A brief note to wish you and your family a happy Christmas and a not too exacting 2016. Up here the SNP’s record since 2007 continues to hit the buffers, with the latest disaster being the closure of the Forth Road Bridge as a result of some questionable decisions by the Transport Minister. Of more interest from a political standpoint was an article in The Scottish Daily Mail which suggested that SNP candidates in one of its heartlands were worried at the performance of the Conservatives in a local election. It is early days to call a change in direction, but it would appear that the fall in the oil price is having an effect along with a recovery in the fortunes of the Conservatives. With best wishes

David Fuller's view

Many thanks for your Christmas greetings which I return in kind and also for this update on events in Scotland which is much appreciated.  I do not see how the SNP can build an enticing future on Scotland’s oil, the removal of Trident, or the Eurozone’s appeal.  Anti-English sentiment has a longer history but Scotland’s Conservative Party has a good leader in Ruth Davidson.