Snp Biggest Party In Councils After Labours Hold Crumbles (from The Herald Election Site)

The SNP has emerged as the biggest party in local government as Labour citadels across the country fell.

Only two of Scotland's 32 councils are now held by the party which, before Thursday, controlled half of the nation's town halls.

The new system of proportional representation undoubtedly contributed to Labour's failings, with the number of councillors a party returned now reflecting more closely their share of the vote.

But it is clear that the nationwide dissatisfaction with the party's performance, allied to the surge in SNP support, was another factor in their decline.

Overall, Labour saw their number of councillors fall from 509 to 348, while the Nationalists saw theirs more than double from 181 to 363. The Liberal Democrats also had a disappointing night, with their councillor numbers falling from 175 to 166. The Tories saw their representation increase, from 122 to 143.

The poor performance of the LibDems was especially ironic, given they had been the main drivers in the move to PR for local government elections.

Nicola Sturgeon, the SNP's deputy leader, described the results as a "seismic shift" in Scottish politics. "After a generation, Labour's one-party states are history," she said.

"There has been a seismic shift in Scottish public life, and Scotland's councils will benefit from full democratic accountability."

Among the former Labour councils to fall were East Ayrshire, Clackmannanshire, West Dunbartonshire and Midlothian. Only Glasgow and North Lanarkshire remain in Labour hands.

Labour's grip on Edinburgh was also relinquished, with the LibDems now the biggest party with 17 seats, compared to Labour's 15.

Ewan Aitken, the former Edinburgh City Council leader, held on to his seat and was upbeat about the results.

He said: "Like all elections, there were close calls. We lost one seat by six votes and another by 26. If we had won them, we would have been the biggest party."

Labour steamrollered by the SNP !!! ..And Scotland the better for it.

It's interesting that the swing in council votes to the SNP is so much stronger than in the parliamentary election. I seem to remember a report that said the (numbered, more complicated) council elections hadn't suffered so much from spoiling, although I must admit haven't been paying attention since the result came out Friday evening - am I right about this? It seems strange that the trend against Labour in the parliament vote was so much more restrained. I look forward to a properly independent enquiry into all this, it's starting to bother me a bit.

It's interesting that the swing in council votes to the SNP is so much stronger than in the parliamentary election.

I seem to remember a report that said the (numbered, more complicated) council elections hadn't suffered so much from spoiling, although I must admit haven't been paying attention since the result came out Friday evening - am I right about this?

It seems strange that the trend against Labour in the parliament vote was so much more restrained. I look forward to a properly independent enquiry into all this, it's starting to bother me a bit.

[bold]bold[/bold] [bold]bold[/bold] [bold]Please sign this petition on the [italic]Scotish Vote Scandal.[/[/italic] bold] Do more than this - forward detals to others, as many as you can. Dont let the politicians sweep this under the carpet as part of a deal. One tenth of us have been cheated of our right to vote [bold]http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/ScottishVoteScandal2007/[/bold]

bold bold Please sign this petition on the Scotish Vote Scandal. Do more than this - forward detals to others, as many as you can. Dont let the politicians sweep this under the carpet as part of a deal. One tenth of us have been cheated of our right to vote

http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/ScottishVoteScandal2007/

Who says local Labour politicians are not up to the job - Ewan Aitken has tumbled to the fact that if they got more votes than the other parties they would have won! Yes indeedy. "Ewan Aitken, the former Edinburgh City Council leader, held on to his seat and was upbeat about the results. He said: "Like all elections, there were close calls. We lost one seat by six votes and another by 26. If we had won them, we would have been the biggest party.""

Who says local Labour politicians are not up to the job - Ewan Aitken has tumbled to the fact that if they got more votes than the other parties they would have won! Yes indeedy.

"Ewan Aitken, the former Edinburgh City Council leader, held on to his seat and was upbeat about the results.
He said: "Like all elections, there were close calls. We lost one seat by six votes and another by 26. If we had won them, we would have been the biggest party.""

Big D: "I seem to remember a report that said the (numbered, more complicated) council elections hadn't suffered so much from spoiling, although I must admit haven't been paying attention since the result came out Friday evening - am I right about this?" Yes - possibly because STV is a much easier electoral system to understand than AMS (something that STV's detractors deny). A single vote, expressing candidates in order of preference: not hard to understand. Two votes on a single ballot paper where it's not entirely clear whether they should be for the same party or a different one (this is true: many voters have referred to the list vote as their 'second choice vote'), and where the nature of the link between the constituency and list sections often isn't understood: more complex. "It seems strange that the trend against Labour in the parliament vote was so much more restrained. I look forward to a properly independent enquiry into all this, it's starting to bother me a bit." It's quite possible that people split their votes between parties at different levels of government (apart from anything else to take into account of local factors). Also, Labour were [bold]far[/bold] more over-represented in local government before these elections than they were in Holyrood, because local government was run under a first-past-the-post system, whereas Holyrood was run under a more proportional system. So I wouldn't read too much significance into the apparently differing trends.

Big D: "I seem to remember a report that said the (numbered, more complicated) council elections hadn't suffered so much from spoiling, although I must admit haven't been paying attention since the result came out Friday evening - am I right about this?"

Yes - possibly because STV is a much easier electoral system to understand than AMS (something that STV's detractors deny). A single vote, expressing candidates in order of preference: not hard to understand. Two votes on a single ballot paper where it's not entirely clear whether they should be for the same party or a different one (this is true: many voters have referred to the list vote as their 'second choice vote'), and where the nature of the link between the constituency and list sections often isn't understood: more complex.

"It seems strange that the trend against Labour in the parliament vote was so much more restrained. I look forward to a properly independent enquiry into all this, it's starting to bother me a bit."

It's quite possible that people split their votes between parties at different levels of government (apart from anything else to take into account of local factors). Also, Labour were far more over-represented in local government before these elections than they were in Holyrood, because local government was run under a first-past-the-post system, whereas Holyrood was run under a more proportional system. So I wouldn't read too much significance into the apparently differing trends.

Herald & Times Group
Terms & Conditions Privacy Policy © Copyright 2001-2009 A Gannett Company