2016’s first quarter saw a bumper month for parties vying for local election funds, with the Tories raising £6,744,212 and Labour £5,486,345. This represents around 50% less than last year for both major parties in the same period (the larger ammount is to be expected in election year). Meanwhile, the SNP’s sighs of relief at not losing the Scottish Parliament are palpable, with the party only beating UKIP in donations due to the latter’s refusal to take public short money (the SNP received nearly £80,000 less than UKIP in private donations). More importantly, however, is the Nat’s massive outstanding loans: £1,165,553 all told, significantly above any other party. Guido’s sure those hefty government contracts north of the border will quickly help them recover…