Rochdale will go to the polls to elect a new crop of councillors early next month - when a third of town hall seats will be up for grabs.
Of the 20 seats being contested this time around, 15 are currently held by Labour, four by the Tories and one by the Lib Dems.
And while Labour’s dominance of the town hall - they hold 46 of the 60 seats - means they cannot lose control of the council, the electorate could still choose to give the party a bloody nose.
Party chiefs may fear a backlash over the green belt loss proposed for the borough under regions controversial development plan, while cuts to community centres and lollipop patrols have also proven contentious.
And a 3.99 per cent hike in council tax (not including the mayoral precepts) will also have gone down badly in some areas - although all authorities in the region have had to take similar measures to balance the books.
Among the big Labour names up for re-election this year is Coun Sara Rowbotham, the party’s health spokeswoman.
Known for her role in uncovering the borough’s child sexual exploitation scandal, she will be hoping residents in North Middleton will again back her at the ballot box.
And current Mayor Mohammed Zaman will be hoping he doesn’t lose his seat along with his ceremonial robes when the result comes in for Milkstone and Deeplish.
Other notable Labour names up for re-election include party whip Coun Donna Martin, in East Middleton and long-serving former Mayor Coun Susan Emmott - who has been a fixture on the council since 1983.
Coun Emmott will again be defending Hopwood Hall.
And while fewer in number, the Conservatives will be depending on the electorate to return some of their key players, too.
Deputy leader Coun Pat Sullivan is up for re-election in Bamford, having recently caused a stir with her comments about poverty and austerity at last month’s full council meeting.
The Tories will also be anxious to hold on to Coun Peter Winkler in Norden, Coun Ann Stott JP in Littleborough Lakeside and Coun Rina Paoulucci in Wardle and West Littleborough.
And while the Lib Dems only have one seat to lose, it’s a big one - that of leader Coun Andy Kelly.
But the outspoken councillor will be reasonably confident of holding on to his seat in the party’s Milnrow and Newhey heartland.
Standing down at this election are councillors Cecile Biant, who has served Spotland and Falinger since 2011, and Lynne Brosnan, who has represented Kingsway for the past four years.
In their stead newcomers Elsie Wraighte - previously PA to former council leader Richard Farnell - and Rachel Massey will fly the flag for Labour in Kingsway and Spotland and Falinge respectively.
Also running in Spotland and Falinge is Mick Coats - once one of 'Rochdale Seven' - a group of Labour members whol called for an investigation into Simon Danczuk when he was the party's prospective parliamentary candidate.
And the eagle-eyed may have spotted another link to Coun Farnell, who stood down as leader in December 2017 just weeks after giving explosive evidence to the national child abuse inquiry.
His nephew Julian Farnell is again running as a candidate in Wardle and West Littleborough - last year he lost out to Coun John Taylor.
The current overall political make-up of Rochdale Council is 46 Labour, 10 Conservative, 4 Lib Dem.
Voters will go to the polls on Thursday, May 2.
List of candidates
* denotes defending candidate
** denotes a new candidate is defending the ward for the incumbent party
Balderstone and Kirkholt
Mark Alcock - Liberal Democrat
Guy Bradley - UKIP
John Kershaw - Conservative
Daniel Meredith * Labour and Co-operative
James O’Meara - Green
Bamford
Arshad Mohammad - Labour
Sarah Croke - Green
Barrie Nicholson - Liberal Democrat
Stephen Sanderson - UKIP
Patricia Sullivan * - Conservative
Castleton
Michael Cullen - Conservative
Jean Hornby * - Labour
Mark Izzo - UKIP
Jonathan Kershaw - Green
Stephen Thornley - Liberal Democrat
Central Rochdale
Ali Ahmed * - Labour
Roger Howarth - Conservative
Rifat Mahmood - Liberal Democrat
East Middleton
Jacqueline Holt - Conservative
Donna Martin * - Labour
Robert Mudd - UKIP
Healey
Robert McLean - Conservative
John Rodgers - Liberal Democrat
Shah Wazir * - Labour
Fred Willis - UKIP
Hopwood Hall
Paul Ellison - Conservative
Susan Emmott * - Labour
Angela Gardner - UKIP
Kingsway
Richard Duckworth - Conservative
Mark Hollinrake - Green
Tony Hughes - Liberal Democrat
Elsie Wraighte - Labour **
Littleborough Lakeside
Tom Besford - Labour
Kate Clegg - Liberal Democrat
Stuart Howard-Corfield - Green
Stephen Mitchell - UKIP
Ann Stott * - Conservative
Milkstone and Deeplish
Ali Feruz - Green
Richard Eden-Maughan - Liberal Democrat
Keith Taylor - Conservative
Mohammed Zaman * - Labour
Milnrow and Newhey
Neil Butterworth - Labour
Edward Carpenter - Conservative
Andy Kelly * - Liberal Democrat
Hillary Ann Smith - UKIP
Norden
Shaukat Ali - Labour
Adam Mir - Green
Nigel Sarbutts - Liberal Democrats
Beverley Sharon Taylor-King - UKIP
Peter Winkler * - Conservative
North Heywood
Bernard Akin - UKIP
Adrian Coan - Conservative
Raymond Dutton * - Labour
North Middleton
Thomas Barnes - UKIP
Rachel McLachlan - Conservative
Sara Rowbotham * - Labour
Smallbridge and Firgrove
Laurent Baudry - UKIP
Leonard Branton - Conservative
Aftab Hussain * - Labour
Eleanor Mary Kelly - Liberal Democrat
South Middleton
Stephen Anstee - Conservative
Sue Curzon - Liberal Democrat
Philip Partington - UKIP
Peter Williams * - Labour
Spotland and Falinge
Mick Coats - Green
Joe Marsden - Liberal Democrat
Rachel Massey ** - Labour
Steven Scholes - Conservative
Wardle and West Littleborough
Robert Clegg - Liberal Democrat
Julian Farnell - Labour
Robert Neave - UKIP
Rina Paolucci * - Conservative
West Heywood
Darren Bayman - Conservative
Jacqui Beswick * - Labour
Michael O’Brien - UKIP
West Middleton
Philip Burke * - Labour
Andrew Neilson - Conservative
Lee Jason Seville - UKIP
