Exit polls showing the SNP on track to lose 22 seats made it a tenser count in Dundee than might have been expected, even if the chances of the SNP losing either seat remain remote.
The two Dundee constituencies are among the safest in Scotland for the SNP.
The party’s former deputy leader Stewart Hosie won Dundee East with a majority of more than 19,000 two years ago while Chris Law took Dundee West from Labour with a majority of more than 17,000.
So it was expected to be a pretty stress-free evening for both men.
Certainly, there were no unhappy faces among the many SNP councillors and supporters at the count in Dundee International Sports Complex although Mr Hosie made it clear he was not taking anything for granted as the count began.
Unlike in the recent council elections, which use the single transferable vote system, the first past the post system lets candidates get a pretty good idea of who is winning early on unless the race is particularly close.
In Dundee East, Labour’s Lesley Brennan, who lost out to Mr Hosie two years ago, might be hoping for an unexpected victory but her more realistic aim is to stave off the Tory surge and hang on to second place.
In Dundee West, Labour’s Alan Cowan also hoped to cut into Mr Law’s majority.
Given the huge wins for both SNP candidates last time round, Dundee was seen by all parties as an impregnable SNP fiefdom.
While more marginal neighbouring seats like Angus, North East Fife and Perth and North Perthshire were all regularly visited by party leaders during the seven-week campaign, Dundee did not feature on any national or Scottish leader’s itinerary.
So with an SNP victory still the most likely outcome, both Labour and the Conservatives will be hoping to claw back some ground and pick up momentum for future battles.
