has any issue with racism.
'We shouldn't get ahead of ourselves' - SNP's Robertsonpublished at 00:45 British Summer Time 6 June
Image source, PA Media"For a start, who knows">"I think we shouldn't get ahead of ourselves."
Labour 'always believed' it was two horse racepublished at 00:40 British Summer Time 6 June
Labour MSP Paul O'Kane says his party always believed this would be a two horse race between Labour and the SNP, and took no notice of Reform's surge elsewhere in the UK.
He says it's been "other people talking up Reform", in a dig at the SNP campaign.
The MSP adds that the decision for Labour candidate Davy Russell not to appear on any televised debates did not hinder his campaign, as he was out talking to local people on the doorsteps instead.
"Davy Russell's been an excellent candidate, and the reason is because he is from the constituency - he was born in Quarter and grew up in Hamilton, and knows the constituency inside out", says O'Kane.
Voting appears to be reflecting Scotland-wide polls, says Curticepublished at 00:27 British Summer Time 6 June
Professor Sir John Curtice tells BBC Scotland what appears to be happening in Hamilton mirrors what the most recent Scotland-wide polls have been telling us.
"They basically say first of all that the SNP is well down on what it was in 2021," the politics professor and polling expert says.
Across Scotland the SNP are now running at around 33%, 15 points down from where they were in 2021, he says.
That could translate to around 31% of the vote in this by-election.
"It wasn't a particularly good year for Labour," Sir John tells Martin Geisler on BBC Scotland's by-election special.
They are also down at roughly 31% which means this should be a close contest between these two parties.
A deeply weird by-electionpublished at 00:21 British Summer Time 6 June
Phil Sim
BBC Scotland political correspondentAt times this has been a deeply weird by-election campaign, one fit for the modern age of contested truths and alternative facts.
The parties can’t even agree on who is in contention, with the SNP insisting it’s a straight fight between themselves and Reform, Reform saying they’re battling for second place, and Labour desperate to eclipse them both.
It’s like they’ve been campaigning in their own individual bubbles, without a shared reality underpinning them.
There are of course good political reasons for these differing portrayals.
The SNP calculate that Reform are more likely to take votes from Labour and the Tories, so are happy to talk them up - and they also like the idea of Nigel Farage as a bogeyman to motivate their own base.
Reform recognise that their key popularity is as a protest vote, a way for the scunnered to send a message to the establishment. Signalling that they are unlikely win makes them a safer option for unhappy voters of all stripes.
That said they also made a splash by very deliberately courting controversy with a social media ad attacking Anas Sarwar - a similar tactic to the famous Brexit bus with its claims about funding for the NHS, goading opponents into talking about them and their preferred topics.
Labour meanwhile have run a completely different style of campaign, a more old-fashioned one focused almost entirely on the ground game of pounding pavements and knocking on doors.
Their candidate did so few broadcast interviews that the party was accused of hiding him away.
The question is, which of these disparate realities will end up chiming with that of the electorate?
SNP and Labour are sticking to the 'too close to call' linepublished at 00:10 British Summer Time 6 June
Lynsey Bews
BBC Scotland political correspondent at the count in HamiltonThe same message is coming out from the SNP and Scottish Labour - this vote is too close to call.
Labour had been written off in some quarters, saying they would slip to third behind Reform.
But they think they are in with a shot of winning this seat.
A reminder of the 10 candidates waiting to hear their fatepublished at 23:58 British Summer Time 5 June
Image source, PA MediaIf you're just ing us, counting is well under way in the Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse by-election.
The election was called following the death of SNP MSP Christina McKelvie in March.
There are a total of 10 candidates bidding to become the next MSP..
They are:
- Collette Bradley - Scottish Socialist Party
- Andy Brady - Scottish Family Party
- Ross Lambie - Reform UK
- Katy Loudon - SNP
- Janice Mackay - UK Independence Party
- Ann McGuinness - Scottish Green Party
- Aisha Mir - Scottish Liberal Democrats
- Richard Nelson - Scottish Conservative
- Davy Russell - Scottish Labour
- Marc Wilkinson - Independent
The result is expected to be called between 01:00 and 02:00.
Stick with us for all the updates and full analysis.
And , you can watch our BBC Scotland by-election special from midnight by clicking on the Watch Live icon at the top of this page.
Keeping an eye on the count...published at 23:54 British Summer Time 5 June
Image source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Counting agents gather to watch the votes be tallied up
Party are keeping a close eye on proceedings at the Hamilton count.
Among those watching is Scottish Labour's deputy leader Jackie Bailie and regional MSP Monica Lennon, who will be hoping for early indications that their party's candidate, Davy Russell, has performed well.
Counting agents are not allowed to touch any of the ballot papers, but will simply observe the count itself and help ensure proper procedures are followed.
