Labour MP urged Anas Sarwar to distance himself from unpopular policy decisions taken by Keir Starmer if he wants to become the next first minister.

By Andrew MacAskill LONDON (Reuters) -British Prime Minister Keir Starmer's Labour Party won a surprise victory in a fiercely fought by-election for the Scottish parliament on Friday after one of the most bitter election campaigns in the country's recent history.

The by-election, triggered by the death of sitting SNP MSP Christina McKelvie, was dominated by the rise of Reform, which has been garnering increasing support in council by-elections in Scotland, albeit at lower levels than in England and Wales.