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>> Starmer's plea to independence supporters >> Labour leader says 'SNP are on the ropes' >> Pollster suggests Labour could win 40 seats

- PAUL HUTCHEON

KEIR Starmer has wooed pro-independence supporters by claiming he will be a Prime Minister for Yes and No voters.

The Labour leader reached out to SNP backers with a message of "change" after his party routed the Nationalists in a historic by-election.

Labour sent shockwaves throughout Scotland after hammering the SNP in Rutherglen and Hamilton West, turning an SNP majority of 5230 into a Labour majority of 9446 on a swing of more than 20 per cent.

Winning candidate Michael Shanks won nearly 60 per cent of the vote and pollster Sir John Curtice said Scottish Labour could win 40 seats at the general election.

Starmer, who is on course to be the next Prime Minister, told the Record: "I do think the SNP are on the ropes. They are on the ropes because of the mess of the last few months. They are on the ropes because of their non-delivery in government.

"What happened here in this constituency, in this by-election, is historic because we ran a positive case for change by a changed Scottish Labour Party, working with a changed Labour Party, and people came out in their thousands.

"Any route to a general election victory for Labour runs through Scotland because I want to be the Prime Minister for all of the United Kingdom, not just of the United Kingdom.

He then made an explicit pitch to SNP voters: "Whether you voted Yes or No in the referendum here in Scotland, I will be a prime minister for the whole of Scotland.