Labour celebrates results in pair of by-elections

Scottish Labour politicians have lauded the party’s results in a pair of local byelections that took place on Thursday, including one in which the SNP was beaten into third place by an obscure unionist party.

Labour, which is in the process of selecting a new leader following the departure of Kezia Dugdale, held a Glasgow City Council seat in Cardonald and gained a seat in Fortissat, North Lanarkshire.

The latter by-election was triggered following controversy over Sandy Thornton, a Conservative who suffered from chronic illness and refused to take up his seat after a surprise win in May. Labour’s Clare Quigley won with 38.5 per cent of first preference votes, while the SNP were beaten into third, receiving 20.6 per cent of the votes compared to 23.3 for little-known “A Better Britain – Unionist Party”.

In Glasgow, Labour held the seat initially won by longserving councillor Alistair Watson, who died in June.

Their candidate Jim Kavanagh won 48.6 per cent of the first preference votes. The SNP came second with 36.7 per cent, a drop of 7.5 per cent for Nicola Sturgeon’s party.