Labour and the Scottish Greens have taken council seats from the SNP in two Edinburgh by-elections, with results in Southside/Newington and Portobello/Craigmillar prompting fresh movement on the City of Edinburgh Council.

Labour holds Southside/Newington

Labour candidate Ruth Elliott won in Southside/Newington with 2,153 first preference votes, narrowly securing victory in the ward on Thursday.

Green candidate Isabella Gastel Alejandre finished second with 1,978 first preference votes. She was followed by Sam Mackenzie of the SNP with 757, Tory candidate Nick Layden with 717, and LibDem Artie Khovanov with 543.

Turnout in Southside/Newington was 27.3%, with 6,741 votes cast.

Greens make breakthrough in Portobello/Craigmillar

In Portobello/Craigmillar, the Scottish Greens’ Lorenzo Martinico took the seat with 1,781 first preference votes, beating candidates from the SNP and Labour.

Labour candidate Jim Wyke received 1,413 first preference votes, while SNP candidate Silas McGilvray finished with 1,531. LibDem candidate Liss Owen received 365 votes, Conservative Haris Young received 522 and Reform’s Andrew McLaughlin finished with 569.

Reaction from the winners

Addressing supporters at the council’s Waverley Court headquarters, Ms Elliott said: “I am honoured to be elected in Southside/Newington. I am so excited to represent this ward.

“I am so proud of myself and my campaign and all the work we’ve put in.”

Speaking to reporters after the result was announced, the 24-year-old added: “Young people are not well represented across all of politics, but particularly in local politics.

“It’s something that people tend to do if they have more time or if they have more money, but having young people there is really important because we are experiencing every stage of life differently from the generations before us.”

Mr Martinico said after his upset win: “I am incredibly humbled. This is the first time I have run for anything.

“We’ve done a lot of work – we were at the doorstep, we were flyering people, and people resonated [with our message].

“This is a good sign. We were not expected to win Portobello/Craigmillar, so I think it speaks well to our chances for next year.”

Greens hail historic result

Reacting to Mr Martinico’s victory, Scottish Greens co-leader Ross Greer said: “This is a truly historic day for Edinburgh and the Scottish Greens. For the first time ever our capital has elected a Scottish Green councillor at a by-election, showing the failing Labour administration that Edinburgh demands better.

“By electing Lorenzo, voters in Portobello/Craigmillar have demanded radical change in Scotland’s capital. Just a few months ago, Greens won our first ever Holyrood constituency here in the heart of the city. This result confirms that we are fighting to win next May’s council elections in Edinburgh.”