Every of the primary three seats to be declared on Friday throughout Falkirk Council's elections rely noticed a Conservative loss - a heartstopping second for the celebration domestically.
They'd defied expectations in 2017 to take seven seats on Falkirk Council and had hoped to construct on that by persuading people who they have been the one celebration with sufficient help to problem the dominance of the SNP.
However because the 2022 outcomes started to trickle in slowly, there was unhealthy information for them as Lynn Munro in Bo'ness and Blackness, Nigel Harris in Denny after which David Grant in Bonnybridge and Larbert all misplaced their seats in fast succession.
Their drawback was, nonetheless, not that their vote had collapsed - however that plenty of individuals voted 'anybody however the Tories,' which meant they did not choose up many second, third and even fourth votes from different events.
Within the single transferable voting system (STV) individuals mark their poll paper so as of desire, however are below no obligation to make use of all of them.
Firstly, the successful candidate's second desire votes are transferred, then the votes of those that have been knocked out.
In Bonnybridge and Larbert - the place Unbiased Billy Buchanan topped the ballot without having for transfers - the incumbent Conservative, David Grant, bought 1038 First Choice votes, simply forward of Scottish Labour's Jack Redmond on 993.
The SNP's Bryan Deakin, on 1212 FPv, picked up sufficient to be elected on the fourth stage.
By the sixth spherical of counting, Mr Redmond - a 26-year-old joinery lecturer - picked up sufficient transfers to maneuver forward of Mr Grant and reclaim the seat for Labour.
It was an identical story in Denny, the place Nigel Harris bought 1026 votes - forward of his nearest Labour rival, Alf Kelly, on 889.
However Mr Kelly was in a position to choose up sufficient transfers to make it by on spherical 5, becoming a member of SNP Councillors Paul Garner (elected within the first stage) and Fiona Collie (elected in stage two).
Mr Harris was additionally forward of Unbiased candidate Brian McCabe in first desire votes, however once more Mr McCabe overtook him because the transfers have been counted to develop into a councillor within the sixth spherical.
The three early losses weren't the story of the election, nonetheless, and there was jublilation when the celebration received a seat in Falkirk North for the primary time.
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The SNP's group chief, Cecil Meiklejohn, topped the poll with 2260 votes, Labour's Robert Bissett bought 1464, which was additionally sufficient to undergo with out the necessity for transfers.
James Bundy bought 857 votes, barely forward of the SNP's second candidate, Iain Sinclair on 801 - but Mr Sinclair bought sufficient transfers to be elected within the second spherical.
Mr Bundy took till the seventh stage to get sufficient switch votes to be elected, a primary for Falkirk North and a welcome victory for the Conservatives.
Talking after the vote, Mr Bundy stated that he had been "nervous and uncertain due to the transfers, however simply bought over the road in the long run".
He added: "I've tried to current a optimistic imaginative and prescient for Falkirk in my marketing campaign speaking about energetic journey and connecting the Kelpies, the Excessive Road, the Wheel, Callendar Home and different vacationer sights.
"I've talked about regenerating the Excessive Road and the bins and the roads, so I believe simply specializing in native points and being a councillor who will take motion on native points was the premise of my marketing campaign."
After Mr Bundy's victory was introduced, the tide appeared to show barely in favour of the Conservatives.
Though this time they have been behind Labour, there have been sufficient switch votes for the Conservatives to retain Councillor Jim Flynn in Carse, Kinnaird and Tryst.
He was elected within the seventh spherical after trailing the SNP group of Gary Bouse and Laura Murtagh and Labour's Margaret Anslow.
Within the Decrease Braes, it was the SNP who struggled to select up transfers as James Kerr was elected on the fourth stage and the SNP's Gordon Forrest on the sixth stage.
In first desire votes, Mr Forrest was forward of Mr Kerr by only one vote, with 1205 in comparison with 1204, each behind Labour's Anne Hannah who was elected at stage one with 1393 votes.
Within the Higher Braes gas poverty campaigner Claire Mackie (1202 FPv) was elected on the eight stage, becoming a member of Labour's Siobhan Paterson (1272 FPv) who hit the magic quantity required within the fourth stage.
Topping the ballot within the Higher Braes was the SNP's Jim Robertson who was elected on the first stage with 1918 votes.
In Falkirk South, Conservative Sarah Patrick did not want transfers to safe a spot, as she took over from dad John Patrick, who had been a councillor since 1996.