THIS is the most marginal ward on Merseyside, and was last year won by a majority of just 23 – around 0.5% of the total vote.

It’s Pensby and Thingwall in Wirral – in recent times a hotly contested Labour-Tory battleground, which could again prove crucial in this year’s Local Elections.

Last year, Labour’s Kate Cannon was elected to the seat after winning 1,878 votes, marginally ahead of Tory Michael Collins’ 1,855 in a vote that saw a turnout of 41% – not bad for an election of this type.

With that in mind, the Local Democracy Service headed to the area to find out how voters were feeling this year, and whether they were engaging with local government – a mechanism paid for by us, and responsible for vital issues such as bin collections, potholes and parking charges.

Sadly, the results were largely negative. Of the dozens of residents and business owners we spoke with, the vast majority said they wouldn’t even be voting – and didn’t know many others who will be exercising their democratic rights on Thursday.

Despite the UK’s exit from the European Union not much of a factor when it comes to Local Elections, many in Pensby and Thingwall on Tuesday blamed Brexit and frustration with MPs in Westminster for their apathy.

What did they say?

Speaking about the politicians, resident Martin John said: “They’re all muppets.

“Everyone’s confused or bored because of all the Brexit stuff going on in Westminster, but either way I won’t be voting. None of my colleagues at work will either. I’m bored of it. If they promised to put more police on the streets, I would, but that’s it.”

Brian Young, owner of Thingwall Newsagents, described politicians as “numb-heads”.

He said: “Bigger issue are colliding with the smaller issues and sadly that means people are less focussed on local stuff.

“The issue that will affect voters most around here is the green belt and housing. That will have a big impact and will be on people’s minds when they vote.

“Overall, people are putting [local and national politics] together so don’t understand they are two separate issues.”

Another shop owner, who wished to remain anonymous, said: “I don’t bother voting. I think they’re all useless. Nobody ever seems to do what they say they will. Everyone who wants to get in promises things. I’ve never bothered to vote in my whole life and I certainly won’t start now.”

A business owner added: “I won’t be voting this year because of Brexit and the Labour Party’s issues involving Jeremy Corbyn.

“I’ve got issues with many politicians at the moment so I just don’t see the point. I’ve got better things to do.”

Wirral Globe:

Local Democracy Reporter Tom Houghton struggled to find anyone in Pensby and Thingwall who cares about the upcoming Local Elections

Why could the ward be so vital to this year’s Wirral Local Elections?

With the balance of power tipped slightly in favour of Labour – their majority is just a single seat after several defections over the past year – the party must only slip up in a few wards for this election to turn into something of a headache for the ruling group.

The Conservative group firmly believe they can overturn the 23-vote majority from last year to add to their 21 seats, and this is one of the wards they – and other groups – feel they have a real chance of winning.

That won’t be without Labour putting up some fight however, and their incumbent elected member Cllr Phill Brightmore is well respected across the ward. It will take a strong effort from any party to beat him to the seat.

What’s happened in the past few elections?

As already mentioned, Labour’s Cllr Cannon was victorious last year by a tiny percentage.

Prior to that, in 2016, the seat was won by Cllr Mike Sullivan, who has since defected to the council’s Independent group. On that occasion, he won with a majority of 15%.

The year before that was the turn of the current Cllr Brightmore to win the seat, with a much closer majority of 2.2% to Conservative Ian MacKenzie.

In 2014, Labour also won the vote, with Louise Reecejones beating Conservative counterpart Denis Knowles with a majority of 3.9%.

With both Pensby and Thingwall villages sitting within the affluent Wirral West constituency, it’s a seat used to high turnouts at elections, despite what we found on Tuesday.

What do the parties say?

For most of the ward’s political parties, the green belt is top priority.

Cllr Phillip Brightmore, who currently holds the seat and is again running for Labour, said he was “utterly committed” to opposing the “Tories’ policy” of house building on the green belt.

He added: “Residents tell me the Tory Government is in crisis and making a compete mess of key national issues, all the while our NHS, Schools and police are starved of resources and our community suffers. Thursday’s election is an opportunity to send a message to chaotic Westminster.”

Liberal Democrat candidate Colin Thompson said environmental issues were his “top passion”, with the green belt the “main local issue”.

He added: “Residents are fed a series of contradictory messages and claims about housing targets, but they are absolutely clear about one thing: our green belt is too precious to hand over wholesale to developers.”

Conservative candidate Mike Collins said: “People in Pensby and Thingwall have been let down by Wirral’s Labour council, who are failing to protect our precious green belt.

“My message to voters is simple – I will fight to protect our green belt from unwanted development, and make sure our area gets its fair share of council funding.”

Green Party candidate Allen Burton said people are “appalled” at the government’s housing demands – and at the council “building on the green belt in Hoylake”.

He added: “I am therefore urging residents to vote for me to send a clear message to both the council and the government that we will do everything we possibly can to keep the bulldozers out of our area.”