Local elections 2023: Wirral Council expected to be keenly fought over
James T M TowillThe Liverpool City Region has been Labour dominated for years and it would take a truly seismic event to upset the status quo.
Five of the region's six councils - the City of Liverpool, Sefton, St Helens and Knowsley in Merseyside, plus Halton in neighbouring Cheshire - currently have massive Labour majorities while Wirral is run by a minority Labour council.
Voters will head to the polling stations on Thursday in all boroughs except St Helens.
In Liverpool and Wirral there are "all out" elections, meaning every single seat is up for grabs, while elsewhere only a third of seats will be contested.
To give you a better idea of Labour's domination, Halton and Knowsley councils have only ever been run by the party since the local authorities were created in the 1970s.
If you're looking for a real battle, Wirral is probably the most interesting place to watch when the results come in on Friday.
While the council there is Labour-run, the party has not enjoyed a majority since 2019.
The Conservatives currently have 22 seats compared to Labour's 24, while the rest of the chamber has a broad range of representatives.
The Greens gained ground recently, with nine councillors, ahead of the Liberal Democrats on six. There are also four independent councillors.
While all councillors agree regeneration is key to Wirral's future success, they have different views on how to best achieve it.
Providing enough homes for people who want to live in what is arguably one of the region's most beautiful boroughs is another issue occupying a lot of attention.
People love Wirral's landscape - but would they allow any green space to be built on if it meant they could have their family living nearby?
Sefton CouncilLabour will be hoping to build on the recent advances they have made in the north of Sefton, where the Westminster constituency of Southport is currently represented by Merseyside's only Tory MP.
The children's services department has been in the spotlight recently, and it currently has a government-appointed commissioner overseeing it after a critical Ofsted report.
Other issues for the borough include regenerating town centres, including Bootle Strand where the council's defended itself against criticism that purchasing the shopping centre had been a risky investment.
Knowsley Council's ruling Labour group has lost key seats in recent years.
The Green Party is the official opposition there, currently holding five seats, and the borough also has five independent councillors in the Halewood and Kirkby areas. Liberal Democrats hold three seats in Prescot.
Sixteen of the council's 45 seats are up for election, with half of those areas seeing a two-party race between Labour and the Greens.
Finally in Halton, money could be the number one issue for voters, with the council cutting some services because of budget pressures and introducing parking wardens for the first time.
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