Parks, fields and even unloved scrub-land are the election battlegrounds on Merseyside.
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Claire Hamilton
Political reporter, BBC Radio Merseyside
St. Helens Metropolitan Borough Council
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City region households facing council tax rise to fund mayor
People living in Liverpool City Region are facing a higher council tax bill to pay for the running costs of its mayor.
Mayor Steve Rotheram is proposing a precept which will see most residents paying between £12.67 and £38 a year on top of their existing council tax, depending on which band their property is in.
The bill for his first year as mayor was paid for by the six local authorities of the city region, which cannot afford to repeat the outlay this year.
"In the face of continuing austerity, we cannot expect our six local authorities to carry on funding the combined authority," said Mr Rotheram
St Helens' 15-year plan is passed by council, despite objections from all opposition councillors.
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Towns which could benefit include Birkenhead, Southport, St Helens, Runcorn, Widnes and Bootle.
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Labour easily retains Liverpool, Sefton, St Helens and Wirral councils, as well as Halton in Cheshire.
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The Tories only need to lose two seats to cede control of its flagship council in the north of England.
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Police say they are investigating a "possible data breach" at St Helens Council.
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Seats on more than 150 councils in England are up for grabs and there are several mayoral contests.
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Ministers say the English councils will not have to repay cash after what Labour calls a "shambles".
Read moreSt Helens taskforce to tackle crime and disorder
St Helens Council is to tackle crime and disorder in the town centre with a new taskforce.
The Joint Advisory Group (JAG) will bring a more “co-ordinated response” to some of the issues impacting people of all ages in the town, Supt Louise Harrison.
She said during an initial meeting, the group has "lots of different organisations and people round the table with some really encouraging views about how we could bring that forward”.
“The initial view was that we look at the town centre specifically... certainly, from ourselves, the night-time economy has caused us some real challenges in terms of how busy it is.”
She added that the group would look to address youth disorder, arson, homelessness and drug use.