Scotland council election 2022: SNP has secured a historic victory, far ahead of calamitous Tories and other parties – Angus Robertson MSP

The SNP victory in the Scottish local government elections is truly record-breaking.

Not only is this the 11th national win for the SNP in a row, but it is the greatest ever result in a local election, winning most seats won, and with the most gains out of any party. The SNP are the largest party in the highest number of councils. It was also the best ever result for pro-independence parties.

When the final results were tallied across Scotland’s local authorities the SNP won 453 seats, with the Labour Party managing their second worst performance in half a century, far behind on 282.

Meanwhile the Tories dropped calamitously to 214, the Liberal Democrats were miles back on 87 and the Greens on 35.

Despite 15 years in government, the SNP managed to win an additional 22 seats, more than Labour’s gain of 20, the Lib Dems 20 and the Greens 16. Meanwhile the Tories shed 63 councillors owing to the appalling leadership of Douglas Ross and Boris Johnson.

Geographically the SNP won in both rural and urban Scotland, securing the number one spot in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Dundee and Aberdeen as well as most of the Scottish mainland from the Highlands down through Perthshire, Stirlingshire to the Central Belt, Lanarkshire and East Ayrshire.

In Edinburgh, the SNP retained the number one spot as the Tories imploded. Adam McVey and colleagues secured 19 seats while the Conservatives saw their representation halved to nine.

With Labour on 13, the Lib Dems on 12 and Greens on ten, there are now plenty of options for an administration that doesn’t include the Tories. Outgoing Edinburgh Council leader McVey has already signalled his wish for stable cooperation saying that “we want to work with progressive parties”.

Nicola Sturgeon celebrates with councillors and supporters at the local election count in Glasgow (Picture: Peter Summers/Getty Images)

One particularly pleasing aspect of the council election results has been the diverse range of candidates successfully elected, with a good number of extremely talented women, BAME and LGBT+ colleagues returned.

In Edinburgh, I am delighted to be joined by both new and returning SNP councillor colleagues and look forward to working with them all.

Angus Robertson is the SNP MSP for Edinburgh Central and Constitution, External Affairs and Culture Secretary