THE SNP have gained a seat on South Lanarkshire Council after the party won a by-election last night.
Leigh Payne has been elected to represent the Avondale and Stonehouse ward for the SNP after a by-election was triggered following the death of Margaret Cooper, the Provost of South Lanarkshire, who was an Independent after being elected in May 2022.
A spokesperson for South Lanarkshire Council confirmed Payne had been elected at stage nine of the single transferable vote with 1025 first preference votes.
The turnout was 23.2%.
Labour’s candidate, Hannah Miller, came in second with 743 first preference votes, with Reform UK’s candidate, George Hobbins, in third with 727 votes.
Conservatives' candidate, Ade Aibinu, came in fourth with 393 votes, followed by the Liberal Democrats, David Glennie, with 357, and Greens, Michael Grant, receiving 303.
Your Party also stood their first candidate in a Scottish election with Gary Allan receiving 45 votes.
Following the news of Payne’s election win, SNP leader and Scotland’s First Minister John Swinney congratulated her.
He wrote on social media: “Many congratulations to Leigh Payne, the latest SNP Councillor for Avondale and Stonehouse, elected in a by-election tonight. Great news.”
It comes after Reform UK won a council by-election in South Lanarkshire in July.
Fiona McDermott was elected to represent Larkhall at the fourth stage of vote counting, returning 1150 preference votes.
Payne, the SNP's candidate at the time, came in second place with 975 first preference votes.
