Council election results will be announced across Scotland today with the SNP widely expected to remain the biggest party.
Counting will begin at 9am across 32 local authority areas with declarations expected from late morning onwards.
Nicola Sturgeon's party is expected to win most councillors and the highest vote share out of the national total.
But it could be a day to forget for Douglas Ross and the Tories as voters make their feelings known about PartyGate and other recent Westminster scandals.
Due to the nature of the voting system used at local elections it is unlikely that any one party will win a majority of seats on any council.
That means an intense period of political horse-trading will take place in the coming days as rival parties negotiate power-sharing agreements.
Professor John Curtice said that if the SNP did not come first after results were declared it would be a political "earthquake".
The country's top polling expert told the Record it could also be a good day for Scottish Labour if the party managed to push the Conservatives into third place.
"The only evidence we have got is the polls - and all the polling since Christmas has put Labour ahead of the Tories," he said.
"The figures in the polls won't be replicated exactly in local elections, not least because of the support given to independent candidates."
Curtice said the local elections were always going to be difficult for the Conservatives as the party did so well at the last council poll in 2017.
"Even without PartyGate, they were no longer at those kinds of levels, so some fall-back was inevitable," the Strathclyde University academic added.
"At last year's Holyrood election the party was only just ahead of Labour in the constituency vote.
"I don't think there is much Douglas Ross could have done."
If Labour did regain second place from the Tories it would provide a "morale booster" for Anas Sarwar and his party, Curtice said.
But such a result would not necessarily strengthen the pro-Union side when it comes to the on-going debate on Scotland's constitutional future.
"I think the biggest implication is the political fragmentation of the Unionist movement in Scotland will simply be accentuated," he added.
"The principle biggest disadvantage the Unionist side has in Scotland is it is politically fragmented - whereas the SNP dominates the Yes side, albeit with the Greens as an outrider.
"Unionism is significantly divided."
Curtice said one question that would be answered today was how well the SNP does.
"The SNP did not do very well in 2017 - they only held their own - whereas given everything that had happened, you would have expected them to have advanced," he added.
"They are in a better position now - but the polls don't put them much further ahead of where they were five years ago.
"My guess is they will make a modest advance."
