Scottish by-elections reveal no party has commanding control

The Scottish Conservatives won Aberdeen South on 19 June with a majority exceeding 6,000 votes — their first Westminster by-election gain in Scotland since devolution. The same night, the SNP retained Arbroath and Broughty Ferry through barrister Lara Bird. The split results underscore that Scottish politics remains genuinely competitive, with neither major party commanding a sweep across different geographies.