POLITICAL parties in Ribble Valley are gearing up for a showdown when the borough goes to the polls in May.

Several prominent councillors, among them lone Labour man Bert Jones and former mayors Eileen Lowe and Dorothy Pearson, have said they will be standing down.

The council has been split between the Tories and Lib Dems, with Coun Jones holding the balance of power, since elections in 1995.

Now the battle is on between the Tories and Liberal Democrats for control of the hung council.

The two parties have pledged to field candidates in each of the borough's 39 wards in a push to take overall control.

Liberal Democrat nominating officer for the Ribble Valley Pat Rawson said: "We will have candidates standing for each of the seats in the borough.

"We have some excellent people lined up for our target wards, but it's too early to comment further."

Tory leader Peter Redpath said his party would be looking to take control of the council at the elections.

"A lot of work is going on to get things into place.

"It's going to be a very important election and we will be going all out to win," he said.

Coun Jones has represented the Edisford, Low Moor and Trinity ward on Ribble Valley Council for 27 years.

He said "enough was enough" and the time had come to stand down and give someone else a chance.

He did not know if the Labour Party would be putting forward any candidates for the elections.

Coun Lowe, who represents Sabden for the Lib Dems and Coun Pearson, who represents Slaidburn for the Tories, are also understood to be standing down for personal reasons.

Nominations close on April 8, with voting taking place on May 6, followed by the count at Roefield Leisure Centre, Clitheroe.

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