WHEN polling day arrives and you're standing in the booth ready to put your X next to a candidate, how many of you are swayed by national issues? I guess quite a few.
The stats bear this out. Since West Lancs was created in 1973, the Tories have been in power three times, 1976-1986, 1987-1991 and 2002-present day.
You'll notice that their most successful reign came during the party's heyday Thatcher years.
Similarly, Labour controlled the council from 1994 (when Tony Blair became party leader) until 2002 (when his popularity started to dip).
The local parties know that by and large, they are hostage to the national scene. No amount of knocking on doors will change people's already ingrained perceptions, that is why they are so reliant on the floating voters.
So what will this year bring?
It's doubtful whether Tory leader David Cameron's ascendancy will do much to change the Conservatives' already strong position locally. However, if they lost control of West Lancashire it would be nothing short of a disaster for their ambitions in the north of England.
Labour, on the other hand, are in a strange position of being between leaders, with Gordon Brown already flicking through wallpaper charts in preparation for his move next door.
So will Tony Blair's departure mean anything to West Lancashire? Possibly, but whether it would be enough end Labour's five-year exile remains to be seen.
And as I said in a previous post, the Greens have without a doubt been handed their best chance in years.
It's going to be an interesting month...
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