ELECTIONS 2017: Worcestershire County Council's key battlegrounds in Malvern, Wychavon and Wyre Forest

As part of our ongoing election coverage, political reporter Tom Edwards switches focus to the other parts of Worcestershire where the crunch election battleground will be won and lost.

MALVERN voters are set to play a big role in the county council's elections, with some incredibly tight seats up for grabs.

Voters across the 'West Worcestershire' patch effectively have the control of the entire council in their hands, with eight seats in the area up for the vote at a time when County Hall's Tory leadership has an overall majority of seven.

The last time the county council held its all-out elections in 2013, 60,328 people across West Worcestershire had their say, throwing up some incredibly tight results.

All eyes will be on the four key seats covering the central areas of Malvern, including Malvern Chase where Tory Councillor Lucy Hodgson won by just 27 votes last time around - squeezing past the Lib Dems.

In Malvern Langland it was even tighter, with over 2,000 votes cast and the winner, Conservative Councillor Ian Hopwood, winning by just three votes, narrowly defeating the UK Independence Party.

After being de-selected by his party Cllr Hopwood is now standing as an independent in what is expected to be another fascinating contest.

Elsewhere, in Malvern Link Conservative Paul Tuthill is defending a majority of just 173, with UKIP runner-up there four years ago.

And in Malvern Trinity, the town's lone Green county councillor John Raine is defending his seat for the first time and is sitting on a majority of just five, with UKIP and the Conservatives both eyeing up a possible victory.

The incredibly tight overall picture hardly relents elsewhere across West Worcestershire either, with one of County Hall's few independents, Councillor Roger Sutton, defending a majority of 71 in Croome.

The three seats of Hallow, Powick and Tenbury make up the rest of the Malvern-based seats, with Councillor Tom Wells holding a massive 1,508 majority in Powick and Conservative councillors Phil Grove and Ken Pollock also sitting in relatively 'safe' divisions.

But it is Malvern itself which is set to play a significant role in the overall outcome, with the likes of Labour contesting every seat as well as the Lib Dems and Greens.

Of the 57 council seats 32 are currently Conservative, 11 Labour, four Lib Dem, two Green and two held by UKIP, with six independents.

TORIES BID TO PREVENT OPPOSITION BREAKTHROUGH IN WYCHAVON

WYCHAVON will also play a significant role in the overall result this Thursday, with the district's 12 county council seats up for grabs.

County Hall's Conservative leadership relies on this area for strong support, with 11 of the 12 divisions having Tory councillors.

But the Labour Party is looking to make a strong impact in areas like Droitwich, Evesham is thought to be vulnerable to change and in Pershore, Lib Dem Cllr Liz Tucker holds a massive majority of almost 1,000.

Wychavon is also home to the seat of Bredon, where former leader Councillor Adrian Hardman sits.

One of the big stories here could come in Droitwich East, where veteran Tory Councillor Pam Davey is stepping down.

She held a majority of just 196, with Labour and the Lib Dems hoping to make a breakthrough here.

Elsewhere, the division of Droitwich West could also see fireworks, with fellow Conservative Councillor Lynn Duffy also quitting County Hall.

Back in 2013 she won the election by just 99 votes, meaning it is now placed high on the opposition Labour Party's 'target list' in south Worcestershire.

In Evesham North West long-serving cabinet member Councillor John Smith is defending a majority of just 69, in a division where UKIP is known to enjoy significant support, despite it not fielding a candidate this year.

Councillor Smith lost his Wychavon District Council seat to UKIP in May 2015, blaming the problems at Evesham Bridge, which was closed for more than six months in 2014 and had to be rebuilt.

He is now going up against the Lib Dems, Labour and a Green.

WHAT ABOUT NORTH WORCESTERSHIRE?

IT'S all to play for in north Worcestershire - with some fascinating election contests with big county council implications in store on Thursday.

The Labour Party is the biggest opposition the Conservatives have at County Hall, holding 11 of the 57 seats.

But eight of those 11 seats are held in north Worcestershire, in areas such as and Bromsgrove, making it a crucial to the party's hopes of being an effective opposition.

Labour group leader Councillor Peter McDonald is among them, holding a majority of 339 in Beacon, a division near the border with Birmingham where the Tories also enjoy strong support.

Councillor Chris Bloore, one of Labour's most outspoken politicians at County Hall, is defending a majority of 335 in Bromsgrove South.

Elsewhere, look out for the result in Alvechurch, where Conservative Councillor June Griffiths is defending her seat with a majority of just 99.

Bromsgrove Central and Woodvale are guaranteed new councillors, with Conservatives Anthony Blagg and Sheila Blagg, two members of the cabinet, stepping down.

And in another important north Worcestershire ward, independent Rachel Jenkins, who stunned the Tories by winning in Clent Hills, is standing down.

She won by 515 votes four years ago, with the Conservatives intent on grabbing it back.

In the Wyre Forest, expect a real bun-fight in the Kidderminster seat of St Georges and St Oswald, where Cllr Mary Rayner, from Independent Community and Health Concern, has a majority of just 49.

Conservative Councillor Stephen Clee is also standing down in Chaddesley, a seat where the Tories are vulnerable, defending a majority of just 75.

The Wyre Forest seat of St Barnabas, held last time with a Tory majority of 109, is also one to watch.