Voting is underway in a crucial and hotly contested Liverpool Council by-election.
Residents in Fazakerley are heading to the polls today to vote in an intriguing contest that could shed some light on the future political battles that lie ahead for the city. The north Liverpool council seat is available after former Labour councillor Lindsay Melia quit her position. She was one of a number of former Labour members to split with the city's ruling party in a row over budget decisions earlier this year.
While Ms Melia quit the council altogether, the other splitting Labour members kept their seats and joined with a number of other ex-Labour members to form a new independent grouping on the council, standing in opposition to Labour. That grouping is now known as the Liverpool Community Independents and today is their first major electoral test.
