THE amount spent by each party in the Rutherglen and Hamilton West by-election has been revealed.
The hotly contested Westminster seat, where Labour won its second Scottish MP, saw scores of activists from all parties hitting doorsteps for months in the run-up to the ballot on October 5.
And now, more than a month after Michael Shanks won the contest over the SNP’s Katy Loudon, the amount each party spent has been reported by the Daily Record.
The figures showed that the SNP spent the most, £95,997, compared to Labour who spent £81,877.
Shanks won the seat by 9446 votes over Loudon, with 17,845 to the South Lanarkshire councillor’s 8399. This represented a swing of 20.4% from the SNP to Labour.
The seat had previously been held by Margaret Ferrier, prior to her suspension from the party benches and subsequent recall petition which removed her as an MP, after she was found to have broken Covid-19 rules.
Only the SNP and Scottish Labour had their deposits returned out of the 14 candidates who stood in the vote, as the majority did not return more than 5% of the vote.
The SNP’s campaign team spent £41,800 on advertising, £30,657 on unsolicited materials sent to voters, £9995 on administration and accommodation and £7544 on “agent and other costs”.
A total of £17,175 was spent on an “election address”, £3000 to Jack McKelvie for services, and £10,469 on a “voter survey”.
For Loudon’s hub just off Rutherglen Main Street, the party paid £2390 in rent to TNT, £3500 on “refurbishment” and £573 on carpet.
Meanwhile, Labour spent £22,709 on unsolicited materials to advertisers, £15,020 on advertising and £5300 on transport.
They paid out £3805 on public meetings, £30,847 on “agent and other staff costs” as well as £4194 on administration and accommodation.
Labour headquarters at Rushworth Street in London was reportedly listed as the supplier for a number of items.
Meanwhile, the Tories spent £13,533 on candidate Thomas Kerr’s campaign. He only returned 1192 votes.
We told how First Minister Humza Yousaf said the by-election had been a “disappointing night” for the party.
