cRAIG SmItH

Council elections always throw up surprises and it’s fair to say there were a few yesterday.

Let’s start with what we did expect though.

Nobody anticipated a single party to hit the magical 38 mark and so it proved, and to be honest I think the smart money would have been on the SNP to secure the most seats, which they did.

We thought it might be close between the SNP and Labour, which it was, and one also would have bet their bottom dollar on there being a need for some intense bargaining over the next few days as the parties try to form an administration.

That will certainly be the case this weekend, although it seems pretty clear there will be no formal coalition involving the Tories.

Whatever happens though, Fife Council will be a much-changed place.

I don’t think many would have foreseen SNP leader Neale Hanvey lose his seat, or party stalwart Brian Goodall edged out.

Big Labour names like Tom Adams and John Wincott also fell, while Susan Leslie losing her seat for the Lib Dems was a surprise.

But the biggest shockwaves were made by the Tories.

There was a feeling they would make gains, but not on that scale.

For me, the fact a Tory was elected in Cowdenbeath sums the day up better than I ever could.

Interesting times.