Was It The Sunday Times Wot Won It?

It may have taken until the last declaration, but with the SNP topping the poll in the Lothians regional ballot, giving the party 3 additional MSPs to Labour's 1, it was the nationalists that finished the election ahead by a nose, with 47 MSPs to Labour's 46. Hardly resounding, but taken with our superior share of the vote and gains at the expenses of both governing parties, it's mandate enough to start putting together an administration.

The big question for me, though, is: 'how many more seats would the SNP have won had it escaped the final two weeks of monstering it received in The Sun and the Daily Record?'. Both rags carried 'features' this week, which urged electors in certain seats to vote tactically against the SNP. Although most would either have ignored the request or reacted with anger, I'm sure that it still had a certain effect on some readers, which may go some way to explaining why the SNP missed a few of its 'easier' target seats, but picked up so many unexpected ones along the way.

I'm told from the Edinburgh council count that our local candidate stormed the New Town, of all places, coming top amongst the first preference votes cast. Maybe the valedictory headline for this election, then, should be that 'It Was The Sunday Times Wot Won It'. Certainly, it can't be comfortable right now to be editor of the Scottish Sun, waiting for that call from Rupert Murdoch so you can explain exactly how you got your call so badly wrong.

And for what it's worth, I've nae sympathy for David Dinsmore at all. If his head is in any kind of noose right now, it'll be one he's tied for himself...