First Minister John Swinney has urged voters in the Hamilton by-election to reject the “gutter politics” of Reform UK as polls open.
The vote sparked by the death of Scottish Government minister Christina McKelvie in March will take place on Thursday, with a result expected early on Friday.
The SNP and Labour were initially seen as the frontrunners in the race, but Nigel Farage-led Reform UK has surged in the seat and hopes to push for second place.
One of the major talking points of the campaign has been the criticism levelled at Reform after an attack advert published by the party claimed Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar prioritises people from Pakistan over those in Scotland.
The ad showed a speech from the Labour MSP where he urged more people from a south Asian background to enter politics, and it was later denounced as racist by Reform’s opponents.
Speaking ahead of polls opening at 7am on Thursday, Mr Swinney again claimed the contest is between the SNP and Reform, saying: “Today, people in Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse can reject the politics of Nigel Farage and elect a local champion by voting SNP.
“Farage doesn’t care about Scotland – he wants to cut our budget, undermine our Parliament and introduce charges for the NHS.
“Labour have given up on the campaign and have barely even bothered to defend their record of scrapping the winter fuel payment and cutting support for disabled people.
“So this by-election is a two-horse race between the SNP and Farage. And today, people in Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse can unite behind the SNP and defeat the gutter politics of Nigel Farage by voting for Katy Loudon.”
The by-election presents the first real test of both Scottish Labour and the SNP since last year’s general election, where the former returned to being the biggest Westminster party in Scotland and the latter haemorrhaged MPs, falling to just nine.
Ahead of the vote, Mr Sarwar said the choice facing voters is “more failure with the SNP or a local champion” with Scottish Labour’s Davy Russell, accusing the nationalists of talking up Reform to “distract from their own failures”.
He added: “Time and time again, the SNP has failed Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse.
“From our overstretched NHS to our declining education system to our crisis-hit housing system, almost all of what is broken in Scotland is run by the SNP.
“They don’t deserve to win, but only Scottish Labour can beat them.
“The SNP wants to talk up Reform to distract from their own failures, but Scots will see through the spin.
“This is a chance to put this failing Government on notice and chart a new direction for all of Scotland – let’s seize that opportunity.”
