Lib Dems contest more seats than Labour

12.00.00am GMT Tue 10th Apr 2007

Across the country, the Liberal Democrats have more candidates for election than the Labour Party for the first time ever outside a general election year.

As many as 40% of council seats in England, Scotland and Wales have no Labour candidate at all.

The Lib Dems have 6,667 candidates facing voters in the polls on May 3rd. The Labour Party have only 6,360.

Even in Nottingham - the city that Blair and Brown are so sure of holding control over they chose to launch their local election campaign from a city hotel - every indication is that Labour support is crumbling.

Voters on the doorstep are falling over themselves to distance themselves a party many of them have supported all their lives. They can see that under Labour, Nottingham City Council spends a huge amount of money, but gets little in return. Hundreds of voters are appalled at work done by the Council in Old Market Square. The cost of the scheme to the taxpayer has been very high, and many people are telling us they cannot see where the money has been spent.