All 54 seats on Halton Council are up for election next month after boundary changes that reduced the number of councillors in the borough.

But even though not a single vote has been cast yet, Labour has already secured 11 of those seats due to a lack of opposition.

Although none of the 18 wards are completely uncontested, there are three where Labour has only two opponents and four where there is only one opposition candidate. With each ward returning three councillors, this means Labour is already guaranteed to win 20% of the seats in Halton.

Even in those wards that are fully contested, Labour’s dominance in Halton means the party is likely to retain its comfortable majority on the council.

The two wards most likely to return opposition councillors are Beechwood and Heath, where the incumbent Liberal Democrats are all standing for re-election, and Daresbury, Moore and Sandymoor, where the Conservatives are likely to add a third councillor to their existing two.

However, the boundary changes mean all these wards are new and previous results can only give a limited guide to where the opposition might be competitive.

The elections take place on May 6.