GLASGOW City Council looks set to remain under the control of the SNP after they narrowly saw off a ferocious Labour comeback.

Susan Aitken’s party won 37 councillors, just one more than Labour, who added five seats to their tally at the 2017 election. 

It was a great result for the Scottish Greens who went from seven councillors to ten, and a miserable day for the Tories who saw nearly all of their gains in 2017 wiped out, leaving them with just two elected representatives

Councillor Aitken said the campaign had been “enormously challenging”. 

“It has been challenging for me personally, a lot of the time. As I say, I believe we have a record to be absolutely proud of. There are things that simply would not have happened over the past five years if the SNP hadn't been in power. 

“The equal pay settlement being one of them, and I don't believe Glasgow would have hosted COP 26 had it not been for the lead that we've shown in climate ambition for this post-industrial city.”

“Five years wasn't long enough to undo all of Labour's mismanagement from the previous forty.”

Labour’s Malcolm Cunning said there was a “clear shift in Glasgow, and that shift is towards us.”

“I've been coming to counts since 1974, in one way or another, but in terms of in here in Glasgow, these are the best results for Labour since well before 2015."

Two of the SNP councillors elected in Glasgow came to Scotland as refugees, Roza Salih and Abdul Bostani. 

Councillor Salih was one of the 'Glasgow Girls' who ran a successful campaign against the detention and planned deportation of Agnesa Murselaj. 

The Kurdish refugee is now an SNP councillor for Greater Pollok. She said: "I can't believe it. 20 years ago, I came to this country as a refugee. And to think back... I would never imagine to serve my city."

Elaine Gallagher, who was returned as a Scottish Green councillor for Southside Central ward for the party is the city’s first trans councillor. 

Her victory saw SNP stalwart Mhairi Hunter -  a close ally of Nicola Sturgeon -  lose her seat. 

She took to Twitter to blame the Scottish Greens and Alex Salmond’s Alba. 

“Well I didn't expect today to go like this. A combination of Green & Alba votes leaves me no longer a councillor.  Pretty ironic really. Still, more time to campaign for independence. Onwards & upwards.”

The First Minister tweeted that she was “Very proud of @MhairiHunter - she’s been a brilliant councillor and made a real difference in the ward. STV can be cruel at times.”