The Scottish Greens are celebrating their first ever win in a by-election after capturing a Glasgow City Council seat previously held by Labour.

Seonad Hoy made history for the party with the gain in the Hillhead ward last night.

The by-election was triggered by the death of the veteran Labour councillor Hanzala Malik.

Labour candidate Ruth Hall narrowly won the most first preference votes, with 1,298 to Ms Hoy’s 1,284. 

The SNP’s Malcolm McConnell was third with 1,015 and Tory Faten Hameed fourth with 217. 

Ahead of the election there were concerns that a right-wing Unionist standing as “Independent Green Voice - Organic, Local, Democratic” could derail the Green campaign.

However Alistair McConnachie, a former UKIP organiser who was barred from the party after he reportedly said there was no evidence that Jews were executed in gas chambers, received only 133 votes in the first stage. 

Although this put him ahead of Liberal Democrat Daniel O’Malley’s 106 first preferences, it was not enough to divert votes away from the Greens and deny them victory. 

Ms Hoy won at the seventh stage after transfer votes eliminated the other candidates.

Turnout was 24.3%, down from 37.7% at the 2022 local election. 

It means the Greens now hold two of the three seats in Hillhead and have increased their representation on the 85-seat council from ten to 11, their largest council group in Scotland.

Glasgow is run by an SNP minority administration with Green support.

The result is a boost to Green hopes as the party heads into the general election aiming to stand in more than 22 of Scotland's first-past-the-post seats.

Ms Hoy said: "I am absolutely delighted to have been elected to represent the people of Hillhead alongside the marvellous Martha Wardrop. 

“This was a real team effort from the Glasgow Greens. Every single one of our activists worked to make this happen and I can’t thank them all enough. 

“But now the hard work really begins. I look forward to bringing that same energy and enthusiasm that saw the Scottish Greens win our first ever by-election to my role as councillor in Hillhead.”

Ms Hoy, a community benefits officer at the Wheatley Housing Group, has been co-convenor of the Glasgow Greens since 2022.

A Hillhead resident for 20 years, she said she underwood the local priorities and would work “to strengthen the rights of residents, community organisations and small businesses”.

Her fellow Hillhead Green councillor Martha Wardrop said: “The election of a second Glasgow Green councillor in Hillhead is a tremendous breakthrough for our party in Glasgow. I look forward to working closely with Councillor Hoy to address people’s concerns across the Hillhead ward and help deliver a fairer, Greener Glasgow.”

Scottish Green Party co-leader and Glasgow MSP Patrick Harvie added: “I’m so grateful to everyone who helped make this groundbreaking result for the Scottish Greens possible - Seonad, Martha, all our volunteers and every single voter who put their trust in us. 

“We’re working hard to make a difference in Glasgow and across Scotland, and it’s clear that Hillhead’s voters understand the urgency of putting Green ideas into practice.”