SCOTLAND’S only all-male council is no more.

Two women have been elected to wards in the Western Isles, ending a single-sex monopoly on the authority that began in 2017.

The SNP’s Susan Thomson was elected in South Uist, Eriskay and Benbecula, while Frances Murray, also of the SNP, was elected in Stornoway South.

Mustapha Hocine, a local teacher, was also elected as an Independent in North Uist, becoming the council's first ethnic minority councillor.

The election of the two female candidates ends an embarrassing period for Comhairle nan Eilean Siar, which returned 31 male candidates in 2017.

Of these,  23 were independents, seven were SNP and there was one Conservative.

Eight female candidates stood this time in a bid to bring back a smidgen of gender balance.