THE SNP have won two council seats from Scottish Labour after by-elections in Glasgow.
Mhairi Hunter won the Southside Central seat for the SNP after votes were counted on Friday.
Hunter had been a prominent SNP councillor, known as a close ally of Nicola Sturgeon, until she lost her seat in the 2022 local elections.
Sturgeon joined the campaign trail to support Hunter's bid on Thursday evening.
The vote which Hunter won on Friday was called after the death of veteran Labour councillor James Scanlon in December.
And Donna McGill was elected for the SNP in the North East Ward.
That by-election followed a saga which saw Scottish Labour actually win the first by-election in the seat late last year – only for their candidate to be disqualified for not resigning her job on the council.
Mary McNab eventually accepted she should have been disqualified and resigned her claim to the seat after a legal battle between Scottish Labour and the council.
In Southside Central, Hunter won 1126 votes to Labour’s 1027 in the first round of voting. The Greens won 805 – and 532 of those votes went to the SNP after their candidate Laura Vroomen was eliminated at stage seven.
In the North East, the SNP won 689 first-preference votes while Labour won 573 and Reform 472. Reform UK’s candidate Rob Madison was also eliminated in the seventh round of voting, with the SNP emerging on top.
Following McGill and Hunter's elections, First Minister John Swinney said he was "delighted".
Glasgow Council's leader, the SNP's Susan Aitken, echoed the sentiment, writing in response to the first announcement: "I could not be more delighted to welcome my pal @MhairiHunter back to the City Chambers.
"She was an incredible champion for the communities of Southside Central before and she will be again. Thanks to everyone who voted @SNPforGlasgow."
The double victory for the SNP will shore up the party's control over the council. It won just one more seat than Scottish Labour in the 2022 local elections.
He went on: “Whether its rising energy bills, scrapping the Winter Fuel Payment or inflicting billions of pounds of cuts on disabled people – the UK Labour Government is treating Scotland with contempt and Scottish Labour have shown themselves to be completely incapable of standing up to them.
“In contrast, the SNP Government is delivering on the people of Scotland's priorities – increasing capacity in our NHS, making it easier for people to see their GP, bringing back universal winter heating support and investing in our public services. “The SNP will keep working hard to earn the trust of people across Scotland by focussing resolutely on their priorities – and standing up against a UK Labour Government that is treating Scotland like an afterthought."
