The National:

THESE days you can generally count LibDem election victories on your hands, so it’s no surprise they will hang on to just about any glimmer of hope when it is presented … even when they’ve actually lost a seat.

In the Inverness South council by-election on Friday, Independent Duncan Cameron McDonald won a seat vacated by the LibDems Colin Aitken, taking nearly 80 more votes than Alex Cole-Hamilton’s party.

But the LibDem leader was not in a glass half-empty mood, as he instantly jumped on Twitter to proclaim the party’s “stunning revival” in the ward.

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“In the history of the ward, we’ve never overtaken the SNP, even when it had a LibDem MP,” he said.

In the low turnout election, the LibDems took a slim lead over the SNP of 11 votes. I guess I need more than two hands to count that one.

He also claimed the loss in the area was a sign it was “game on” for Highland candidate Angus MacDonald in the General Election.

You can’t knock their spirit I suppose.