The SNP has emerged as the biggest party in local government as Labour citadels across the country fell.

The SNP has emerged as the biggest party in local government as Labour citadels across the country fell.

Only two of Scotland's 32 councils are now held by the party which, before Thursday, controlled half of the nation's town halls.

The new system of proportional representation undoubtedly contributed to Labour's failings, with the number of councillors a party returned now reflecting more closely their share of the vote.

But it is clear that the nationwide dissatisfaction with the party's performance, allied to the surge in SNP support, was another factor in their decline.

Overall, Labour saw their number of councillors fall from 509 to 348, while the Nationalists saw theirs more than double from 181 to 363. The Liberal Democrats also had a disappointing night, with their councillor numbers falling from 175 to 166. The Tories saw their representation increase, from 122 to 143.

The poor performance of the LibDems was especially ironic, given they had been the main drivers in the move to PR for local government elections.

Nicola Sturgeon, the SNP's deputy leader, described the results as a "seismic shift" in Scottish politics. "After a generation, Labour's one-party states are history," she said.

"There has been a seismic shift in Scottish public life, and Scotland's councils will benefit from full democratic accountability."

Among the former Labour councils to fall were East Ayrshire, Clackmannanshire, West Dunbartonshire and Midlothian. Only Glasgow and North Lanarkshire remain in Labour hands.

Labour's grip on Edinburgh was also relinquished, with the LibDems now the biggest party with 17 seats, compared to Labour's 15.

Ewan Aitken, the former Edinburgh City Council leader, held on to his seat and was upbeat about the results.

He said: "Like all elections, there were close calls. We lost one seat by six votes and another by 26. If we had won them, we would have been the biggest party."