The SNP government's moves on Alexander Dennis have resulted in a surprising outcome, writes Business Editor Ian McConnell, as he reflects on factory closure decisions over the decades and how there is usually not much room for optimism.

Having observed the very sad demise of many major manufacturing operations in Scotland over the decades, there tends to be precious little room for hope after closure plans are announced.

The sentiments expressed by those striving to keep sites open in such circumstances are laudable, as are the efforts of those who work tirelessly for a different outcome to that outlined by whatever corporation is planning to axe the factory in question. There are often hundreds of people’s livelihoods directly at stake in such situations, and sometimes thousands.

Many other people are affected too. There are the families of the employees and also the likes of people running businesses in the local area dependent on customers with money in their pockets to spend.

And, of course, there is also the grim impact on the economy from such closure decisions, locally and more broadly.

Scotland has suffered huge job losses with the closure of major electronics manufacturing operations in recent decades.

And hundreds of jobs were lost when the McVitie’s factory in Glasgow shut a few years ago.

There were enormous, and commendable, efforts to save the McVitie’s factory but sadly to no avail.

And there have been many similar scenarios, across a broad range of manufacturing sub-sectors, over years and decades.

So, when bus builder Alexander Dennis announced proposals to close its Scottish operations with the loss of hundreds of jobs and consolidate its UK manufacturing at Scarborough in Yorkshire, it was difficult to do anything other than fear the worst.

In June, Alexander........

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