����ý

The SNP has won six seats in council by-elections across Scotland.

The party held seats in Glenrothes West and Kinglassie in Fife; Irvine Valley in East Ayrshire; Stirling East; and Linlithgow in West Lothian.

Those by-elections were triggered by local councillors being elected as SNP MPs in May's General Election.

The party also won a seat which had previously been held by an independent on Aberdeen City Council, and held another.

The SNP's Alex Nicoll replaced independent councillor Fraser Forsyth in Rosemount and Midstocket, and George Street and Harbour was an SNP hold for Michael Hutchison, who takes over from Andrew May.

Mr Nicoll took 1,168 votes, with Conservative Tom Mason second with 672, followed by Howard Gemmell of Labour on 605, Lib Dem Ken McLeod, with 238 votes and Jennifer Phillips of the Greens on 170.

Mr Hutchison won with 961 votes, with Labour's Mike Scott second on 490 votes, followed by Conservative Brian Davidson on 195, Alex Jarvis of the Greens on 136 and Lib Dem Euan Davidson with 96 votes.

The contest in Fife, which was triggered by Peter Grant becoming an MP, was won by fellow SNP member Julie Ford.

She won 2,235 votes to Labour rival Alan Seath's 1,207. Conservative Jonathan Gray took 234 votes and Green candidate Lorna Ross 113.

In the Irvine Valley vote in East Ayrshire, triggered by Alan Brown becoming the MP for Kilmarnock and Loudoun, Elena Whitham won the seat for the SNP with 1,797 votes.

Conservative candidate Susan McFadzean was second with 865 votes, Labour's Alex Walsh came third with 860 votes, while Jen Broadhurst of the Greens took 88.

In Stirling East, where former SNP councillor Steven Paterson went on to become an MP, Gerry McLaughlin held the seat for the party with a final tally of 1,388 votes.

Labour candidate Chris Kane won 1,272 votes, while Luke Davison of the Conservatives and Alasdair Tollemache of the Greens took 352 and 152 respectively.

The by-election in West Lothian followed the election of Martyn Day as an MP.

David Tait held the seat for the SNP after polling 2,049 first preference votes, ahead of Labour's David Manion on 1,088, and Conservative candidate Ian Burgess on 973.

Independent Dennis Slater was elected for the Heldon and Laich ward on Moray Council, replacing independent councillor Eric McGillivray.

Mr Slater secured 1,775 votes., ahead of the SNP's Joyce O'Hara with 1,100, Conservative Pete Bloomfield on 725 and James MacKessack-Leitch of the Green Party on 192.