General election 2024: Western Isles turns red with first Labour win in 19 years

Torcuil Crichton won in the Outer Hebrides on a great night for his party - and a bad result for the SNP.

By Andy Philip

July 5 2024, 5:29 am

Labour candidate for the Western Isles, Torcuil Crichton.

Labour has won the Western Isles constituency of Na h-Eileanan an Iar after a gap of nearly 20 years.

Torcuil Crichton won the seat on a strong night for his party, and on a tough night for his nationalist challengers.

The SNP vote appeared split between former MP Angus MacNeil, who was booted out of the party in a row with leadership, and its own candidate Susan Thomson.

Labour held the Outer Hebrides until 2005, and have consistently picked up at least a quarter of the vote when trailing the SNP since then.

Mr Crichton won 6,692 votes compared with the the SNP’s 2,856. Mr MacNeil, standing as an independent, won 1,370 votes.

Angus MacNeil, who stood as a pro-independence candidate. — Angus MacNeil stood as a pro-independence candidate after leaving the SNP. Image supplied.

Before the election, Mr Crichton said he wants to move the debate away from the internal strife of the independence movement and focus on local issues.

Communities are suffering from depopulation, a local housing shortage, fraying public services and difficulties accessing healthcare, he says.

The win was declared in Stornoway just as Sir Keir Starmer was able to claim overall victory for Labour in the UK.

Rishi Sunak, who held his seat, conceded earlier on a grim night for Conservatives which saw major players lose while Nigel Farage’s Reform party surged.