Patrick Harvie hails 'groundbreaking' result as Scottish Greens win first by-election in Glasgow's Hillhead

Scottish Greens co-leader Patrick Harvie is celebrating a “groundbreaking” victory after his party won its first-ever by-election.

Seonad Hoy will become the 11th Green councillor in Glasgow after taking the Hillhead seat from Labour.

The by-election was called after the death of former Labour MSP Hanzala Malik, who had been a long-serving member of Glasgow City Council.

Hoy, who has served as the Glasgow Greens co-convener since 2022, said she was “absolutely” delighted to represent the area alongside her Green colleague councillor Martha Wardrop.

Phenomenal result – the first ever by-election win in our party's history. Congratulations @SeonadHoy! https://t.co/2R51wPWqf3
— Patrick Harvie 🇪🇺🌈 (@patrickharvie) March 8, 2024

Harvie, who is also a Glasgow MSP, said: “I’m so grateful to everyone who helped make this groundbreaking result for the Scottish Greens possible – Seonad, Martha, all our volunteers and every single voter who put their trust in us.

“We’re working hard to make a difference in Glasgow and across Scotland, and it’s clear that Hillhead’s voters understand the urgency of putting Green ideas into practice.”

Councillor Hoy said: “This was a real team effort from the Glasgow Greens. Every single one of our activists worked to make this happen and I can’t thank them all enough.

“But now the hard work really begins. I look forward to bringing that same energy and enthusiasm that saw the Scottish Greens win our first-ever by-election to my role as councillor in Hillhead.”

Scottish Green councillors celebrate the victory of the party's first-ever by-election wins. — Scottish Green councillors celebrate the victory of the party’s first-ever by-election wins. Scottish Greens

Councillor Wardrop added: “The election of a second Glasgow Green councillor in Hillhead is a tremendous breakthrough for our party in Glasgow. I look forward to working closely with Councillor Hoy to address people’s concerns across the Hillhead ward and help deliver a fairer, greener Glasgow.”