The upcoming local elections could massively change Wirral Council.

On a good night for Labour, it will retake the majority control of the council it lost in 2019.

On a bad night for the party, the biggest on Wirral Council, Cllr Janette Williamson may struggle to keep her position as council leader.

The Conservatives will be looking to take two seats in particular, Pensby and Thingwall and Leasowe and Moreton East, while the Green Party has its eyes set on two seats within the Birkenhead constituency, plus Bebington.

The Liberal Democrats can expect to hold onto their strongholds of Oxton and Eastham.

Each party is making bold promises on areas from greenbelt protection and the environment to youth provision and regeneration.

Here's what each party standing across the borough is campaigning on prior to the May 6 vote.

Green Party

A key part of the Green message is that Wirral Council is improving as they have gained votes and councillors in the borough.

Some of its gains cost Labour its majority and the Green Party argues that a "more balanced" council has helped to end ventures such as the controversial Hoylake Golf Resort plan, the Wirral View newspaper and the council's contract with the so-called "Kingdom litter police".

Cllr Pat Cleary, the leader of the Green Party on Wirral Council, said: "We can now build on these achievements and help create a more socially just Wirral fit for the 21st century and the climate emergency.

"Key to that will be holding the Council's feet to the fire on its commitment not to build new housing in the greenbelt.

"Not only is it essential to protect our green spaces and prevent urban sprawl but regenerating East Wirral as a green, attractive place that people want to live in and visit is fundamental to addressing many of our social problems.

"New and existing housing must be fit-for-purpose – building warm homes in safe, well-resourced and well connected new communities is a must.

"Investing in modern transport networks that avoid the car-driven mistakes of the past and create genuinely sustainable new communities is absolutely essential.

"So too is prioritising our key town centres. The council has produced an exciting vision for the future of Birkenhead and wider East Wirral. Electing more Green councillors is the best way to turn that vision into reality.

"Of course, all of this is set against acute budgetary constraints. Austerity certainly hasn't gone away but Green councillors have an established track record in tackling waste and working hard on behalf of the residents who elected them.

"Voting Green means value for money as well as an exciting vision for the place that Wirral can and must be in the years ahead.

Liberal Democrats

Cllr Phil Gilchrist, the leader of Wirral Council's Lib Dem group, said: "Changing Wirral for the better Wirral needs a plan for recovery, as does our whole nation.

"Successive lockdowns have changed the way we all live, work and spend our free time. The pandemic required all parties to work together and set aside both real and imagined differences.

"Our council is now much better placed to debate spending priorities. A new pattern of working has been developed.

"Staff will not need to return to all the offices the council owns or rents, creating opportunities for redevelopment of those sites.

"The Government's funding has not met all the costs from the pandemic. Even so we have kept as many services running as possible, safeguarding valued local facilities.

"Councils like ours, serving a borough with high levels of deprivation, still need a fairer funding settlement from the government. The funding model that relied on business rates from shops and offices is broken.

"We will press the government to recognise that. The pandemic has shown how the council and the NHS has to work hand in hand to care for the vulnerable and elderly.

"Staff in the care sector deserve recognition for all that they have done and will need to do in the future for our ageing population. We will work to improve standards in the care sector.

"We will continue our work to get the basics right, so that the way Wirral looks will improve, tackling fly tipping, road repairs and neglect wherever possible. The council can no longer do all that it did in the past.

"People are volunteering to help keep Wirral tidy and we welcome their contribution. The hopes and dreams of young people have been set back by this lost year. We will build back services for young people that provide counselling, hope and a new resilience for their future.

"After years of decline, the groundwork has been done to turn Wirral round. The all-party approach to regenerate Birkenhead and avoid building on the Green Belt has widespread support.

"We have long recognised the value of our farmland and countryside. Developers who challenge the council's plan to retain those areas will be strongly resisted.

"As the economy recovers, as people return to work, we will plan for more 20 MPH areas so that Wirral's people will enjoy quieter and safer neighbourhoods.

Labour].H2]

Cllr Janette Williamson, leader of the Labour group and leader of Wirral Council, said: "Working with our partners such as Peel, Muse and Wirral Metropolitan College we will deliver transformative regeneration in Birkenhead, as well as other parts of the Borough including New Ferry and Liscard.

"We will build back and transform our town centres. It has been a hard year for all of our communities and we thank them for their work to make Wirral a better place for us all.

"We will provide value for money for Council Tax payers across the borough, making sure services such as street lights and highways maintenance are invested in, working to combat fly tipping, making sure the bins being emptied and listening to our communities to make our immediate environment clean, safe and welcoming with well-lit, well maintained streets, open spaces and parks.

"Where services are delivered outside of the council, we will provide effective scrutiny to ensure we are getting value for money, if we are not, we will seek to bring them back into the council, where possible.

"Labour will protect our cherished greenbelt and green spaces. The Conservative government has pushed for more building, but we are doing this on brownfield sites, investing in and regenerating areas in Birkenhead, providing high-quality affordable homes and business spaces, while protecting our beautiful green spaces for future generations.

"Our green agenda has already switched our buildings, schools and streetlights to 100% renewable energy and planted 21,000 trees.

"The Pollinators' Plan will plant for our bees and butterflies, and we are protecting and restoring our Sites of Special Scientific Interest and winning more green flags for our parks than ever before.

"We will also have more and better joined up cycle routes and are working on plans to recycle far more, with plans for new green jobs and apprenticeships.

We will continue to improve and transform our culture and leisure services – things like our amazing four municipal golf courses, leisure centres and swimming baths – after saving them in our Wirral Labour budget.

"We are currently working with Lord Hall and the Birkenhead Group on conservation and heritage plans, including work at the Williamson Art Gallery.

"We recognise that young people have struggled throughout the pandemic and have ensured that youth services have received additional funding across the borough.

"Labour will look after our vulnerable residents through improved social care via our Children's and Adults' services and support our precious NHS. We will provide support to thosein need, and in turn look after our care workers (who look after us) by supporting the Real Living Wage for them, something which has been so important during this last year."

Cllr Jeff Green, leader of the Conservative group on Wirral Council said: "The last 12 months have been extraordinary for Wirral and indeed the country. We must not waste the amazing work of our GPs and the NHS who are vaccinating us out of the pandemic.

"We must use the extra funding Wirral has received from the government wisely and start to rebuild council services in a way that engages the public in their design and implementation.

"Too often, in the past the council has imposed its decisions on residents rather than listening and responding to communities.

"The mess at Hoylake beach or bizarre cycle routes imposed by the council without bothering to consult or listen to local residents are perhaps the most obvious examples of where an arrogant council can refuse to accept it has got things wrong. This has to change.

"We believe Wirral should be clean and green. For us, this means protecting our greenbelt from the council's Local Plan and developers. We believe more should be invested in services that keep our streets clean and grass verges well maintained while planting wild flowers and pollinators.

"Our young people have really suffered during the past year, we want to extend social and cultural opportunities for young people.

"We will utilise the extra two hundred thousand pounds proposed by Conservatives and included in the council budget to expand facilities across Wirral and increase 'detached youth work' allowing skilled professionals to engage with groups of young people helping them to channel their energy and exuberance into constructive and safe activities.

"Most importantly we want to make sure the council learns the lessons from the current situation in Liverpool.

"The public's money must be spent wisely. We must get maximum value from every pound the council spends and everything the council does should be transparent and responsive to public scrutiny."