Argyll and Bute

Only the second SNP by-election win of the term will give the party a small amount of comfort following a brutal general election result.

The sad passing of a very long serving Lib Dem sets the party up for a faceoff against an Independent for a neighbouring ward who only resigned last year.

An Independent storms to victory to succeed her father, whilst the SNP and Conservatives slump to record lows in the ward.

A very popular local Independent leaves the door wide open for the SNP, Conservatives, or perhaps even his daughter.

Strong support on his home island led an Independent to make a quick return to the council, having previously been elected in 2017 as a Conservative.

The sad passing of an Independent councillor triggers the first “ordinary” by-election of the 2022-27 council term. What looks on the face of it to be an SNP-Lib Dem-Independent contest may be less rosy for the Lib Dems if their councillor of three decades has become reliant on his personal vote.

The last by-election of the year, and second last of the term, gives an expected Conservative victory in a largely rural ward, where Independents rather than the SNP were their main challengers.

The most surprising of our end of term by-elections comes from a last-minute resignation, where the Conservatives seem the clear favourites, with their only real challengers likely to be an Independent.

Two very different by-elections in Argyll & Bute gave us one ward where the Conservatives easily won on first preferences alone, and another where an Independent squeaked past the SNP at the very last stage to nab the seat.