THE SNP have won a crucial council by-election in Aberdeen.
Voters went to the polls in George Street/Harbour ward on Thursday after LibDem councillor Desmond Buchanan resigned in March this year.
Aberdeen City Council is run by an SNP-LibDem coalition, and Buchanan’s single seat was the difference between it ruling as a majority or minority administration.
The SNP victory therefore means that the party, along with the LibDems, will maintain majority control in Aberdeen.
Leon Marwick won the by-election for the SNP, taking 583 first preference votes.
Scottish Labour’s Edward Obi came in second with 255 votes, and the Greens’ Charlotte Horne in third with 232.
Reform UK came in fourth with 177 votes, followed by the LibDems on 162 and the Scottish Conservatives on 146.
From an electorate of 13,461, just 1785 votes were cast, a turnout of 13.3%.
The George Street/Harbour ward is in the Aberdeen South constituency, which also asked voters to go to the polls last week to elect a new MP. As a result, turnout in the council by-election may have been depressed.
The Westminster by-election was won by the Scottish Tories’ Douglas Lumsden, who had to resign from Holyrood in order to take his seat in London.
Elsewhere, a second by-election on Thursday, in the East Sutherland and Edderton ward of Highland Council, was won by independent candidate John Murray.
