Impact of Scotland’s first ever recall byelection will be felt across the UK

Vote could signify Labour's revival north of the border, but it may need to show policy splits with UK party.

As the Scottish National party and Scottish Labour launched their byelection campaigns a few streets apart on a blustery Wednesday morning, there's one thing both parties could agree on: this contest and its outcome will have significance that extends far beyond the constituency of Rutherglen and Hamilton West.

Scotland's first ever recall byelection - triggered after voters removed Covid rule-breaker Margaret Ferrier from the seat she won in the nationalists' landslide of 2015 - will also be Humza Yousaf's first electoral test since he became SNP leader, and first minister, in the spring.