As the dust settles on the council election results in Perth and Kinross, the parties and candidates will have time to reflect on how they fared.
As predicted – and reflected elsewhere – the Conservatives were the big winners, increasing their councillors locally from ten to 17 at the expense of all other parties.
Perhaps not so surprising in Perth and Kinross as in the not so distant past it had two Tory MPs in Sir Nicholas Fairbairn and Bill Walker, and the council itself had a Conservative administration in the 90s.
Even further back the Conservative leader Sir Alec Douglas-Home held a local seat and now all eyes will be on the general election to see if the blue momentum can be maintained.
Of more immediate concern locally will be the shape of the administration in Perth and Kinross and no doubt the horse trading began as soon as the results were in.
Neither the Conservatives (17 councillors) or the SNP (15) can go it alone and will require support from other parties (Labour 1, Lib Dems 4, Independents 3) to take power.
That will require concessions from those involved – surely never a bad thing in local politics.
Hopefully, whatever their party affiliations, the thoughts of those involved will turn to the big issues facing Perth and Kinross and they will remain uppermost in their minds, rather than concentrating on party dogma.
It was refreshing that despite their success, Conservative leader Ian Campbell avoided triumphalism and admitted that with such wholesale changes (half the councillors on Perth and Kinross Council are new faces) it will involve a steep learning curve for all involved.
Perth and Kinross councillors have collectively always prided themselves on the genuine cooperation of the different parties in the pursuit of the best for the entire area – a laudable goal and a reputation that will hopefully survive the new political administration, whatever its hue.
