Local By-elections

'Labour's Richard Tullett gained the seat despite a 22.5% drop in his party's first count vote share - a perverse side-effect of the single transferable vote system introduced for Scottish council elections last year. The system is meant to achieve a proportional seats share-out but yesterday's result was for only one seat and so leaves Labour with all three of the ward's councillors.' Stewart Paterson and Robbie Dinwoodie in the Herald, 10 th March 2008.

Gains and Losses in local by-elections since 2007

Single Transferable Vote (STV) system

Party	Logo	Holds	Gains	Losses	Overall
Scottish National Party		2	+ 2	- 1	+ 1
Labour		1	+ 1	0	+ 1
Liberal Democrat		0	+ 1	- 0	+ 1
Conservative & Unionist		0	+ 0	- 1	- 1
Independent		1	+ 0	- 2	- 2

Wards changing hands in local by-elections since 2007

Scottish National Party gains from Conservative & Unionist (1)

Scottish National Party gains from Independent (1)

Labour gains from Scottish National Party (1)

Liberal Democrat gains from Independent (1)