SCOTTISH Labour have held onto three seats on Glasgow City Council after a series of by-elections on Thursday.
Voters went to the polls in three wards – Drumchapel/Anniesland, Maryhill and North East on Thursday, following the resignation of three Labour councillors.
Mary McNab (North East) and Davena Rankin (Drumchapel/Anniesland) held the seats which had been vacated by Maureen Burke and Patricia Ferguson following their election victories in July.
Marie Garrity, a former Labour councillor in the city’s east end, won in the Maryhill ward after former Labour councillor Keiran O’Neill stepped down to take up a role with the GMB Union in London.
Turnout across the wards was low with just 12.4% of the electorate voting in the North East ward while turnout in Maryhill and Drumchapel/Anniesland was 19.3% and 15.3% respectively.
Under the single transferable vote system, Rankin was elected at stage seven with a total of 1084 votes, while Garrity was elected at the same stage with 999 votes in Maryhill.
McNab meanwhile was also elected at stage seven with 630 votes.
Following the result, Glasgow Labour leader George Redmond said: “The people in Glasgow have told us in no uncertain terms that they are not happy with the city council, they are not happy with the services or the state of the city centre.
“Homelessness is a serious issue, teachers being cut, the state of our roads. Cleansing services are really, really poor.
“They are telling us they need a change in Glasgow, and the change is Glasgow Labour.
“The people of this city, in the last number of elections, have actually said ‘we want Glasgow Labour to represent us’. You either step up or get out. That’s the message to the SNP in Glasgow.”
The SNP finished second in each ward, with Reform coming in third place. There are now 36 SNP and 34 Labour councillors in Glasgow while the Greens have 11, the Conservatives two and one independent.
Another by-election was also held on Thursday in Highland Council in the Fort William and Ardnamurchan ward after LibDem councillor Angus MacDonald stepped down following election to Westminster.
