Thanks to a tour de force from John Swinney, the Minister for Everything, the nationalists snatched victory of a sort from the jaws of defeat last night.
They may well have lost their first significant vote since the May election but on the issues at stake - namely the Edinburgh trams project and the rail link to Edinburgh airport - the SNP government is still on course to get its way and have the projects severely curtailed if not cancelled altogether. for more click here