IN 2003, Labour secured 21 of the 30 seats available, with the remainder spread between the Conservatives, the SNP, and independents. Labour won 44% of the vote.

Now, the parties will fight it out to elect 30 councillors to eight wards.

To some extent, the current administration has been granted some political rope over the deteriorating condition of several of its communities. Towns such as Ardrossan and Saltcoats, long pockets of urban blight, are to be regenerated by the Irvine Bay Regeneration Company, a Scottish Executive-led redevelopment agency.

Such plans however, will not come to fruition for years to come, and more needs to be done to secure voters' confidence. Indeed, the area continues to suffer from vast social divisions, encompassing well-off towns such as Largs and the less affluent Irvine.

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