THOUSANDS of voters are heading to the polls across Worcester today for the elections - with D-Day for all our candidates finally arriving.
From 7am until 10pm the control of Worcester City Council is on the line, with the Conservatives looking to retain its power grip from the main opposition Labour Party.
Weeks of exhausting electioneering, door-knocking and canvassing is very nearly over - with 55 hopefuls vying for just 12 seats.
Council tax bills, car parking charges, the future of parks maintenance and bin collections - all of these issues are decided by which political party runs the city.
The 12 seats are a third of the council's 35 in total, with 19 currently held by the Conservatives, 15 by Labour and one Green.
A swing of two seats tonight could see the authority change hands, one year after the Conservatives wrestled back overall control for the first time since 2011.
The key battlegrounds the Tories are seeking to defend include Battenhall, Bedwardine and Claines, areas guaranteed to get new councillors after Robert Rowden, Derek Prodger and Mike Whitehouse stood down.
UKIP is targeting Gorse Hill and Warndon for potential upsets, while Labour needs to keep Cathedral and Nunnery if it is to stand any chance of regaining power.
All eyes are also on the St Stephen ward, where Worcester's lone and first ever Green councillor Neil Laurenson is defending his seat for the very first time.
As well as the five main parties in the Conservatives, Labour, UKIP, the Greens and Lib Dems two other fringe ones are fielding some candidates in Worcester - the British Resistance Party and TUSAC (Trades Unionists and Socialists Against Cuts).
Both of the fringe parties are trying to win their first ever city council seats as well as UKIP.
But not only is the city council's next 12 months being decided today, 74,331 Worcester voters and thousands more across Worcestershire will also be able to elect a new police and crime commissioner (PCC).
Bill Longmore has stepped down as West Mercia's PCC, with six candidates looking to replace him in the £75,000-a-year role.
His deputy Barrie Sheldon is contesting it alongside Conservative John Campion, Labour's Dan Walton, UKIP's Peter Jewell, Lib Dem Margaret Rowley and Green John Raine.
A total of 65 polling stations are open today, with the city council's count taking place at the Guildhall after 10pm tonight for the 12 ward seats.
The results are expected to be announced around 2am tomorrow morning.
The count for a new PCC is taking place at Shrewsbury Sports Village from 10.30am tomorrow in a massive process overseen by Shropshire Council.
A new PCC is expected to be announced tomorrow lunchtime once all the votes from Worcestershire, Telford and Wrekin, Herefordshire and Shropshire have been counted up.
Nationally, 41 new PCCs are being elected either tonight or tomorrow, while 124 English councils are heading to the polls.
It includes a third of council seats in 32 of the 36 metropolitan boroughs such as Birmingham, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester and Newcastle.
Whole councils are also up for election in Bristol, Peterborough, Warrington, Sheffield, Knowsley and Rotherham.
Elections are also taking place to the Scottish Parliament, Welsh Assembly, Northern Ireland Assembly and for the Mayor of London and London Assembly.
Recent polls have predicted that Labour could lose up to 150 council seats today amid poor opinion ratings for Jeremy Corbyn.
Mr Corbyn is under pressure amid a row over anti-Semitism in the party and fresh speculation about his leadership.
He used a visit to Wales yesterday to urge voters to "send a message" to the Conservatives about cuts to public services.
Tory ministers, meanwhile focused on London in an effort to hold onto City Hall, where the battle is on to succeed Boris Johnson as the capital's Mayor.
The last time these same council seats were up for grabs, in the immediate aftermath of George Osborne's 2012 Budget, Ed Miliband's Labour Party made big gains at the expense of the Conservatives and Lib Dems, adding 800 councillors.
* Follow the elections with us LIVE on this website from 10pm tonight as the results come in.
WHY SHOULD YOU VOTE FOR US? PARTIES MAKE ELECTION DAY PLEA
CONSERVATIVES
Over the last two years the Conservatives have repaired the damage done by Labour's brief spell in power.
We've devoted the extra resources needed to keep our city clean and have reversed Labour’s car parking rises which were crippling retailers and putting off tourists.
We have committed to the eight lane competition-standard swimming pool a city like Worcester deserves.
There remains more to do and a re-elected Conservative council will:
- Complete the building of the new pool
- Freeze car parking charges again
- Invest more in play areas
- Make even more of our riverside, with a new footbridge linking Gheluvelt and Keepax Parks
- Help Worcester City FC come home Please don’t let Labour and the Greens undo our city’s progress. Vote Conservative.
LABOUR
Labour councillors take great pride in our city.
We value our heritage and want our shops and businesses to thrive.
We are committed to developing a prosperous Worcester – where everyone has the best chance in life and no community is left behind.
A vote for Labour is a vote for tackling congestion, protecting the environment and speaking out about residents’ parking and bus services.
A vote for Labour is a vote for Worcester Football Club – we will bring City home.
A vote for Labour is a vote for stopping the privatisation of our excellent and highly valued clean and green service.
A vote for Labour is a vote for putting people and communities first.
A vote for Labour is a vote for people you can trust.
GREENS
The Green Party’s highest priorities are to reduce the amount of city centre congestion and air pollution, whilst at the same time increasing the amount of affordable homes.
New homes must be found, but we must do this without building on greenfield sites. We should instead be building on brownfield sites and encouraging more flats above our city centre shops.
We can reduce the amount of traffic in Worcester by a combination of common sense measures.
No to the increased traffic, caused by building an out of town shopping centre and no to more homes on the edge of the city.
Yes to encouragement for more walking/cycling and yes to more investment in public transport and building more flats above the shops in our city centre.
LIB DEMS
Under the leadership of Tim Farron, the Liberal Democrats are a strong opposition party with a growing membership that has achieved a large number of recent by-election successes.
Locally we have a proud record of representing the interests of our residents over the years with councillors who live in and know their area.
We have opposed inappropriate development in the green belt and our green network. We have opposed closure of the park and ride.
In a city that is facing housing growth we will continue to campaign for our green space, for an integrated transport system to reduce congestion in the city centre and for enough places in our schools for the growing population.
UKIP
UKIP councillors will serve you as the voice of reform in Worcester and the UK. We’ll make Worcester a better place for all.
We want to protect this city from over-development.
We’ll push the county for a transport system that alleviates congestion.
We aim to improve the quality of life for the people of Worcester. Residents on many housing estates have been neglected.
We want estate improvements and will work with housing associations and police to tackle anti-social behaviour.
Your UKIP councillors would not be whipped.
That means we're free to put our constituents first – local democracy, not party political football.
We will be the breath of fresh air the Guildhall badly needs. Put yourself first and vote UKIP.
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