Nicola Sturgeon kicked off 21 days of election campaigning with her big yellow SNP bus in a city party insiders believe it has already won.
Over the next three weeks the SNP will be handing out almost a million ballot papers across nine local authority areas, with ‘ease the squeeze’ as their slogan.
The party claims Boris Johnson has shown “callous indifference” over rising energy bills and the cost of living.
The first minister’s journey started off at the very top of Dundee Law.
The city has had an SNP council since 2009 and some in the party believe that is unlikely to change this time around.
You need 15 seats to take a majority on Dundee City Council.
Labour is fielding just 14 candidates, while the Conservatives currently have three councillors, the Lib Dems have two and former SNP member Alan Ross is the sole Alba representative.
Looking at that list, it would seem extremely difficult for any other party to come within touching distance of the SNP in Dundee – a point made clear by one party figure as the visit got underway.
Big smiles to kick off bus tour
The first minister had big smiles for the camera as she greeted city council hopefuls and current administration leader John Alexander.
Ken Lynn and Lynne Short, who are both hoping to be re-elected on May 5, even had a joint ‘Lynn(e) for the win’ bright yellow campaign t-shirt to show off to Ms Sturgeon.
One noticeable absence was Siobhan Tolland.
The party has come under fire and been told by opposition parties to drop her as a candidate after social media posts revealed she had shouted at the Pope and considered the 9/11 terrorist attacks to be an “inside job”.
It seems a picture with the first minister was not on the cards for the Lochee hopeful.
Inside the SNP campaign bus
Despite the first minister arriving at the top of the Law minutes ahead of schedule – atypically punctual for a senior politician – the glut of selfies and broadcast interviews meant the big yellow bus actually left Dundee 45 minutes behind schedule.
The Courier was invited on board to hear more about the party’s hopes for Tayside – and they have high hopes indeed ahead of May 5.
The inside feels more like a train carriage, with tables and copious space to spread out.
It even has a kitchen complete with an oven should the first minister or her campaigners fancy a snack mid-canvassing.
It’s also darker than one might expect because of the giant yellow wrap decaled with Nicola Sturgeon’s face and the words ‘vote SNP’ on the outside in block capitals.
Hitting the road
The Courier hitched a ride to the next stop in Perth.
There the first minister was was greeted by a small band of yellow-clad campaigners and SNP candidates at the South Inch Car Park, along with John Swinney MSP, Jim Fairlie MSP and Pete Wishart MP.
Despite all of Perth’s Holyrood and Westminster representatives being SNP, the council there is currently run by the Conservatives.
Ms Sturgeon’s jubilant mood arriving in the Fair City could be seen as silent confidence of how well the party will do on May 5.
However, there can be no day out on the campaign trail without a little drama.
With Nicola Sturgeon – the face of daily Covid briefings – and Covid Recovery Minister John Swinney in attendance, perhaps it is unsurprising that vaccines were the cause of the commotion.
Mr Swinney was branded “insipid” as he attempted to direct a member of the public away from challenging the first minister.
The deputy first minister handled the situation well and fortunately for the SNP leadership, the rest of the visit was spent on the usual baby pictures and hand shakes.
The SNP leader seemed to have enjoyed her first day on board the campaign bus but the real question is whether she will be as happy after May 5.