If one thing can be guaranteed from the council elections in Argyll and Bute, it is change.
Whatever happens at the polls on May 4, the authority will definitely have a new council leader.
Dick Walsh, who has been a councillor for 40 years, will not stand for re-election in his ward of Dunoon.
He has served as leader three different times over the years, most recently being appointed to the post in 2013.
The 70-year-old said: “I just felt that 40 years was long enough. I have got other ambitions and ideas I would like to follow.”
He said one of his proudest moments in local government was his involvement in the resettlement of Syrian refugee families on the isle of Bute.
Mr Walsh leads the seven-strong Alliance of Independent Councillors, which currently holds power in Argyll and Bute after forming a coalition with a group of 11 members which calls itself the Argyll, Lomond and the Islands Group. This is a mixture of LibDem, Conservative and independent councillors.
At present the SNP is in opposition, with nine councillors.
There are a total of 18 independent councillors, as well as four Conservatives, four Lib Dems and one Labour.
The five years since the last election have been chequered with change.
In 2012, it was the SNP group which emerged victorious after boosting its councillors from eight to 12 and forming an alliance with a group of independent councillors.
But the SNP victory was short-lived and the council plunged into political chaos in 2013 when an unpopular budget decision to close a care home in Dunoon was overturned.
Two councillors quit the SNP group and two independent councillors removed their support from the administration over the issue.
After being left with a majority of only two, the SNP attempted to strengthen its grip on power by forming an alliance with the Lib Dems and Conservatives.
However, meltdown ensued when the SNP councillors were suspended by their own party for not seeking permission before attempting to form such a coalition.
They were then told to pull out of the coalition or be expelled from the SNP, which they did, and group leader James Robb dramatically resigned from his post.
Councillor Roddy McCuish of the SNP then emerged as leader, forming an alliance with members of the group Argyll First and some independent councillors.
But after in September 2013, the Alliance of Independent Councillors took control by forming its current coalition with the LibDems and Conservatives.
The SNP is now looking to regain power in Argyll.
