East Suffolk council is preparing for its second election on May 4 - and there could be a real tussle for control.

Area-wise East Suffolk is the largest district in the country stretching from the north of Lowestoft to Landguard Point in Felixstowe - and includes the second-largest town in Suffolk and some of the most rural areas of the county.

In 2019 the Conservatives had a comprehensive victory here even though it was not a good year for the party nationally. 

They won 39 of the 55 seats. Labour took seven, the Green Party four, Liberal Democrats three and there were two independents elected.

So it looks safe for them - but scratch away at the results and there could be some challenges ahead.

Before its merger with Suffolk Coastal to form the new council, Waveney was traditionally an authority where Labour did well.

Urban Lowestoft elected a lot of Labour councillors - and it controlled the council from the mid 1980s until the early 2000s.

Six of its seven councillors last time came from that town - and in the other wards in the town it looks well placed to make progress.

The other Labour councillor elected was Mike Deacon from Felixstowe who has a strong local support - but with the port being a significant employer in the area there is a residual strong support there for the party.

Elsewhere in the district, however, Labour is not so strong - and it is not even putting up candidates in many rural wards.

However here the Green Party is on the march. In 2019 it took four seats - and then won a further one in a by-election in Leiston as concern grows about the plans for Sizewell C.

In the county council elections two years ago the Greens made further progress - taking seats in Halesworth and coming very close in Wickham Market and Bungay.

What is also significant is that in some market towns with more than one seat - like Woodbridge and Framlingham - the Greens and Liberal Democrats are fighting one seat each apparently in an attempt not to take votes off each other.

That could help to boost opposition chances in some seats they are targetting.

And in the council chamber the Greens, Liberal Democrats and Independents form a single opposition group to challenge the ruling Tories.

Having said that, the Conservatives remain in a very strong position and it would take a huge effort to overturn a 23-seat majority on a 55-seat authority.

The best the various opposition parties can hope for realistically is for the Tories to lose their overall majority and for the opposition to form a "Rainbow Coalition" to take over.

In the past Labour groups have been cautious about talking to other parties - but if there is a chance of power that caution could disappear.

East Anglian Daily Times: Steve Gallant, leader of East Suffolk Council. Picture: East Suffolk Conservatives

And whatever happens in May 4's election, there will be a new leader of the council.

The first leader of East Suffolk council, Steve Gallant, is not standing for election this time around.

Former Waveney, and Suffolk County Council, leader Mark Bee is hoping to return to the council chamber by standing in Bungay having lost his Beccles seat four years ago. 

That won't be straight forward for him - The Greens came very close to winning Bungay in the county council elections two years ago and are very hopeful of going one better this time around.

Overall the Conservatives should be able hold their ground in East Suffolk - but facing different challenges in different seats the final make-up could be very different to how the district looks right now.