An election expert has predicted the result of Thursday's East Kilbride Central North by-election.
Allan Faulds, the man behind Scottish election and polling data website Ballot Box Scotland , has trawled through the data from previous elections to work out who will come out on top.
And he reckons the SNP’s Grant Ferguson will pip Labour’s Kirsty Williams to regain the seat for the local authority’s largest party.
Former councillor Sheena Wardhaugh, who passed away in June, was elected as an SNP member in May 2017 before resigning from the party three weeks later.
Allan said: “The SNP go into this by-election having won an 11 per cent lead over Labour in first preference terms at the last election.
“Although re-calculating 2017 for a single councillor shows that gap narrowing to six per cent after transfers, Labour’s Kirsty Williams may not currently be in the best position to close it entirely.
“Whereas the SNP’s support has stabilised in national polling recently, May’s European Elections saw Labour record their worst ever Scottish result whilst polling figures remain weak.
“On that basis this looks like Grant Ferguson and the SNP’s contest to lose, though local issues can and do tip by-elections against national trends.”
Voting will take place between 7am and 10pm on Thursday, August 29 before counting takes place electronically at Blacklaw Primary School.
The full list of candidates standing are:
- Grant Ferguson (SNP)
- Graham William Fisher (Conservative)
- Antony Lee (Green)
- David MacKay (UKIP)
- Paul McGarry (Liberal Democrat)
- Stephen McNamara (Libertarian)
- Kirsty Williams (Labour)
