FIRST Minister Nicola Sturgeon hailed the Scottish local elections as an "emphatic" win for her party.

Following yesterday’s poll, the SNP remains the largest party in local government in Scotland, with 431 councillors voted into office, up from the total of 425 in 2012.

The SNP is the largest party in Scotland's four largest cities - Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Dundee.

The Tories gained 167 seats and returned 276 councillors, over double the tally they secured in the last local government elections five years ago.

Labour slumped to become the third largest party in Scotland's town halls, and it was kicked out of power in its Glasgow heartland for the first time in almost 40 years.

A total of 262 councillors were elected on a Labour platform, although one of them had been expelled from the party after the ballot papers had been printed.

That compares to the 394 seats the party won in 2012. There have been boundary changes since the last vote.

A total of 172 independent councillors were elected, along with 67 LibDems and 19 Greens.

Sturgeon said: "The SNP has won the election in Scotland and won it loud and clear.

"Thanks to the support of people across the country, the SNP has secured the largest number of councillors, the highest share of the vote - with an increase on the last result in 2012 and is the largest party in the most council areas."

Describing the results as a "clear and emphatic victory for the SNP", the First Minister said: "SNP councillors and SNP councils will put their communities and the people of Scotland first."

She also said they would be "an excellent springboard for the General Election" in less than five weeks' time.

"Results across the UK show that now more than ever, Scotland needs strong SNP voices to stand up to a Tory Government that is set to impose more cuts and put thousands of jobs at risk," she said.

"It is clear from these results that the only party who can be that strong opposition to the Tories - in Scotland and across the UK - is the SNP.

"Where Labour let Scotland down by losing so many seats to the Tories, the SNP showed that the Tories cannot take Scotland's votes for granted."

Sturgeon's party returned 39 councillors in Glasgow - four short of the total needed for control. The Tories also increased their numbers in Glasgow to eight, after having had just one representative there previously.

The STV system of proportional representation used to elect councillors in Scotland meant that no party has a majority in any of the 32 councils.

Scottish Labour leader Kezia Dugdale said it was "obviously a disappointing election" for her party.

She said: "Across Scotland, there has been a clear backlash against the SNP's plans for a divisive second independence referendum and anger over the SNP's woeful record running our schools, hospitals and public services.

Over the next few days, Labour "will be looking to build agreements with parties that will join us in opposing inflicting more austerity on communities and providing good quality local services", Dugdale said.

Scottish Green co-convener Patrick Harvie said his party had "made real progress" after it increased its tally of councillors from 14 to 19.

He said: "Greens have expanded our support base across Glasgow and Edinburgh, and we're seeing significant breakthroughs in other parts of Scotland, getting our first councillors on to local authorities where those Green voices will bring fresh ideas to the table.

"It's brilliant to have broken through in Orkney and Highland, and to have retained our presence on Stirling and Aberdeenshire councils.

"Amid a backdrop of poor media interest in local government, a Tory Prime Minister calling a General Election in the middle of the campaign, and other parties' shameless attempts to make a local election about national issues, we've made real progress."