THE SNP saw off a new tactical voting challenge by supporters of pro-Unionist parties to hold a crucial Westminster parliamentary seat.
Anum Qaisar-Javed was elected MP for Airdrie and Shotts at Thursday’s by-election.
The by-election was called after her predecessor, Neil Gray, who had represented the area since 2015, was elected to Holyrood for the constituency last week.
Javed, a modern studies teacher, and a former Labour activist, becomes Scotland’s second-ever female Muslim MP.
Her win follows the SNP’s landslide victory in last week’s Scottish Parliament election – which saw the SNP’s Kaukab Stewart and Pam Gosal of the Scottish Conservatives become the country’s first women of colour to be elected to Holyrood.
READ MORE: Anum Qaisar-Javed pledges to be a role model for minorities after by-election win
The 28-year-old polled 10,129 votes, ahead of Labour candidate and North Lanarkshire councillor Kenneth Stevenson who came in second with 8372 votes, a majority of 1757.
Conservative candidate Ben Callaghan secured 2812 votes, with LibDem candidate Stephen Arrundale fourth with 220 votes. Turnout in the by-election was low at 34.3% and well below the record 63% turnout seen at last week’s Holyrood election.
The Tories and LibDem vote share were down by 5% and 3% respectively since the 2019 general election, with Labour’s up by 6.5% as Union supporters opted to back what they regarded as the pro-UK party most likely to beat the SNP.
The SNP’s vote share was up by 1.4%.
Tactical voting among Unionist voters was a significant issue at the Holyrood election in a number of marginal constituencies and SNP target seats.
Tory voters backed the Scottish Labour candidate in Dumbarton where Jackie Baillie increased her majority and in Edinburgh Southern.
In Eastwood former Scottish Tory leader Jackson Carlaw saw off an SNP challenge with Labour voters backing the Conservative.
Following her election, Javed said she would “fight for independence” and hopes to be a role model for others. She said: “I don’t just want women of colour to look at me, or people of colour, I want anyone from any minority group to be able to look at me and say ‘if she can do it, so can I’.”
In a speech after votes were counted at the Ravenscraig Regional Sports Facility in Motherwell, she promised she would “fight for independence”.
She added: “The initial priority has to be the Covid recovery, we have just gone through a pandemic, people have really struggled this last year.
“And as we move through the pandemic and when the time is right, then yes of course we will be looking to campaign for another independence referendum, as is the right of the people of Scotland.
“Whatever the result is of that referendum, so be it, but that choice is of paramount importance.”
Nicola Sturgeon was among those who congratulated Javed.
She was congratulated by her former politics lecturer. Malcolm Harvey of Aberdeen University wrote: “So ... someone I once taught politics to is now an MP.
“Congratulations to Anum Qaisar-Javed who has overcome this particular debilitating experience to take a seat in the House of Commons.”
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