Liverpool is seen by many these days as a Labour city - but that description doesn't always tell the full story.
In Parliamentary terms, the Red Rose has had an iron grip on the city's five constituencies, which held strong in 2019 when other former party strongholds dramatically fell to the Conservatives.
But when it comes to the city council, things are more fluid. In fact, as recently as 2010 the Liberal Democrats were in control of the council before Labour swept to power. They built on that success and by 2015 Labour had a whopping 81 of 90 seats on the council.
READ MORE: Council set to remove tent where 'Spiderman' currently lives
But recent scandals and a host of defections and resignations have seen that lead whittled down significantly to fewer than 60 and with an unpredictable set of elections coming up in May on a re-drawn council map, Labour's grip on the council is looking potentially more precarious than at any point in the last 13 years.
Here we look at the factors that could affect the way May's votes could pan out and whether there is a realistic prospect of a change of control at the city council.
New council wards, all-out elections and new governance style
May's elections will be both significant and complicated in Liverpool. The votes will be the first held since a team of government commissioners were installed at the Cunard after the damning revelations of the Max Caller inspection, which lifted the lid on a culture of mismanagement, toxic cultures and the waste of tens of millions of taxpayer pounds.
That inspection followed the arrest of former Mayor Joe Anderson in a corruption investigation. He stepped down and was replaced by Mayor Joanne Anderson who has led the city since her electoral victory in May 2021.
Mayor Anderson will leave the council in May and so will her title. Last year the council controversially voted to abolish the role of city mayor and move back to the council leader and cabinet style of governance that was in place before. This means that the leader of the largest party of councillors after May's votes will become the leader of Liverpool Council.
But that's not the only major change. The devastating Caller inspection prompted a raft of huge electoral reforms in the city. One of these concerns the elections themselves.
Previously council elections were held in three of every four years, with a third of seats up for grabs each time. Now the council will change to a system where every single seat is voted for once every four years and the first of these all out elections will take place this May.
All out elections are more unstable and unpredictable in general and more likely to generate some surprise results. This feeling of unpredictability will only be heightened by the radical redrawing of the city's electoral map.
Part of the reforms instigated by Max Caller has led to a total redesign of city wards and the numbers of councillors elected in each area.
Previously Liverpool was split into 30 ward areas with three councillors elected in each - a total of 90. In this year's elections and moving forward that number of councillors will be reduced to 85 and will be split very differently across a host of new wards.
The boundary changes will see 64 city wards broken up into 46 that will be represented by just one councillor, with 15 two-member wards and one three-member ward. With 85 councillors a party will need to win 43 seats to land a majority and take control of Liverpool City Council.
To see the new Liverpool ward map in full click here.
The vast changes coming in at May's elections will lead to more unpredictability and volatility in terms of results. Single member wards, with much smaller numbers of residents could make it easier for smaller parties or independents to be successful - particularly for candidates who are well known in their local areas.
How are the parties shaping up
Labour will head into May's elections damaged and bruised from recent years but hopeful of hanging on to the control of the council.
Party insiders predict that while their majority could come down further, there is a confidence that they will get over the all important figure of 43 to stay in charge. If this is the case then new group leader Cllr Liam Robinson will become the city's new leader.
Labour will feel most comfortable across the north of the city but will expect a tough time in the south where they will almost certainly lose more ground to the Liberal Democrats.
Liberal Democrats
After several years of incremental growth, the Lib Dems will be hoping that 2023 brings with it a more substantial resurgence. Party sources suggest that a figure of 25 to 30 seats is a realistic possibility in May, but anything over 20 would be a significant bolstering of the main opposition benches. Expect Lib Dem gains in south Liverpool
Greens
The Greens currently have a stronghold in the St Michaels ward, with one other seat in Greenbank. The party will be hoping to retain its number of four seats in the redrawn boundaries but will face a strong Labour challenge in the new Festival Gardens ward.
Liberals
Steve Radford's Liberal group will expect to retain its stronghold in the Tuebrook area and will also be targeting West Derby and Old Swan. The group will have had a good election if it retains its current number of five councillors.
Independents
Last year Liverpool's Labour group was shaken by a breakaway group of councillors, with eight quitting the party to form the new Community Independent grouping on the council.
That grouping is now down to five members and they will be hoping to mount some serious challenges in a number of seats. The feeling is that well-known group deputy leader Alan Gibbons has the best change of securing a seat in the new Orrell Park ward in the north of the city.
But the group will not be the only independent to stand in these elections. A new group called Liberate Liverpool - headed by hotelier Lawrence Kenwright - could field at least 25 independent candidates. Another group, known as Reset Liverpool - which involves former mayoral candidates Stephen Yip and Liam Fogarty - will also be fielding candidates in a hope to chip away at Labour's majority.
What about an electoral pact?
This question has become a more prevalent and complicated one in Liverpool's political circles in recent weeks. The idea of an informal pact between some opposition parties and independent groups has been discussed for a while, with a view to standing (or not standing) candidates tactically to effectively challenge Labour across the city.
The ECHO understands that talks have been ongoing for some time and that while some of the groups - including the Liberals, Reset and the Community Independents - seem likely to accept the informal pact, it is unlikely that the Lib Dems will be involved and the Greens too could drop out of any arrangement.
Sources suggest that next week will be 'make or break' in terms of whether a pact is formed or not and that the idea is becoming increasingly difficult to realise. The decision could be a big one in terms of how these elections play out.
What does the expert think?
When it comes to votes and elections in Liverpool - there are few better authorities than Professor Jon Tonge. A professor of politics at the University of Liverpool, Professor Tonge has made a bit of a habit of correctly calling how votes will play out.
Speaking about May's elections in Liverpool, he said: "It's always dangerous trying to map out old results onto a very different map, with very different wards. But I think ultimately the outcome will be one we have had for many years now with Labour in control.
"The magic figure is now 43 to get an overall majority and it should be comfortable for Labour to get a majority. That said, the size of the majority will be interesting."
He added: "There is a collection of non-Labour forces which may not come too far away from depriving Labour of an overall majority, but I still expect Labour to get over the line. I would still expect them to be in the 50s in terms of numbers of seats."
READ MORE:
Thomas Cashman murder trial resumes as man accused of shooting schoolgirl Olivia Pratt-Korbel
Thomas Cashman tells jury if you want to sell drugs you 'can't let people take the p***'
Council set to remove tent where 'Spiderman' currently lives
EncroChat drug runner 'Lemonlager' caught after taking selfies
