The battle for Nottingham

Nottingham City Council is a unitary authority with all the seats up for election on May 5. It has a big Labour majority - there are 42 Labour councillors with seven Conservatives and six Lib Dems. It is also notorious as the only council in England that is so contemptuous of its residents that it refuses to say what it spends their money on. But they are not completely isolated in resisting transparency. Their stance has been backed by Hilary Benn and shrugged off by Caroline Flint.

 This is a Council which charges a Band D Council Tax of £1,515.28p. They are still recruiting for extra bureaucrats on fat cat salaries. At the same time they are cutting back on highway maintenance and increasing adult social care charges.

It is also notorious for its excesses on Health and Safety -banning everything from conkers to Shetland ponies.

The Conservatives have a full team of candidates - unlike the Lib Dems.