Power in Scotland will be the SNP’s to lose once again

John Swinney with party members and candidates at the launch of the Scottish National Party campaign - (PA)

Of all the many and varied contests on 7 May, the biggest single set of elections is also the easiest to call: Scotland.

If the polls and the turnout at the previous contest in 2021 is anything to go by, something like 5.4 million Scots will turn out to cast a ballot, and enough of them will vote to return an SNP, or certainly an SNP-led government.