THE SNP's campaign chief Jamie Hepburn has reacted to his party's by-election loss, addressing the lack of focus on independence during the campaign.
Hepburn, MSP for Cumbernauld and Kilsyth, who previously served as Scotland's first independence minister before First Minister John Swinney scrapped the role last year, said the SNP has "no sense of terror" in the face of Reform UK's rise.
The campaign co-ordinator appeared on Good Morning Scotland on Friday, after Labour won in Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse.
The party have been heavily criticised for its lack of focus on independence by the wider movement, with Keir Starmer this week telling the press that the First Minister had not raised it directly with him in conversation and rejecting the idea of another referendum during his tenure as Prime Minister.
When asked whether he believed independence was high on the agenda for voters after a "pro-union vote seen yesterday", Hepburn said: "I think that's a fairly simplistic analysis of the campaign.
"Clearly a by-election campaign has a life of its own.
"Next year, we're going into a general election for the Scottish Parliament and it'll be a very different context.
"The fundamental question will be who's forming the Scottish Government? Who's going to be the next first minister? That's clearly going to be either John Swinney or Anas Sarwar.
"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."
