Could it be a year for change in Buckinghamshire?

Historically, Buckinghamshire has been a strong Conservative county, but as the decade has progressed, the party's grip on it has loosened.

In 2021, Liberal Democrat Sarah Green was elected as Chesham & Amersham's MP in a seat which had previously only ever been blue.

Then, in last year's general election, Labour made gains in Wycombe and Aylesbury, leaving the county with just two Tory MPs.

In local government, the Conservatives have always been in control, both of the county council from 1973 and the new unitary authority since 2020. So could that change on 1 May?

The unitary authority was set up in 2020, following the decision to replace the old county council and four district councils that covered Aylesbury Vale, High Wycombe, The Chilterns and South Bucks.

It is separate from the unitary authority that covers Milton Keynes, but serves towns like Aylesbury, Buckingham, High Wycombe, and Beaconsfield.

It is responsible for all the services a council provides, from social care to roads, planning and recycling and has a total budget for 2025/26 of £577m.

A Boundary Commission review means there will be a reduction in councillors from 147 to 97.

Previously there were three councillors in each ward, but now there will be a mixture of two, three and single councillor wards.

The Conservatives run the authority, with more than 100 councillors, but there are 16 independents, 13 Liberal Democrats, six Labour, one Reform UK and one Green councillor.

There are also two councillors who are part of an independent network and two Wycombe independents, plus one vacancy.

The Conservatives have a massive majority, but with the number of councillors significantly reduced that could change.

Historically, Labour has performed well in Wycombe in local elections, and the Lib Dems the same in Aylesbury, aside from 2013 when UKIP won six councillors to briefly become the opposition party.

Paul Irwin was one of those six, but in 2015 he crossed the floor to the Conservatives. He recently joined Reform UK and is its sole councillor at the moment.

Several Lib Dems have chosen to stand down from the party and are currently listed as independents on the council website.

Independents could play a part on 1 May with at least 25 unaffiliated candidates expected to stand.

Buckinghamshire faces similar concerns to other parts of the country, with numerous housing developments, particularly around Aylesbury, putting a strain on its under-pressure road network.

The HS2 rail line is also making increasingly significant inroads in places like Wendover and Stoke Mandeville with construction works near to Aylesbury.

However, the government recently gave the go-ahead for a new 1.1km (0.7mile) dual carriageway as part of a major bypass project around Aylesbury, and the authority also unveiled an increase in funding to £120m for its road network in its 2025/26 budget.

It also announced a plan to make savings over the next three years of more than £115m, when Conservative leader Martin Tett said the authority remained in a period of "extreme turbulence" with "the local government sector as a whole currently on a financially unsustainable footing".

Voters must bring an approved form of photo ID to vote at a polling station.

Anyone who does not have approved ID can apply for free ID online, known as a Voter Authority Certificate and the deadline for that is 17:00 on 23 April.

Everyone aged 18 and above who is not registered at their current address should do so by midnight on 11 April.

It takes only a few minutes to register at your current address.

You can apply for a postal or proxy vote which must be completed and returned by 22;00 on 1 May. The deadline for applying to vote by post is 17:00 on 14 April.

Votes will be counted on 2 May at Stoke Mandeville Stadium near Aylesbury with an estimated time for the full results from 19:00.

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