The Babergh district of south Suffolk is the part of the county where the Liberal Democrats have traditionally been strongest – but they took a bit of a hammering four years ago.
But now with the party nationally starting a recovery, local members are hoping to see better results in this part of Suffolk.
They will say the fightback has already started – one of the party’s biggest disappointments in 2013 was losing Hadleigh to Tory Brian Riley after it had been held by LibDem David Grutchfield for 24 years.
Mr Riley’s emigration to America, and his attempts to stay on as a county councillor while based in North Carolina, ultimately led to a by-election last year that saw the LibDems win back the seat.
Now they will be hoping to add to Hadleigh and the two other seats they hold in the district, the Shotley peninsula and Belstead Brook.
Apart from Melford, which has been held by Independent Richard Kemp for many years, all the other seats in the district are held by Conservative councillors.
Labour did hold seats in Sudbury and Great Cornard 20 years ago but were some way off winning in the elections in 2013.
There are, however, several interesting contests.
In Belstead Brook, won by Liberal Democrat Dave Busby four years ago, the Conservatives have chosen cabinet member Christopher Hudson as their candidate.
Mr Hudson lives in Framlingham, outside the district, and has been involved in several controversies over recent years. His chances of winning a seat that has been a LibDem stronghold since the 1980s don’t look that great.
One election contest that could be interesting is in the Cosford division – the Lavenham/Kersey area – where well-known Green campaigner Robert Lindsay is challenging the Tories again.
In 2013 he came a creditable second in a three-horse race which also included Labour. This time there is a fourth candidate, from UKIP, and a new Tory – Philip Mutton.
If UKIP manages to take some votes from the Conservatives – and it is difficult to see a Green/UKIP crossover – the Greens could stand a real chance of winning their first county council seat in the south of Suffolk. It is a division that will be fought hard in the May 4 election.
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