SNP campaign chief, Jamie Hepburn, also reacted to his party’s by-election

loss, addressing the lack of focus on independence during the

campaign.

MSP Hepburn, who previously served as Scotland’s first

independence minister before First Minister John

Swinney scrapped the role last year, said that when looking

towards the 2026 election, “I think when we get into that

context, people will be thinking differently and independence

will be part of that campaign.”

Hepburn added: “We’ll need to consider the proposition that

we’ve laid out at this by-election, and how that may influence

the propositions we lay out at the coming general election next

year that we know is ahead of us.

“It’s just the morning after the night before, so we’ll take some

time to consider that.”