Council by-election · Thursday, 29 October 2026
Argyll and Bute: Mid Argyll ward
Archive. This election has already happened. Everything below is shown as it stood at the time: the candidates, their published positions as of the campaign, and household figures under the law of 2026. Nothing here is a judgement of what happened afterwards.
7 candidates stood here, polling day 29 October 2026. The same page for each of them, in the order you will see on the ballot paper. Read them all, or start with the one you have heard of.
The 7 on your paper in the order you’ll see them
No. 1Scottish National Party (SNP)
Andy Buntin
No statement supplied.
Nothing published that we could source yet
No. 2Restore Britain
George Love
“George is proud to be standing up for a secure future for Scotland and the United Kingdom!”
Nothing published that we could source yet
No. 3Scottish Liberal Democrats
Douglas MacDonald
No statement supplied.
Nothing published that we could source yet
No. 4Reform UK
Kaine McConnell
No statement supplied.
Nothing published that we could source yet
No. 5Independent
David Charles Moncrieff
No statement supplied.
Nothing published that we could source yet
No. 6Independence for Scotland Party
Fiona Nelson
“Having lived and worked in Argyll for over 40 years, working in hospitality, managing the Mid Argyll Swimming Pool, and running my own…”
Nothing published that we could source yet
No. 7Scottish Conservative and Unionist
Colvin Osborn
No statement supplied.
Nothing published that we could source yet
Result pending
Voting has closed. The votes are counted after the polls close, sometimes overnight and sometimes the next day. The result will appear here, with every candidate's votes, as soon as it is published.
Describe a household. Yours, a friend's, a neighbour's. Then each candidate's page shows what applies.
Money · Housing · Healthcare · Education · Environment · Transport and roads · Immigration · Crime · Defence · Equality and rights
Which topics do you want to see first? Optional.Choose
This is a council seat. A councillor's win changes what the council decides: council tax, housing repairs and allocations, planning, social care, schools admissions, parking, bins, libraries. It does not change national tax, benefits or NHS policy, so this page shows only positions published for this council election, and no national party pledges are implied.
No sourced positions have been published for this ballot yet, so every candidate shows the same empty slots. Every claim that appears carries its source, date and exact quotation; see the public ledger.
Compare candidates side by side
You're voting for
Your local councillor
Councillors sit on the council that runs services where you live. They set the council's budget and council tax, and decide local planning applications. Here, for Argyll and Bute: Mid Argyll ward.
What this office decides
- Planning. Whether new homes, extensions and developments get permission.
- Waste and streets. Bins, recycling, street cleaning, fly-tipping.
- Council tax. The level you pay, within limits set nationally.
- Social care. In county and unitary councils, care for older and disabled people.
- Parks and libraries. Opening, funding, closing.
- Council housing. Repairs, allocations and, in many areas, homelessness.
What it does not
- NHS policy and waiting times. Parliament and the NHS.
- Income tax and benefits. Parliament.
- Immigration. Parliament.
- Policing policy. The Home Office and your Police and Crime Commissioner or mayor.
- Schools' curriculum. Government and, for academies, their trusts.
How this vote is counted: single transferable vote. You rank candidates 1, 2, 3… as far as you like.Worked example
Each ballot starts with its first choice. To win, a candidate needs a quota: votes ÷ (seats + 1), plus one. If nobody reaches the quota, the candidate with fewest votes is excluded and their ballots move to each voter's next choice. If someone passes the quota, their surplus moves on in the same way. It continues until the seats are filled.
Example: 1,000 votes, one seat, quota 501. Round one: A 400, B 350, C 250. Nobody has 501, so C is excluded; C's ballots go to their second choices, say 150 to B and 100 to A. B now has 500, A 500, and the count continues on remaining preferences. A second choice is never wasted and never harms your first.
Andy Buntin
Scottish National Party (SNP)
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Andy Buntin
Scottish National Party (SNP)
George Love
Restore Britain
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George Love
Restore Britain
Douglas MacDonald
Liberal Democrats
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Douglas MacDonald
Liberal Democrats
Kaine McConnell
Reform UK
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Kaine McConnell
Reform UK
David Charles Moncrieff
Independent
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David Charles Moncrieff
Independent
Fiona Nelson
Independence for Scotland Party
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Fiona Nelson
Independence for Scotland Party
Colvin Osborn
Conservative and Unionist Party
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Colvin Osborn
Conservative and Unionist Party
Go deeper: independent sources
Cross-cutting: polling, fact-checking, parliamentary research
- Commons Library: constituency data dashboards
- electionleaflets.org: archive of election leaflets, searchable by area
- Electoral Commission: political finance register (donations, loans, spending)
- Full Fact
- House of Commons Library research briefings
- Institute for Government
- Ipsos Issues Index: what the public says matters most
- LG Inform: council performance and finance data
- Local Elections Archive Project: every council result since 2002
- mySociety Local Intelligence Hub: data by constituency
- UK Parliament: Commons votes (every division, how each MP voted)
- UK Parliament: petitions, with signatures by constituency