An intriguing election contest lies ahead in Derry on Thursday where Sinn Fein is seeking top spot in a city that has repeatedly bucked wider trends in northern nationalism.
It is now over two years since Sinn Fein asked the local leadership of the party in Derry to step aside, prompted by a review that followed two disastrous election results in the space of eight months.
While there are interesting battles elsewhere in the council, it will likely be the outcome of the rivalry between the SDLP and Sinn Fein that proves most informative for the future of politics in the overwhelmingly nationalist region.
