Labour hold seat in by-election following death of former leader

Labour has held on to the seat of its former Glasgow leader Malcolm Cunning in a by-election in the city.

John Carson was elected to the Linn ward ahead of SNP candidate Chris Lang-Tait in the vote following the long-serving councillor’s passing in September at the age of 65.

He attained 2,227 votes to his SNP equivalent’s 1,702 while Jen Bell of the Scottish Greens came third with 409.

Turnout was just over 23%, according to official figures.

Cunning fought for leadership of Scotland’s largest local authority in May of this year – 19 years after being elected as a councillor for the first time.

It means Labour will again have 36 councillors to the SNP’s 37 in the city.

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