内容摘要：The two MPs have added their names to a growing list of their colleagues who have suggested they will switch sides including: Tory former minister George Freeman, Tory MPs Mike Wood and Andrew Snowden, Lib Dem Brian Matthew, Labour's Jonathan Hinder, Reform UK chief whip Lee Anderson and ex-Reform MP Rupert Lowe.

The two MPs have added their names to a growing list of their colleagues who have suggested they will switch sides including: Tory former minister George Freeman, Tory MPs Mike Wood and Andrew Snowden, Lib Dem Brian Matthew, Labour's Jonathan Hinder, Reform UK chief whip Lee Anderson and ex-Reform MP Rupert Lowe.

The party had seen its support drop in the polls, with some suggesting Reform could beat Labour to second place in next year's Holyrood elections.Ahead of the vote, First Minister John Swinney had claimed that the by-election was a "two-horse race" between the SNP and Reform.

But his party's candidate, Katy Loudon, endured her third election defeat in the area - having lost out to Labour's Michael Shanks at the 2024 general election andAfter the result, Swinney said his party had "made progress since the election last year but not enough".: "We still have work to do and we will do it."

Scottish Constitution Secretary Angus Robertson said the SNP would need to "look very closely" at result and "learn the lessons" for the Holyrood elections.Russell, who was raised and still lives in the village of Quarter in the constituency, has worked for local government and previously served as deputy lord lieutenant, representing the monarch at local events.

His victory comes despite criticism during the campaign for a lack of media appearances – most notably when he decided not to participate in a televised STV debate.

Speaking at the count, Russell said constituents had been "let down" by the SNP.During the pandemic, Matthew started looking for answers to niggling questions about his family history. He sent off a saliva sample in the post to be analysed.

The genealogy company entered his record into its vast online database, allowing him to view other users whose DNA closely matched his own."Half of the names I'd just never heard of," he says. "I thought, 'That's weird', and called my wife to tell her the old family joke might be true after all."

Matthew then asked his dad to submit his own DNA sample, which confirmed he was even more closely related to the same group of mysterious family members.Matthew started exchanging messages with two women who the site suggested were his father's cousins. All were confused about how they could possibly be related.