The momentum gained by the SNP at the May general election showed no sign of abating as the party celebrated solid wins in the latest Scottish council by-elections.
Scottish Nationalists held three seats and won one from the Greens on Glasgow City Council and held another on South Lanarkshire Council.
Three of the by-elections were prompted by the resignation as councillors of newly elected SNP MPs: Martin Docherty (now MP for West Dunbartonshire), Alison Thewliss (Glasgow Central) and Angela Crawley (Lanark and Hamilton East).
The remaining two were the result of the resignation of an SNP and a Green councillor.
The five contests saw a repeat of the large swings to the Scottish Nationalists seen at the general election and in other recent council by-elections.
However, turnout in the latest polls was as low as 14.5% in one case and 16.1% in another.
In the poll at Glasgow, Langside ward, where the SNP won a seat from the Greens, first-preference voting was: SNP 2,134, Labour 932, Green 579, Conservative 379, Liberal Democrats 125, Ukip 65, TUSC 62.
The swing from Labour to the SNP was 13%. The Greens saw their vote share increase by 4.5 points but it was not enough to hold the seat they had won when three seats were contested in the ward in 2012. Turnout was 21.7%.
At Glasgow, Calton, the SNP held the council seat vacated by Ms Thewliss with 1,507 first-preference votes against Lab 814, C 129, Ukip 103, Green 99, Ind 47 and LD 18. Swing from Lab to SNP was 25%, and turnout 16.1%.
At Glasgow, Anderston/City, formerly represented by Mr Docherty, the SNP held the seat with 1,441 first-count votes against Lab 857, Green 414, C 164, LD 66, Ukip 43, Libertarian 12. Swing from Lab to SNP was 20%, and turnout 14.5%
The SNP also held a seat at Glasgow, Craigton. First-preference voting was: SNP 2,674, Lab 1,643, C 300, Green 136, Ukip 95, LD 87. Swing from Lab to SNP was 21.5%, and turnout 21.7%.
At South Lanarkshire, Hamilton South, the SNP held the seat vacated by Ms Crawley. First-preference voting was: SNP 1,881, Lab 1,396, C 349, Green 127, Christian 77, Ukip 43, LD 32, Pirate 13. Swing from Lab to SNP was 16%, and turnout 26.8%.
Similarly large swings of 20% and 23% from Labour to the SNP were recorded last week in two Aberdeen City Council by-elections, as well as 25% in a North Lanarkshire Council by-election on July 9.
The Aberdeen polls were prompted by the resignation as councillors of Kirsty Blackman, now SNP MP for Aberdeen North, and Callum McCaig, now SNP MP for Aberdeen South.
Thirteen new SNP MPs have stepped down as councillors to focus on their Westminster roles, sparking local by-elections.
Two are set to take place next Thursday at Falkirk, where John McNally is now SNP MP for Falkirk, and North Lanarkshire, where Marion Fellows is now SNP MP for Motherwell & Wishaw.
Others due to follow are:
August 27: East Ayrshire - Alan Brown (Kilmarnock & Loudoun)
September 10: Edinburgh City - Deidre Brock (Edinburgh North & Leith), and Midlothian - Owen Thompson (Midlothian)
September 17: South Ayrshire - Corri Wilson (Ayr, Carrick & Cumnock)
Dates still to be set:
Fife - Peter Grant (Glenrothes)
Highland - Drew Hendry (Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch & Strathspey)
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel