WITH a string of ministerial visits, several high-profile awards and one of the lowest council tax rises in Lancashire, it hasn't been a bad year for Blackburn with Darwen Council.

But despite all the good news, the opposition council are quietly confident they will make gains during this week's elections.

Labour currently has comfortable majority on the council, with 37 seats. The Conservatives have 19 and the Lib Dems six.

Although the Electoral Commission has redrawn the borough's ward boundaries, they are not due to take effect until 2004.

That means that one councillor from each ward is up re-election, with the exception of Whitehall and North Turton with Tockholes, because they only have two councillors.

Labour are the only party to have put up candidates in every ward. This, they say, is so that voters have a choice.

The Lib Dems and the Conservatives, on the other hand, have been far more selective about which wards they stand in, concentrating their efforts on fewer wards in the hope of better results.

As a result, several wards will be straight two-way fights with the opposition hoping that all non-Labour supporters will back them.

Two high-profile councillors have just one opponent against them. Regeneration councillor Ashley Whalley is against Frederick Gollop from the Lib Dems in Higher Croft.

And the Lib Dems have made a real push for support in Mill Hill, where Resources portfolio holder Gail Barton is up for re-election.

Two green candidates -- one in Wensley Fold and one in Corporation Park -- and an independent in Corporation Park are also on the ballot slips.

Among the issues the opposition are hoping to make political gain from is the council's refusal to girt all roads in winter, even though one of the authority's own committees recommended it as the way ahead.

The Conservatives in particular want to make gain from the anger caused by the closure of Church Street for pedestrianisation and the problems caused by the new orbital route. They are also quick to point out that, unlike other areas, Blackburn with Darwen has no community wardens.

But the ruling Labour group have pointed to their low council tax rises, the fact they have been jointly named council of the year and the praise heaped on them from Government as reasons to vote for them.

All parties, however, will be watching the level of turnout. Last year, the authority signed a Public Service Agreement with the Government which set 13 tough service-improving targets which, if met, would give the council an extra £3.75million. One target was to raise voter turnout to 40 per cent.

That was achieved last year, and as there are no elections next year, turnout needs to push through the 40 per cent again this year to ensure the council stays on course for the cash.

Postal voting, citizenship lessons for youngsters and a publicity campaign have all been launched locally to make sure as many people as possible vote.

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