LABOUR’S Clacks candidate Lorna Robertson took just under 5,000 votes in what turned out to be an extremely poor night for her party.

Ms Robertson, an NHS worker, came in third place behind the Scottish National Party’s (SNP's) John Nicolson and the Conservative’s Luke Graham, who each took more than 20,000 votes.

After the results were announced at Alloa Town Hall on Friday, December 13, Ms Robertson said: “I would just like to congratulate John.

“It’s been a bitterly disappointing night for the Labour party.

“Luckily enough I love my job at the NHS and I’ll be back there on Monday.”

Speaking to the Advertiser in the aftermath of the result, Ms Robertson said: “We just have to take it on the chin and build it back up again.

“We need to gather our thoughts tomorrow and see where we go from there.”

The total number of votes cast was 57,944 with a turnout of 73.56 per cent and 131 ballot papers rejected.

The Ochil and South Perthshire seat was a Labour stronghold in the 2005 and 2010 elections before changing to the SNP in 2015.

In 2017’s snap election the seat was then claimed by the Conservatives for the first time.

Labour had more than 10,000 votes in that election, but took just 4,961 this time in another disappointing blow.