WITH all the excitement taking place around the national elections, it can be easy to forget that important local elections will be taking place on the same day- May 6.

This year's elections for Epping Forest District Council will see the Tories and Lib Dems competing for all 20 seats with a variety of other candidates also taking part.

The Green Party is putting forward its highest ever amount of candidates and will be contesting 15 wards.

Epping Forest Green Party spokesman Steven Neville said: “We've been increasing our membership and our size with more and more supporters. I think that's allowed us to field more candidates. We are targeting two wards. My hope is to see better results in all sorts of places but particularly Buckhurst Hill East and Chigwell Village.”

Six years ago the Labour group had seven councillors. Now it has only one, and is putting forward only seven candidates.

Former Labour group leader Joan Davis said: “There's no particular reason for that. It's just some of the people who would be standing, including myself, have been ill. We are on a bit of a down at the moment but from now on we'll be on the up. Hopefully we'll win at least one seat back, possibly two.”

The Loughton Residents Association is fielding six candidates while the British National Party is fielding four, although three of its current four councillors are stepping down.

Epping Forest BNP organiser Paul Morris said: “There's no particular reason for it. We have got new people coming forward who really want to do the job. Others are prepares to stand down for them.

“We are hoping we will retain our seats and obviously we hope we'll get a good result in Roding Ward.”

The United Kingdom Independence Party is fielding two candidates and the English Democrats one- founder and chairman Robin Tilbrook in the Chipping Ongar, Greensted and Marden Ash Ward.

That ward will also be contended by independent Sheila Jackman, and two more independents are standing in the district- incumbent councillors Toni Cooper, and Stephen Murray.

The Conservative Group currently has 35 out of 58 seats on Epping Forest District Council.

Conservative group leader Di Collins said her priority would be an increased majority.

She said: “We haven't got an awful lot of our seats up which helps us. We'll work very hard and see what happens.”

The Lib Dems have nine members on the council.

Group leader Jon Whitehouse said: “We hope to make progress. The Conservatives are starting from a strong position, but they have no intrinsic right to a majority.”