Scottish Labour has a new councillor – Mo Razzaq for the Blantyre ward in South Lanarkshire.
Mr Razzaq took the seat for Labour yesterday with nearly 1500 first preference votes, which was 47% of the vote.
The by-election was called following the death of Labour councillor Jim Handibode.
Councillor Mo Razzaq said:
“I would like to thank to people of Blantyre for putting their faith in me. I ran a campaign based on standing up on the issues that matter to local people and I won’t let them down.
We also saw during this campaign what happens when the Labour family comes together. Now more than ever Lanarkshire needs strong Labour voices to stand up against Tory austerity and SNP complacency.
I’m looking forward to getting to work and getting on with representing the people of Blantyre.”
James Kelly, Scottish Labour MSP for Rutherglen, which includes the Blantyre ward, said:
“Mo ran a great campaign and will be a first class councillor for the people of Blantyre.
We’ve seen in recent weeks Lanarkshire councillors unite against cuts from the SNP government in Edinburgh, and I know Mo will stand with his colleagues across the Labour movement to protect the most vulnerable in his ward.
For all the big talk of a Scottish alternative from the Tories, they fell flat in Blantyre, with their vote barely moving. It just goes to show even with a fresh lick of paint on it people know it’s the same old Tories, and they are toxic in parts of Scotland.”
But the Labour share of the vote fell by 7% while the SNP share rose by 9%. Even the Tories and LDs saw their share of the vote rise (though still a tiny percentage of the overall vote).
The Labour lead over the SNP narrowed from 24 points to just 8. Clearly Labour won in what was a rock solid seat for them. However, the crowing and ridiculous superlatives being used by them to describe the victory only serve to illustrate how far into denial the party has sunk.