THE political struggle to decide who rules York is on.
Rival parties will spend the next four-and-a-half weeks in a battle for supremacy which could be one of the closest and most intriguing the city has ever seen.
Voters go to the polls on May 5 to choose who should run City of York Council, a tightrope authority where the Liberal Democrats face a tooth-and-nail fight to stay in charge.
Click to view current breakdown of York wards>>
The public will also have their say in Selby, Ryedale, Hambleton and East Yorkshire, as well as in a referendum on a new UK voting system for electing MPs.
The 2007 election left York with a hung council, as no one party has an overall majority, and David Howell, professor of politics at the University of York, said the city’s “socially-mixed electorate” makes reaching the winning post of 24 seats for overall command “a very difficult target”.
He said: “Although 2007 was a very bad year nationally for Labour and they should make gains this time, it would need a big boost in support to get them up to 24 seats.
“In many Lib Dem seats, their closest rivals are the Conservatives, not Labour. If disenchanted Lib Dem voters switch to Labour or abstain, this may help the Tories.
“There is also the question of whether Lib Dem national unpopularity necessarily feeds through to an erosion of local support, or whether local issues and loyalties offer some protection. Similarly, the Greens had a disappointing General Election result in York – will the same happen on May 5?”
Only victory will do for Labour, with the national party classing York as a barometer for its UK-wide prospects. Its ward wish-list is topped by Westfield, the Lib Dem stronghold of council leader Andrew Waller and the previous leader Steve Galloway.
Heslington, Fulford, Huntington and New Earswick and Skelton, Rawcliffe and Clifton Without are also in the party’s sights. But the party must defend its own turf as well and could be pressured in Micklegate and Guildhall, while the Lib Dems will aim to challenge Labour leader James Alexander and his colleagues in Holgate while holding on to what they have. Meanwhile, the Conservatives have designs on wards such as Heworth Without, Wheldrake, Haxby and Wigginton and Strensall, while top Green targets include Heslington and Micklegate.
The overall picture is clearer elsewhere, with East Riding of Yorkshire Council and Selby and Ryedale District Councils all Tory power-bases, but local elections are famed for the airing of discontent with national parties.
RYEDALE: 14 Conservative, 8 Lib Dem, 4 Independent, 3 Liberal, 1 Ryedale Resident.
SELBY: 30 Conservative, 9 Labour, 2 Independent.
EAST YORKSHIRE: 45 Conservative, 13 Lib Dem, 3 Labour, 4 Independent, 1 Social Democrat, 1 Conservative (not affiliated locally).
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