Hello and welcome back to The Midge, the e-bulletin that takes a bite out of politics in Scotland and elsewhere. 

Front pages

The Herald:

In The Herald, senior reporter Gerry Braiden gets reaction to the UK Government’s cap on payments to help tenants meet housing costs. 

The National leads on a Fabian Society report telling Labour it must work with the SNP if it wants to secure an anti-Tory majority at Westminster.

The Herald: In the Evening Times, Stacey Mullen meets a Glasgow woman helping families find missing loved ones. 

The Mail says more than £1 billion in foreign aid cash is being loaded on to cashpoint cards. 

The Times reports that commuters in the UK are paying 14% of their salary on rail travel, compared to travellers in mainland Europe who pay 2-4%. 

Councils are spending £200,000 a day on supply teachers, says the Telegraph. 

A survey by the FT finds economists are gloomier about Brexit than they were a year ago. 

Camley’s cartoon

The Herald:

Camley finds some barbed bargains in the sales. 

FFS: Five in five seconds

What’s the story?

Controversial columnist Katie Hopkins is being, er, controversial again. 

Snore. Who cares?

SNP Transport Minister Humza Yousaf for one. 

How so?

He was among many who took to Twitter last night to protest at Hopkins’ retweeting of a comment from an account featuring the Nazi symbol over a US flag. 

Her response?

Hopkins said she did not read the Twitter handle and subsequently deleted the retweet. She later apologised.

And the reaction from her employers? Awaited. 

Afore Ye Go

The Herald:

"When the facts change, so should policy … Indyref 2 should be shelved indefinitely until a better case is made.”

Former SNP leader Gordon Wilson after a poll for The Herald poll showed that, when those who are unsure were excluded, 61.5% were against holding a second vote on Scottish independence in 2017, compared to 38.5% who would support it. Above, Nicola Sturgeon at the 2014 party conference in Perth. Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images

Another day, another late-night tweet from the President-elect, this one in response to a speech by Kim Jong-Un.

From the New Yorker magazine.

The Herald:

"He appears to think it is his job to be Labour's puppet master.”

Gerard Coyne, who is challenging Len McCluskey, above, for the leadership of the Unite union, after the incumbent appeared to suggest in an interview with the Daily Mirror that Jeremy Corbyn would step down if the party’s poll ratings remained “awful”. Gareth Fuller/PA Wire

Former Labour MP Tom Harris wades in.

Labour's deputy leader appears to feel a New Year need for good omens. 

The Herald:

"I've enjoyed going around all these villages that I wouldn't have otherwise seen, these obscure little villages, and talking to guys with dogs, old ladies in the street, especially with the Elvis jumpsuit on.”

David Bishop, 72, of the Bus Pass Elvis party, is calling it a day after standing in 11 by-elections. His policies have included legalising brothels and giving OAPs a discount. Alex Britton/PA Wire

The Herald:

8.1 million versus 7.7 million

The Christmas viewing audience for Sherlock and The Queen respectively. Jeff Spicer/Getty Images

Thanks for reading and see you tomorrow. Twitter: @alisonmrowat