The mood at Aviemore this year was definitely one of consolidation, not triumph, as the SNP held its first conference as a party in power.

Falling eerily close to the 40th anniversary of the SNP gaining its first seat in Parliament. Alex Salmond used the opportunity to call for a referendum on independence, and for the unionist parties to find a way to back it.

There were also calls for a "bonfire of the quangos", a phrase used by Gordon Brown in 1995, in a bid to slim down government.

The M8 road linking Glasgow and Edinburgh was another hot topic. The road is currently part motorway and part dual carriageway.
Salmond announced plans for it to be upgraded.

Salmond told the hundreds of SNP supporters that as every day passed he was more certain of the need for independence.

Over the weekend, a leading Labour minister claimed that Scotland could stand on its own two feet if it came to it.

Scotland Office Minister David Cairns said he does not believe the country would "wither and die" if it were to break from the UK.