The next Scottish government, which now looks almost certain to be another SNP administration with or without a power-sharing agreement, can be sure of one thing.

That is that the nation's business community will continue to be difficult to satisfy.

And another thing that seems plain is that the SNP, assuming it forms the next Scottish government, will face a huge challenge in filling the yawning gap left by former deputy first minister and cabinet secretary for economy and Gaelic Kate Forbes’ decision not to stand for re-election. The decision on who should fill this role will be a big one.

It is probably also worth observing as we digest the Scottish Parliament election results that the SNP’s relations with the business community probably became easier after the party’s power-sharing agreement with the Scottish Greens came to an end. This is probably no surprise given it would surely be fair to say the Scottish Greens do not go out of their way to be the best friends of business.

Opponents of the SNP will no doubt keep trying to claim that Scotland is not a good place to do business.

This is a narrative that often seems detached from the reality of the situation, certainly when it comes to Scotland’s great success in attracting overseas investors.

Companies based overseas making cold decisions on where to locate operations globally are surely a very good barometer indeed of where is a good place to do business.

Accountancy firm EY’s foreign direct investment attractiveness surveys show Scotland has been second only to London in terms of the number of FDI projects won in every year since 2015. Scotland was also second only to London........

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