Kemi Badenoch has insisted that the Conservatives are still the main opposition to Labour despite her party slumping to fourth in a Holyrood by-election this week.

Thursday’s vote in Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse saw the Tories win just 6% of the vote while Reform surged into third place with 26% a month after routing Mrs Badenoch’s party in local elections across England.

Reform’s rise in the polls has led Sir Keir Starmer to regard Nigel Farage’s party as Labour’s main opposition in the current Parliament, despite having only five MPs.

Answering questions after a speech on Friday, Mrs Badenoch dismissed Reform as a “protest party” and said claims it was the real opposition were “nonsense”.

Describing Reform as “another left-wing party”, she said: “What they’re trying to do

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