The SNP has suffered yet another blow ahead of the general election, losing another by-election to the Conservative Party.
A by-election held in Dunblane and Bridge of Allan for Stirling Council saw the Conservative Party take 38.3 per cent of the vote.
The SNP lagged behind in second place on 23.3 per cent of the vote.
The Labour Party, who are expected to take seats from the SNP at the next general election, saw their vote share increase to 20.3 per cent.
The SNP has suffered yet another blow ahead of the general election, losing another by-election to the Conservative Party
PA
The by-election was triggered after Tory ward councillor Douglas Dodds stepped down due to ill health in November.
Councillor Thomas Heald will become the second Tory councillor in the four-seat-ward, alongside Robin Kleinman, who stole an SNP seat last March.
Independent Ewan Dillon and Green Alasdair Tollemanche also sit in the ward.
Responding to the result, Scottish Conservative MSP Sharon Dowey posted on X: "Fantastic result for our candidate in the Dunblane & Bridge of Allan by-election."
The Stirling Tories described it as a "huge win", adding: "SNP fading fast in a by-election once again."
The poor result for the SNP comes amid worrying polling for the party, suggesting it will lose seats across Scotland at the next general election.
A YouGov poll published earlier this month showed that Humza Yousaf's party is set to lose nearly half the seats it won at the last general election. The survey predicted that the SNP would win just 25 seats. It won 48 in 2019.
It suggested that Labour will reclaim many of the seats it lost to the SNP in 2015, returning 24 MPs if the poll comes to fruition on election day.
Despite this, Yousaf has set his sights on ousting all six Tory MPs north of the border in the upcoming general election.
The First Minister, who is struggling to retain 2019 SNP voters as Scots flock to Labour, told activists he can deliver a “Tory-free Scotland”.
A swing of less than five per cent is needed to wipe out all six Conservative MPs north of the border.
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The Conservatives have not been the largest party north of the border since Anthony Eden’s victory in 1955.
Tony Blair helped lead the Tory wipeout in Scotland in 1997, with Sir John Major losing all 11 seats to fall into fourth place.
It took some time for Scots to trust the Conservative Party again as Theresa May drastically increased the number of Tories elected to the Commons from one to 13.