Some may also be wondering where the so-called ‘battleground’ areas might be and what could happen.

The Free Press has tried to answer these questions below.

READ MORE: Elections: What to expect at the voting booth under Covid

Buckinghamshire Council

Buckinghamshire Council has 192 councillors, made up of members from the former County and District Councils.

It became a unitary council in April 2020.

The Conservatives have 152 seats, the Liberal Democrats have 17, the Independents have 12 seats, Labour have nine, and the Green Party has one.

There is also one for the Bucks Residents’ Association – Cllr Andy Huxley.

Many of these councillors represent a particular area, be it Grendon Underwood, Aston Clinton and Bierton, Chiltern Villages, Chess Valley, Tylers Green and Loudwater, Stoke Poges and Wexham, Chalfont St Giles, and so on.

Some also sit on town and parish councils such as Great Missenden, West Wycombe, Bledlow-cum-Saunderton, Beaconsfield, Little Marlow, and Denham, and so it goes.

READ MORE: Everyone you can vote for in the Buckinghamshire Council elections on May 6

Political groups

Bucks Council is also made up of political groups. Political groups are two or more people from the same party. They can then form an “alliance” with other groups with the aim of getting more seats on committees to hold the majority party to account – in this case, the Conservatives.

Bucks Council has been majority Conservative for 150 years – since its inception.

The Conservative Group is exclusively comprised of members of the Conservative Party.

Whereas the Alliance Group comprises Conservatives, Liberal Democrats, Independents, and the Green Party member Cllr David Lyons.

Labour is exclusively Labour members, and then there are a handful of Conservatives and Independents, and Cllr Andy Huxley (Bucks Residents’ Association), who are not in any specific political group.

Ahead of this local election on May 6, 87 councillors from different parties will be standing down, or ‘retiring’.

All seats are up for grabs during the election so these retirements will have no significance.

Battleground areas

The Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) spoke with a local expert knowledgeable about the political history in Bucks to gain their perspective about the possible battleground areas.

The rural areas are where the Conservatives have a stronghold, they said. They felt there will be “no surprises” there and that this will give them a majority.

But in urban areas, such as Aylesbury and Wycombe, there is a different story, and we might see some political “punch ups”.

Downley and Disraeli is a battleground between Labour and the Conservatives, they said. It was always a swing seat, and being part rural, part urban it could be a close call.

Another interesting seat, they said, is Booker, Cressex and Castlefield. Cllr Brian Pearce (Independent) is popular in Booker and Cllr Majid Hussain (Labour) is a “fave” for Castlefield. Labour could take it, they said.

Abbey ward could see some “upset”, they said. Cllr Lesley Clarke and Cllr Mahboob Bhatti (both Conservative) could hold it, but that Labour could take the other seat.

Ryemead and Micklefield could be “interesting”, they said. Cllr Andrea Baughan and Cllr Matt Knight (both Independent) hold these, but they also said Micklefield tends to have a lower turnout than Ryemead.

They also said “a lot of people expect an Independent to beat a Conservative” in Marlow. They said it used to be a Lib Dem town but that the Independents had been working hard there. Plus, the trial of a so-called “quietway” rolled out by the council on Trinity Road in Marlow this week “isn’t popular”, so could see a protest vote.

The Lib Dems, they said, had done well in Marlow and Bourne End in previous elections but they do not appear to be targeting those.

We’ve launched a new Facebook group for local news junkies, politics fans and everyone who wants to keep up to date with the latest issues affecting Buckinghamshire. Please join the conversation over at Buckinghamshire Politics