John McNally heads back to Westminster to represent Falkirk

Their support sees the former Denny barber heading back to Westminster for a third term.

However, he was quick to point out that after being elected in 2015, he anticipated this Christmas he would still have been in his first term. Instead, he successfully defended his seat in both June 2017 and this month’s General Elections.

Speaking shortly after Returning Officer Kenneth Lawrie announced the result of voting, Mr McNally said: “I think this is an emphatic victory for the SNP in Falkirk and throughout Scotland.

“It is credit to the SNP who are able to stand up for Scotland and protect her people from the Tory policies that may harm us.

“However, it just shows how much uncertainty is going on in the country and the mayhem being caused. When I was elected in 2015 it was for a five-year term, but look what has happened.

“Hopefully, I can now get back to work to represent my constituents who have put their faith in me.

“I’ve had a fantastic team who worked to get me re-elected and I intend to repay their efforts.”

His majority in 2019 rose by almost 10,000 to see him 14,948 votes ahead of his nearest rival, the Tories’ Lynn Munro.

A Bo’ness councillor, she had hoped to emulate Mr McNally in making the transition from Falkirk Council to Westminster.

Although she had a quarter of the votes, the Conservative share was still down 0.4 per cent.

There was no official Labour candidate standing after Safia Ali was removed by the party two weeks prior to election day after allegations of antisemitic comments on social media.

Despite this, 6243 people voted for her – which was an 18.6 per cent drop in the Labour vote.

Austin Reid, the Liberal Democrat candidate from Bo’ness, polled 3990 votes, a 5.1 per cent rise for his party, while the Green’s Tom McLaughlin saw their share of the vote increase by 1.7 per cent.

Johnny McNally (SNP) - 29,351

Lynn Munro (Conservative) - 14,403

Safia Ali (Labour - suspended) - 6243

Austin Reid (Lib Dem) - 3990

Tom McLaughlin (Green) - 1885

SNP majority – 14,948