SNP HALFWAY CLEAN SWEEP TO CITY AGAIN
THE SNP are on course to hold all eight of their Glasgow seats after half were declared. Nicola Sturgeon held the Glasgow Southside seat with a massive vote of almost 20,000 votes.
The SNP leader added almost 5000 votes on to her total five years ago as she saw off a challenge form Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar.
Labour increased their vote in the seats declared so far but didn’t do enough to get near any of the huge SNP majorities.
After the results the SNP MSPs said that they would be moving forward to an independence referendum.
Sarwar almost doubled the Labour vote in Southside to more than 10,000 but
Sturgeon won with a majority of 9456.
The nationalists comfortably won the other three seats that were being counted in Glasgow, holding Anniesland, Maryhill and Springburn and Pollok.
After the result she launched an attack on the right-wing extremist who confronted her in the street on polling day.
The SNP
19,735 votes 10,279.
In her acceptance speech she said Glasgow had rejected the “far-right thugs”.
Jayda Fransen, who led the stunt on polling day, won just 46 votes.
Sturgeon thanked Sarwar and the other opponents in the election.
She said of Sarwar: “We are opponents but we actually quite like each other.
“It is the privilege of my life to represent the most diverse leader to Anas won Sarwar’s constituency in Scotland.
“Yesterday Southside was targeted by far-right thugs.
“The thug who led that protest got 46 votes. Glasgow Southside has shown the far-right thugs they are not welcome in Glasgow or in Scotland.”
In 2016, the First Minister won by a majority of almost 10,000, the highest in Glasgow.
This time she increased her vote by almost 5000 to under 20,000.
Sarwar increased the Labour vote from below 6000 at the last election to more than 10,000.
The Conservatives were third with 1790 votes and the Liberal Democrats fourth with 504 votes.
In Anniesland, Bill Kidd won by a majority of 6,588 votes with 17,501voting SNP.
Labour’s Eva Murray took
10,913 votes with Conservative councillor Ade Aibinu and Lib Dem candidate Mark Simons gaining 3688 and 1063 points respectively.
Kidd said: “What we have to do as far as I am concerned, is ensure that we are going forward for an independence referendum following these elections.
Murray summed up the Labour candidates’ mood afterwards.
She said: “I think we can see that our vote has held and that there is a one per cent swing towards Scottish Labour which shows things are going in the right direction.
“I think it is a huge achievement compared to three months ago where we didn’t know where we were going.
“Of course, it’s disappointing but it is clear we are headed on the right track and that’s down to hard work locally with local campaigns.
“Anas Sarwar has managed to create a positive vibe and we felt that on the doorstep. If he can manage that in nine weeks who knows what he can do that in five years.”
Bob Doris echoed the call after he won Maryhill and Springburn.
He said he looked forward to When the time is Right” putting “Scotland’s future in Scotland’s hands and that means a fresh referendum.”
Doris comfortably held off a challenge from Keiran O’Neill, of Labour, to win with 16,428 votes. Labour were second with 8054 votes.
The Conservatives won 2241 votes with the LibDems in fourth on 688 votes.
In Pollok, Humza Yousaf held the seat for the SNP with more than 18,000 votes. He held off Labour who took 11,058 votes.
Yousaf said:
“In 2016,
I took great pride to be elected as the first ethnic minority SNP to be elected to this constituency seat and now in 2021 I am the first ethnic minority SNP to be re-elected to this constituency seat.”
He also targeted the far right extremists.
He added: “Today at this count we also had thugs who waved Nazi salutes to intimidate candidates myself included.
“I have often been the victim of hatred abused over the years. Whenever I have had that hatred directed my way, the voices of good have always outweighed the voices of bad.
“They came to target me, and I would like to pay thanks to not just my own team but also the Labour Party, the Greens, LibDems and Conservatives who came in who collectively told them to jog on and they are not welcome here anytime.”