James Robb has resigned as Leader of the Council with immediate effect.
He has clearly had no choice but to do so, given the orchestrated and concentrated campaign against him from within his own party.
But did he have to do it now?
Did Robb continue to put the interests of his unworthy party first – probably out of loyalty to the colleagues who stood by him and with his stand against external intervention and against the gutless political cut-and-run brigade?
This action of would remove the need for the SNP councillors remaining with the administration to decide today whether or not to leave it and ‘stay with the SNP’.
On the other hand, he may have resigned because they had fallen in line under the party threat and taken flight – which will raise far more questions and alienation than they or the SNP may have imagined.
We will report as we unravel what has been going on.
The endgame is that the external SNP party forces have had their way in their move to remove the SNP from power in local government in Argyll, avoiding the responsibilities they were elected to deliver in favour of protecting the failing vote for the 2014 Independence Referendum.
They may have got their way but the cost will be profoundly damaging.
It is inconceivable that, following a year of shameful civil war, with no care for their elected responsibilities, the SNP will get anywhere near power in Argyll and Bute for a very long time.