PEOPLE in Wirral will go to the polls in May for a huge set of elections – with the borough moving to all out votes for the first time.

The change means that 66 councillors will be elected at the same time from 22 wards. Previously councillors were elected in thirds but the change was recommended in an independent review to improve functions in the council.

At the moment, Labour is the largest party but has no overall control of the council with 26 seats and Janette Williamson elected as leader of the council. The biggest opposition party is the Conservatives with 23 seats while the Greens have nine and the Liberal Democrats have six.

One former Labour councillor is now independent while another post is empty after a councillor was removed for not attending meetings. Voters will go to the polls on May 4, 2023.

What happens in the elections will have big consequences for Wirral as the councillors elected next year will be in post for four years.

However predicting what will happen is complicated. The move to all outs may prove more challenging for smaller parties who were previously able to target a few seats but now have to put forward more candidates than before.

At the same time, people will need to show valid identification at the polling booth. This could have big consequences in places like Birkenhead, Seacombe and Liscard where large proportions of people don’t have passports.

Across the board, the Conservatives appear to be playing a defensive strategy. In the 2022 elections, their closest second place finish was 37% behind Labour in Upton and since then, national polling trends consistently have Labour about 15% further ahead than it was in May.

That said, the move to all outs could throw up some surprises. Hot topics like Leverhulme Estate planning applications, budget cuts, and Hoylake beach could still be big local issues. Appetite for a general election could also decrease meaning national issues become less of a factor in how people vote.

A recent example of this is that despite dropping 7% in the vote across Wirral in 2022, the Conservatives still managed to pick up one Labour seat in Pensby and Thingwall in 2022.

Here we take a look at some key battleground wards and how the elections in those areas could play out:

Bebington

One of the biggest signs that the Greens are now dominant in this ward is the move of Cllr Jerry Williams to campaign in Upton, a safer Labour seat.

Cllr Williams has represented the ward for Labour since 1996 but in 2022, the Greens surged more than 50% in the vote with their second councillor elected in the area.

This will be one of the places Wirral’s Green Party is looking to make a gain.

Birkenhead

Birkenhead is currently the centre of significant changes with huge investments by Peel L&P along the docks and changes to the town centre.

It elected its first Green councillor in 2014 with Cllr Pat Cleary who leads the group. Since then they have represented all three councillors since 2021 holding comfortable majorities ahead of Labour.

However it’s a target for Labour as one of their sitting councillors, Helen Collinson who represents Leasowe and Moreton East, will be campaigning as a candidate in the ward. Labour have made the argument they are the party to help deliver change for Birkenhead.

Bromborough

This is somewhere Labour will be hoping to pick up a councillor. They currently have two councillors in the ward after Cllr Jo Bird was expelled from the party shortly after being re-elected in 2021.

This was over links to a banned group accused of obstructing efforts to combat antisemitism in Labour. There is little love left from Cllr Bird, who is Jewish, towards her former party accusing them of being “racist.”

Labour have historically held strong majorities in the town and while the Greens increased their vote share in 2022, they were still 32% behind Labour.

Cllr Bird was last elected with more than 60% of the vote, more than any current councillors in the ward, but she could still face an uphill battle to be re-elected.

Greasby, Frankby and Irby

This is one of Labour’s big targets next year. Coming just 64 votes short in 2022, Labour are hoping to make ground here.

With two councillors stepping down including Conservative leader Tom Anderson, there will only be one sitting councillor, Tracy Elzeiny, running to be re-elected.

Conservatives are hoping a message of protecting Wirral’s green belt will cut through with voters, particularly with a controversial Leverhulme application in the area, but this is also an issue with large cross-party unity.

If Labour did win here, it would be a first for the ward which has only ever elected Conservatives or Liberal Democrats.

Heswall

Despite being one of the safest seats for the Conservatives, the Liberal Democrats view it as a possible target after increasing their voter share and coming within 6% of the vote in 2022.

They are campaigning though in difficult territory as both Andrew and Kathy Hodson have historically been re-elected with large majorities and Heswall has never voted in a councillor other than Conservative in its history.

Pensby and Thingwall

While not a particularly safe Conservative seat, it is currently held by three Conservatives after Labour lost by 32 votes this year.

While Labour lost three elections consecutively in the ward from 2019 to 2022, they could retake ground here next year.

Seacombe

A key target for the Greens in 2022 saw them increase their vote share by 30% but still saw them lose to Labour. It is once again one of the Labour seats the Greens are looking to target.

Wallasey

Wallasey briefly elected a Labour councillor in the 1990s but has remained solidly Conservative apart from that. Here the party is running with a “local Conservatives” campaign highlighting work in the community around School Streets, planning and other issues.

Labour was only 3% behind in 2022 so could be looking to gain a seat here given how the national picture has changed.