VOTING has started in borough and parish council elections at Warrington with 61 candidates contesting 19 seats on the borough council.
Polling stations opened at 7am across the borough but there was little early indication of whether voters were turning out in force.
Labour and the Liberal Democrats are contesting all 19 seats up for grabs, the Conservatives are fighting 15 and there are six Green Party candidates and two for the UK Independence Party.
The council is currently controlled by Labour, with 34 seats, while the Liberal Democrats have 17 and the Conservatives six.
Three wards are not being contested this year – Great Sankey North, Latchford East and Latchford West.
But a number of key wards are being fought.
Conservative finance spokesman Paul Campbell is defending his seat
at Penketh and Cuerdley and 
there is expected to be a close fight between the Liberal Democrats and Labour at Poulton North where voters have taken part in two by-elections since last summer, both won by the Liberal Democrats
Sitting councillors Kevin Reynolds and David Earl, both Liberal Democrat face strong challenges at Whittle Hall and Westbrook respectively and Liberal Democrats are trying to wrest back the Hatton, Stretton and Walton seat from Conservative Paul Kennedy.
Labour’s Chris Vobe – son of Warrington North MP Helen Jones – is going head-to-head with Conservative leader Keith Bland in a keenly contested campaign at Culcheth, Glazebury and Croft.
Leader of the council Terry O’Neill and his deputy, Mike Hannon, are both defending their seats in safe Labour 
wards.
Labour are confidently predicting they will gain a number of seats, strengthening their hold on the council.
Unusually, the count at Warrington will not start tonight. Instead, it will be started at 10am tomorrow (Friday) with the first results expected around 2pm.
Parish council elections are also taking place across the borough – although in some cases candidates have already been declared elected unopposed.
These are at: Appleton, Thorn ward; Birchwood, Chatfield ward; Burtonwood and Westbrook, Callands, East, West and Westbrook wards; Cuerdley; Grappenhall and Thelwall, Thelwall ward; Hatton; Poulton-with-Fearnhead, Bruche and St Oswald’s wards; Rixton-with-Glazebrook, Glazebrook ward; Stretton; Walton, Nos 1 and 2 wards; Winwick, Houghton ward; Woolston, East and West wards.
The full list of borough council candidates is as follows.
Appleton: Brian Axcell* (Lib Dem), Paul Carter (Lab), Phil Marshall (Cons).
Bewsey & Whitecross: Jeff Richards* (Lab), Judith Wheeler (Lib Dem).
Birchwood: Nigel Balding (Cons), Charlie Hulse (Lib Dem), Pauline Nelson* (Lab).
Burtonwood & Winwick: Stefan Krizanac (Lib Dem), Terry O.Neill* (Lab), June Rios (Cons).
Culcheth, Glazebury & Croft: Keith Bland* (Cons), Merril Cummerson (Lib Dem), Chris Vobe (Lab).
Fairfield & Howley: Kevin Bennett* (Lab), Nicola Brent (Lib Dem), Lyndsay McAteer (Green).
Grappenhall & Thelwall: Roger Cawthorne (Cons), Ted Finnegan (Lib Dem), Mark Littler (Lab), Michael Smith (Green), Richard Vaughan (UKIP).
Great Sankey South: Sam Baxter (Cons), Roy Smith (Lib Dem), Tony Williams (Lab).
Hatton, Stretton & Walton: Dave Hockenhull (Lib Dem), Paul Kennedy* (Cons), John Park (Lab).
Lymm: James Ashington (UKIP), Graham Gowland (Lib Dems), Su Williams (Lab), Sheila Woodyatt* (Cons)
Orford: John Davies (Lib Dem), Mike Hannon* (Lab).
Penketh & Cuerdley: Paul Campbell* (Cons), Allin Dirir (Lab), Tim Price (Lib Dem).
Poplars & Hulme: Helena Campbell (Cons), Iona Gillis (Lib Dem), Brian Maher* (Lab).
Poulton North: Sandra Bradshaw*(Lib Dem), Mark Chapman (Cons), Billy Lines-Rowlands (Lab).
Poulton South: Jeff Butler (Lib Dem), Colin Froggatt*(Lab), Eveline Van Der Steen (Green).
Rixton & Woolston: Diana Grylls (Lib Dem), Lilian Houghton (Cons), Ross Lloyd (Green), Tony McCarthy*(Lab).
Stockton Heath: Laurence Murphy (Lab), Ann Raymond (Lib Dem), Stephen Taylor (Cons), Kenneth Wilson (Green).
Westbrook: David Earl* (LibDem), Michael Foxall (Cons), Judith Guthrie (Lab).
Whittle Hall: Stephanie Davies (Green), Will Hughes (Lab), Jonathan Levy (Cons), Kevin Reynolds* (Lib Dem).
*denotes sitting councillor.
Pictured: Defending their seats, from the top, Labour leader Terry O’Neill, Conservative leader Keith Bland, Liberal Democrat councillor Kevin Reynolds.
