[2] Ferrier, elected for the Scottish National Party, was suspended from the House of Commons in June 2023 for 30 days for breaching COVID-19 regulations in 2020.

[4] Rutherglen and Hamilton West is a suburban constituency in Greater Glasgow, stretching eastwards along the River Clyde and south into Lanarkshire.

Labour MP Tommy McAvoy, who was the longest-serving government whip, stood down at the 2010 election,[7] and the seat was retained for the party by Tom Greatrex with an increased majority.

[8] The constituency was regarded as a safe seat for Labour until the 2015 general election, when Margaret Ferrier took it from Greatrex by nearly 10,000 votes amidst a Scottish National Party landslide.

[10] In the 2019 general election, Ferrier defeated Killen by a majority of 5,000 votes,[11] nonetheless making it one of the most marginal SNP seats in Scotland.

[20] She lost her appeal on the recommendation on 22 May 2023[21] with the independent panel finding that she "acted with blatant and deliberate dishonest intent.

Parliament was in recess when the petition closed; the SNP moved the writ of election on the first day after it reconvened, fixing the by-election for 5 October, the earliest available date.

[25] The by-election was the first in Scotland under the provisions of the Elections Act 2022 that required voters to show a form of identification (ID) in order to vote.

[26][27] On 6 June 2023, South Lanarkshire Council was formally notified by Speaker of the House of Commons that a petition was to be opened.

[35] However, Labour's candidate Michael Shanks supports abolishing the cap and pledged to vote to scrap it should he win the seat, disagreeing with the party leadership on the matter.

[36] UK Labour deputy leader Angela Rayner suggested that Shanks would not be disciplined for voting against the party whip on the two-child benefit cap in parliament.

[38] One local issue commented on by candidates was council tax in South Lanarkshire, which was set to rise, exacerbating the cost-of-living crisis.

[48] Just before the election, plans of tactical voting (Conservatives switching to Labour to ensure SNP defeat) were reported.

[55] On 9 June 2023, the SNP selected local councillor and former primary school teacher Katy Loudon as their candidate.

[58][59] On 12 June, the Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition (TUSC) announced that Unison shop steward Chris Sermanni would be their candidate.

[60] He campaigned on "above-inflation pay and benefit rises, and socialist nationalisation of energy, the banks, and big industries like Royal Mail".

[68] Stark, a retired architect, previously stood as the Conservative Party candidate for the Cumbernauld East ward in the 2017 North Lanarkshire Council election.

[70] Adebo previously stood as a candidate for the party in the Rutherglen Central and North ward in the 2022 South Lanarkshire Council election.

[78][79] Michael Shanks won the seat with a 20.4% SNP-to-Labour swing, winning over twice as many votes as second-placed SNP candidate Katy Loudon.

[90] BBC political editor Chris Mason called the election a "thunderbolt of a result"[91] The by-election was followed two weeks later by two more in Mid Bedfordshire and Tamworth, both of which were also Labour gains.