The local elections in May are once again a chance for people across Nottinghamshire to elect the people who hold sway over key services and decisions affecting their everyday lives. But politically, they will also be the first major test of public opinion in the county since 2019.
The last full elections in Nottinghamshire took place in 2021, when people were choosing members of Nottinghamshire County Council. But this year will be a broader test of opinion, with votes taking place at Nottinghamshire's seven district and borough councils and at Nottingham City Council.
From how strong the opposition will be in Nottingham to whether Nottinghamshire's two Tory strongholds will remain as such, there are several questions hanging over this year's ballots which May 4 will provide the answers to. Below are some of the key things to look out for when counting begins on the evening of May 4.
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Nottingham City Council - A stronger opposition?
Nottingham City Council has not been led by any other party than Labour since 1988 - when the Conservative Party lost control in a by-election following just 18 months in power. Despite having been in power for so long, the Labour Party has in the past faced a much stronger opposition in Nottingham.
But at the last election in 2019, just five opposition councillors were elected - two from the Conservatives and three from the Nottingham Independents. Although five councillors has been a small opposition against Labour's 50, the number was even smaller in 2015, when just three opposition councillors were elected.
What is particularly interesting about this year's elections in Nottingham is the ambitions of the current opposition parties. The Nottingham Independents have pointed out that with 28 candidates, they could in theory take over the running of the city council.
But none of the other parties are talking about running the council, they are instead talking about forming a much strong opposition on it. This includes the Conservatives, who have produced a manifesto which talks about holding Labour to account, rather than taking charge themselves.
Such ambitions mean that most of the parties seem to be taking a much more targeted approach in Nottingham this year, deploying most of their resources into specific wards to try and win them from Labour. In Nottingham then, it would be truly seismic if Labour were to end up without enough councillors to form a majority, so the thing to really keep an eye on will be the size of that opposition.
Broxtowe Borough Council - Will one party take control?
As it stands, Broxtowe Borough Council is a rarity in that it is not under the control of one party. The last elections in 2019 saw none of the parties winning enough seats to form a majority and a coalition was therefore created.
That means for the last four years, the council has been run under a partnership between Labour, the Liberal Democrats and the independents, with Labour's Milan Radulovic taking the role of council leader. The Conservatives in fact have the largest number of current councillors, with 19 members.
This election will therefore be a battle amongst all these parties to see if any of them can take overall control of Broxtowe, without having to rely on coalition agreements. One candidate to look out for in Broxtowe will be Reece Oliver, well-known as the Strelley lion keeper, who is standing for the Liberal Democrats. He unsuccessfully stood for the party in a Nottinghamshire County Council by election two years ago, but will he be successful this time?
Ashfield District Council - Will the Independents keep control?
At the last elections in Ashfield, the Ashfield Independents had only been in existence for around three years. But they went into that election already controlling the council, having gained power in 2018 after a vote of no confidence in the Labour leadership.
In 2019, the party then went on to win 30 of the 35 seats available on the council. But going into this election, one of the party's candidates is someone who was convicted in court and it finds itself taking legal action against another one of its current councillors, who is not standing for the party this time and is instead advising people to vote Labour.
But the Ashfield Independents point to a record which they say shows them delivering results on local issues ranging from the opening of new leisure centres to highlighting the blight of potholes. Its leader, Jason Zadrozny, has previously expressed his confidence that the party will not suffer from events such as the conviction of Tom Hollis - May 4 will show how well-placed that confidence is.
Mansfield District Council - The end of the town's Mayor?
As well as electing councillors to stand on Mansfield District Council, people in the town will be the only ones in Nottinghamshire to also be choosing a mayor. Yet the mayoral election is once again a curious one this year, given that two of the candidates are running on a ticket that could end up with the role being scrapped.
The Conservative Party's Andre Camilleri says he would give people in Mansfield a choice on whether they wanted to keep the role of Mansfield Mayor. Karen Seymour, the Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition candidate, says she would campaign for the abolition of the mayoral role. Labour's Andy Abrahams is the current mayor and although the party didn't gain enough seats to form an overall majority last time, the council has been described by Mansfield's Conservative MP Ben Bradley as the "last bastion of socialism" in Nottinghamshire.
The election will therefore be hard-fought, particularly by the parties who are fielding enough candidates to take control of the council - Labour, the Conservatives and the Mansfield Independents. But what will be particularly interesting to watch is whether this year's mayoral race could end up being the last.
Newark and Rushcliffe - Will they remain Tory strongholds?
Although people will be electing local councillors, political observers across the country will be once again using these local elections as an indicator of how people view the current Government in Westminster. With a General Election expected next year, the ruling Conservative Party in particular will want to see the mood of their own voters after a tumultuous few years.
In Nottinghamshire, the best places to look for a sign of the mood among Tory voters will be Newark and Rushcliffe, given that they are the only district or borough authorities controlled by the party. The majority held by the Conservatives on both councils is incredibly strong, and the party will be looking closely to see whether this remains the case.
Gedling and Bassetlaw - Return to the 'Red Wall'?
Gedling and Bassetlaw could also be providing many conversations for political observers across the country after May 4. The last elections in May 2019 once again saw Labour achieve a strong majority on both councils.
But these two areas then joined towns across Labour's so-called 'Red Wall' to flip to the Conservatives in the December 2019 Parliamentary election. That vote was labelled by many as the Brexit election and although people will be electing local councillors in both these areas, perhaps they could provide the first sign of whether the December 2019 Conservative vote was a one-off, or the start of a new trend.
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