The battle for control of South Norfolk Council is set to intensify with the deadline now passed for political parties wishing to field candidates in each of the wards.
It emerged this week that every ward in the district will be contested by the Conservatives, but unlike at the 2011 election, Labour has announced that it too will field a candidate in every ward.
Labour has 39 candidates compared to just 14 in 2001.
The Liberal Democrats were to field 35 candidates in 31 wards, but chairman of South Norfolk Liberal Democrats Richard Carden said that they were still waiting to finalise their total in time for yesterday’s registration deadline.
The Conservatives have also chosen this week to launch their 20 page manifesto for how intends to run the council if it regains power.
There are 36 wards in South Norfolk, with some like Diss, having more than one councillor per ward.
The Conservatives hold a huge majority at South Norfolk House in Long Stratton, with 35 councillors out of 46, with the Liberal Democrats the next highest with eight councillors.
UKIP will field 11 candidates across a range of wards.
The Green Party has announced it is fielding more candidates this year, including one in Diss. The Greens will put up 13 candidates in 13 wards. In the 2011 elections the Greens put up nine candidates.
Voting for district council elections will take place at the same time as the general election and parish and town council votes, on May 7.
To find out more about the South Norfolk political parties, visit:
Conservatives: http://snca.org.uk/
Green Party: https://southnorfolkgreens.wordpress.com/
Labour: www.labour4norfolk.org.uk/south-norfolk
Liberal Democrats: www.s-norfolk.libdems.org/
UKIP: http://sono-ukip.org