First Minister John Swinney says the SNP’s double by-election victory in Dundee demonstrates the strong relationship between the city and his party.
The SNP leader visited the City of Discovery on Friday to meet the newly elected councillors for Strathmartine and Lochee.
Speaking to The Courier, Mr Swinney said he was “delighted” with the result.
“I am very pleased. These were critical by-elections for us. Strathmartine was a by-election we absolutely had to hold to maintain control of the council.
“We not only held that but went on to win the Lochee ward.
“It really demonstrates the depth of trust between the people of Dundee and the SNP,” he said.
Labour had been hopeful it could pull off an upset, potentially securing both seats and robbing the nationalists of control of the local authority.
But it proved to be a disappointing night for Anas Sarwar, with the party pushed into third place in Strathmartine behind SNP candidate Jimmy Black and the Liberal Democrats.
In Lochee, Labour candidate Marty Smith came second to the SNP’s Lee Mills.
‘Dundee by-election results show SNP’s recovery’
Mr Swinney said the result proved there was a “strong recovery” in the SNP’s performance.
At the general election, the party’s lead was cut from 33% to just 2% in Dundee Central.
“The Labour party put a lot of effort into winning these seats, they were very confident they were going to do so and they’ve not managed, said the First Minister.
“It’s a real set-back for Labour and it’s a real boost for the SNP. It demonstrates that there is a strong relationship between the people of Dundee and the SNP.
“I want to build on that because it’s so important we build that public trust and confidence.”
5 alarm bells for Labour in Dundee double defeat to SNP
Mr Swinney said the result was in part down to a sense of disappointment among the public about Labour’s performance in government, with “more of the same” on austerity.
He added: “People were promised change and the change they’ve had is unwelcome. They’ve had the removal of winter heating payments as one of their first acts in office.”
Inside Labour, some have begun to express frustration at Sir Keir Starmer’s government.
Insiders told The Courier the removal of the winter fuel payment from those not in receipt of pension credit had “hammered” the party’s by-election chances.
The Courier understands the party’s Strathmartine candidate Richard McCready expressed concern internally about the impact the benefit’s removal was having among voters.
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