Oban North and Lorn (Argyll First defence, was Independent) on Argyll and Bute
Result of council at last election (2012): Independents 15, Scottish National Party 13, Conservatives 4, Liberal Democrats 4 (No Overall Control, Independents short by 4)
Result of ward at last election (2012):
Comments
Edit: Thanks for your efforts in compiling these every week Harry, and hope your grandmother recovers well from her troubles.
O/T I'm fully expecting Montie to soon throw some more toys out and to henceforth and forthwith utterly resign from his loyal support of Man Utd....
All the best for a speedy recovery.
My wife had acute glaucoma (I think as opposed to chronic) and it can be very dangerous. It's quite possible to go blind.
Thurs 18 Feb: Applications open.
Wed 24 Feb 12noon: Close applications
Mon 29 Feb: Short-listing interviews.
Wed 2 Mar: Selection meeting in Sheffield.
http://order-order.com/2016/02/18/man-who-lost-to-clegg-running-again/
Mandelson has stepped in to help Cameron. Cameron is in trouble.
@IsabelHardman
British officials now briefing that going is tough in talks, ‘Tusk shares the assessment that there are some serious differences’
8:11 PM - 18 Feb 2016
Jennifer Rankin
@JenniferMerode
No real progress in UK-EU talks - 'serious differences' remain, say sources.
8:19 PM - 18 Feb 2016
Andrew Sparrow, 8.20pm
No major progress has been made in the first session of talks this evening, which means the leaders will go into dinner to talk about the migration crisis. David Cameron and Donald Tusk will then hold a bilateral to plot a way forward, while Tusk himself is expected to hold a press conference at midnight.
Lordy.
Different problem, different Project.
Different times.
It's the domestic violence metaphor that I think is not apt. It would suggest that the UK will need to be protected from the rest of Europe in future, that it will need time and counselling before it can deal independently with other nations again, and so on.
In reality I think both of us have an optimistic view of what the UK could do outside the EU.
Your liable to shoot one after reading one of Nabavi's posts.
Neither of his main challengers have benefited though. Even if he drops another 3 points (or more), Trump will still have a blowout win in terms of delegates...
.... Cameron decides talks have failed so he recommends 'Leave' and 'Remain' wins. Cameron resigns and the Tories slip into civil war and appoint Pritty the unmerciful as leader........
Thanks for the writeup Harry, and hope your grandma gets well soon.
@Flightpath_01 I think Richard Tyndall's put down of your Finchley Road reply to me last night was highly apt. I wouldn't want to upstage it.
https://twitter.com/Owen_PatersonMP/status/700392990603419648
https://twitter.com/Owen_PatersonMP/status/700393751068479488
We could have your head on a spike.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vVjSCGiXjyI
On another note, scintillating snooker so far at the Welsh Open this week from Ronnie O'Sullivan. Enjoy him while you can.
This all sounds tons better than an apricot eat natural bar and a packet of ready salted crisps.....
Clearly they need to send observers to pick over the last moments of the species, and so a flight to Camden has been arranged. As they're considerate rhino they'll certainly only be wrecking the non-essential bits of the SeanT environment. That consideration of course being in abeyance if there's even the slightist Rhino need involved.
(So firstly apologies SeanT - this isn't in any way a dig at you. I'd be incredibly excited and thrilled if I was off to see something so incredibly rare. I think doing so would break my heart too.)
This is Not A Good Thing, but it was.. good.
Off topic, Leave is surely value tonight at 2/1? There is a serious prospect that there won't be a deal tomorrow. Besides Britain, the EU also needs to discuss the migrant crisis, which is a much bigger deal for most members than the UK's renegotiations. No deal would probably mean no referendum until the autumn, which would have to favour Leave (which is one reason Cameron wants a deal now).
It might all be posturing but I doubt it given the seriousness of the migration crisis. Would Tusk, Merkel and the PMs from the central and eastern states be taking the UK's talks into a second day unless there was a lot of talking still to be done?
'No progress' so far at EU summit - 21:08
Negotiations on David Cameron's EU reform demands have made "no real progress" so far, Downing Street sources say.
The first session of the EU Council ended with a "significant gap on a number of issues", the sources said.
Mr Cameron is attempting to persuade other EU leaders in Brussels to agree the reforms he wants before holding an in/out referendum.
But objections have been raised including over child benefit curbs.
https://twitter.com/bbclaurak/status/700415002973507586
https://twitter.com/bbclaurak/status/700414700039880705
https://twitter.com/bbclaurak/status/700417174247251973
First, hope your grandmother is soon well, Harry.
Second, three tough defences for the LDs but all I can offer knowledge-wise relates to the Newmarket & Red Lodge by-election for Suffolk CC. The West Suffolk Independent candidate, Andrew Appleby, was once an LD Councillor on Forest Heath but left the party in 2009 and stood as an Independent in West Suffolk in 2010.
The West Suffolk Independent Group was set up in 2015 and has a small number of County, District and Parish Councillors. Not to be under estimated in a seat where I think one of the main issues is a large housing development on the outskirts of Newmarket.
Here for tomorrow's bookfair
I'm not expecting him to jump the Remain ship though. If he can't get a deal, he'll try for the March or June summits.
How can you have serious differences over nothing? This is just more smoke and mirrors
Our natural bafflement - and their resistance - just goes to highlight the absolutely colossal gap between ourselves and the rest of the EU politically.
Vote Leave.
Still won't do it.
And then we'll have the nauseating claims that UK depends on the EU for 3m jobs....think what we could do instead with the £30m net per day contribution to the EU. And try telling those 60% of youth unemployed in Greece, that the youth that are lucky enough to have a job there are dependent on the EU for their job! Risible, just risible.
Spurs and Liverpool can't win (so far, in the case of Liverpool; one hour played).
Is there going to be any result for the UK in Europe today?
The fact that it is an argument over items that would fit on top of a pin head goes unreported in the main media channel.
I think that's the reality.
Nailed on a last minute agreement is reached "Past the eleventh hour" etc etc.
Bigger fish to fry with the Premiership.
I'm bored now. Logging off.
There are other subspecies which have gone extinct or are on the verge of it. The Chobe Black rhino is down to perhaps a single living creature. Clearly that will go soon too. Only the south-central Black Rhino survives in any numbers. I was lucky enough to see a herd of 11 in the Ngorongoro Crater back in 1994. Probably the only opportunity in the wild on the planet.
DNA work suggest that the Northern White Rhino is a full species, distinct from those in southern Africa. So another species that must inevitably go, in our lifetime. It will be powerful, seeing these things close to departure from our world. I imagine it will probably be quite difficult to curb your anger. Fucking Chinese medicine. Rhinos. Tigers. Snow Leopards. Being wiped out, just so some Chinese **** thinks he can get a moment of immortality.
(1) Cameron finds it impossible tomorrow to reach an acceptable deal and returns to the UK with great drama pending another conference in a couple of weeks time.
(2) Cameron gives up the renegotiation as a bad and embarrassing job and accepts that he has to win the referendum on the state of the EU as it is having demonstrated how hard satisfactory change is. A less than optimal position.
I would say the odds are at least 80:20 in favour of option (1). Unfortunately this means another 2 weeks of non stop EU threads. You start to get a bit jealous of those rhino don't you?
Hope it doesn't bugger up the tenner that I've got on the Russkies to win it this year.
http://www.bubbletoonz.com/uploads/toonz/000/000/003/11/camila-batmanghelidjh-secures-future-employment-as-widow-twankey.png
Can Cameron disengage like that?
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CbhxOR8WwAAVaJS.jpg
'The West Suffolk Independent Group was set up in 2015 and has a small number of County, District and Parish Councillors. Not to be under estimated in a seat where I think one of the main issues is a large housing development on the outskirts of Newmarket.'
Getting your excuses in early.
(3) Cameron does the best deal he thinks he can tomorrow, reasoning that getting going with the campaign will be better than two, four or more weeks of listening to the Sun, Mail, Express, Telegraph and increasingly backbenchers and perhaps ministers publicly ratchet up the pressure, then coming back with something not-too-ideal anyway.
(4) He says 'f*ck it' and backs Leave.
The EU leaders will not want to be discussing Polish benefit repatriations while there is a migrant crisis unsolved. This is Cameron's moment and the EU's indulgence on the subject. After tomorrow, is ceases to be agenda item 1 and will have to fight for its place alongside everything else. In other words, if the deal isn't done tomorrow (or Saturday, if they decide to stay the extra day), I don't expect a June referendum.
I struggle to believe that having serious negotiations about very serious and important subjects dragging on to the early hours is in any way sensible or wise. Tired people make very bad decisions. That is if they are really negotiating rather than getting on the pop and/or playing cards for a few hours.
If we were a smaller EU country I would agree with your other point but losing 12% of the EU and the second biggest financial contributor will always be high on the agenda. Doesn't mean that they won't be getting pissed off with all this of course.