The Scottish National Party and Liberal Democrats triumphed in two Perth and Kinross by-elections on Thursday.
SNP candidate Carol Mair was elected in the Perth City North ward, in a seat previously held by Labour.
And Lib Dem Alan Watt won in Strathallan, in a seat previously held by the Conservatives.
Retired NHS worker Carol Mair lived in Letham and Tulloch before moving to Methven, and says she is looking forward to being a voice for local people.
“I joined the SNP the day after the Scottish independence referendum in 2014 and I’ve been an active party member ever since,” she said.
Ms Mair’s election means all three seats in Perth City North are now held by SNP councillors.
And she says national issues may have been a factor in Thursday’s switch from Labour.
“A lot of people were bringing up the winter fuel payment cut,” she said.
First Minister John Swinney wrote on X: “Well done to Carol Mair and her team.”
SNP veteran Pete Wishart, MP for Perth and Kinross-shire, called it “an absolutely stonking result.”
Local issues to fore in Lib Dem victory
In Strathallan, Mr Watt says local matters dominated the discussions on the doorsteps.
The father of three from Aberuthven is a long-time member of Auchterarder and District Community Council and his local in bloom group, among other organisations.
“People were bringing up the future of the library, public toilets, things like that,” he said.
“One lady told me a really heart-breaking story about what she’s been going through. I’ve got things I want to get started on straight away.”
Mr Watt’s Conservative opponent Amanda Runciman was in front with first preference votes, but she did not win enough for an outright victory.
He picked up more under the single transferable vote system used in council elections in Scotland. It allows voters to rank their preferred candidates in order.
The results were as follows:
Perth City North result (first preference)
Sonia Davidson (Reform UK) – 209
Carol Mair (SNP) – 917
Tina Jane Ng-A-Mann (Lib Dem) – 95
Kirsten Nkwocha-Dyer (Labour) – 313
Aziz Rehman (Conservative) – 296
Robert Reid (Alba) – 133
Caitlin Ripley (Scottish Greens) – 87
Turnout: 22.7%
Strathallan result (first preference)
Ken McCracken (Labour) – 366
Amanda Runciman (Conservative) – 1,045
Catherine Scott (SNP) – 568
Nettie Sutherland (Scottish Greens) – 107
Ian Thomas (Reform UK) – 194
Alan Watt (Lib Dem) – 978
Turnout: 34%
Resignations sparked by-elections
The by-elections were called following the resignation of two councillors.
Crawford Reid quit as a Conservative councillor in the Strathallan ward in July.
The retired consultant anaesthetist was asked to return to his job at NHS Forth Valley at the end of 2023, and said the workload there meant he could not continue in both roles.
The ward’s two other councillors are Keith Allan (Conservative) and Steven Carr (SNP).
Brian Leishman stepped down in Perth City North in August.
The former Labour councillor was elected Labour MP for Alloa and Grangemouth at the general election.
Perth City North two other councillors are John Rebbeck and Ian Massie, both SNP.
Perth and Kinross Council is run by an SNP administration.
Thursday’s results give the SNP 17 councillors, the Conservatives 13, the Lib Dems five, independents four and Labour just one.
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