Back in the day, before even blackberries were invented, the more tech savvy MPs were issued with these palm pilot things so they could get their emails on the move.

When I worked for him, Willie Rennie would spend Friday afternoons constantly checking his waiting for the ALDC email with all the local government by-elections in it. He used to get so excited, like a child who’s been told he can go to the sweetie shop after school and spend all his pocket money.

These days, you don’t have to wait for the email to come out. The results start rolling in on ALDC’s Twitter feed from midnight on Thursday onwards. Yesterday was Willie’s birthday and the Scottish Party delivered him not one but two new councillors.

The first result from Strathallan in Perth and Kinross came in just after midnight. New Councillor Alan Watt had taken a seat from the Tories. The local team had been running a pretty joyous campaign. Not the best start to what would become Russell Findlay’s first day as Scottish Conservative leader.

Of Alan’s win, Alex said:

I am absolutely thrilled to see Scottish Liberal Democrats scoring an amazing by-election victory against the Conservatives in their heartlands of rural Perthshire. Alan is going to make a fantastic councillor, standing up for the people of Strathallan and championing the issues that matter to them.

This brilliant result comes hot on the heels of our party overtaking the Scottish Conservatives at the last general election. I am meeting more and more people who once voted for the Scottish Conservatives but feel disenchanted with the party as it lurches towards ever-greater extremes.

People across Scotland are crying out for a change to the SNP, but it’s clear the Conservatives can’t deliver that. That’s why more and more people are turning to the Liberal Democrats to get the fresh start we desperately need.

By backing the Scottish Liberal Democrats, you will get hard-working local champions who will put your priorities first. Only we have a plan to bring down NHS waiting lists, get a fair deal for carers, help struggling pensioners, lift up Scottish education and grow the economy.

Alan Watt added:

I am delighted to have been elected as the Liberal Democrat councillor for Strathallan, and I want to thank everyone who came out to help me deliver our positive message.

Across the ward, people are doing really great things for our community, so this is a chance to work well and ensure we can get the best outcomes for the people of Strathallan.

I want people to see that by backing the Liberal Democrats, you get someone who’ll fight for you and put the issues that matter at the very top of the agenda.

On Friday morning, counting started in one of my favourite places on earth, the Cromarty Firth ward comprising towns and villages like Evanton, Alness, Invergordon and Ardross (where the Traitors is filmed) on the north side of the Cromarty Firth. Our Molly Nolan had stepped down, as had an Independent. Once the votes were in, there was no change – 1 Lib Dem seat and 1 Independent. Cllr John Edmondson joins the Lib Dem group on Highland Council. We beat the SNP, and the Tories came a dismal last.

Jamie Stone, in whose constituency the ward lies, said:

This stunning victory for the Liberal Democrats cements our place as the clear challenger to the SNP in the Highlands. I know that John will work day-in, day-out to make a difference for the people he serves.

Time and again, Liberal Democrats are proving that we are the strong, credible challenge to the SNP in huge swathes of Scotland. The Conservatives and Labour were both scraping the very bottom of the barrel with this result- neither of them can deliver for communities up here.

Across the Highlands, people are rediscovering their Liberal Democrat roots. They’re switching to us because they know we’ll fight for a fair deal, whether that’s on road safety, transport links or access to healthcare.

People in the Highlands are sick of being ignored. Only the Liberal Democrats have a plan to reverse years of SNP and Conservative neglect and put communities first.

There was also a pretty respectable result in Inverness, in the ward where I went to primary school. Chris Lewcock came third on first preferences, leapfrogging the Greens and Conservatives, increasing our first preference votes by over 10%.

All in all, the Scottish Party has good reason to be chipper today.

* Caron Lindsay is Editor of Liberal Democrat Voice and blogs at Caron's Musings