Labour eyeing seven Scottish seats after analysing vote in council elections

Labour has said it is "within touching distance" of the SNP in seven Scottish seats at the General Election after it analysed the council poll results.

Using official figures from Elections Scotland, Labour secured 33.08% of the first preference votes in East Lothian, while the SNP had 27.92%.

Labour also had a higher percentage of first preference votes than the SNP in Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill, up 1.65% percentage points, and was 0.91 percentage points higher in Lanark and Hamilton East.

In four constituencies - Midlothian, Airdrie and Shotts, Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath, and Glasgow South West - Labour was within one percentage point of the SNP in the top-ranked candidate votes in last Thursday's local government elections.

Scottish Labour General Election campaign manager James Kelly MSP said: "This analysis shows that Labour is ahead of the SNP or within touching distance of the SNP in seven seats across Scotland.

"There are many others where we are just a few points behind, with the Tories a distant third.

"It's clearer now than ever before that only Labour can defeat the SNP in vast swathes of Scotland."