THE COUNTDOWN is nearly over.

Tomorrow is election day, when Swindon voters get the chance to decide who rules their town for the next two years.

June 10 has been dubbed Super Thursday, with more than 6,000 council seats, all 78 UK seats in the European Parliament, and seats in the Greater London Assembly and Mayor of London post up for grabs.

In Swindon, the council will be opening 75 polling stations from 7am to 10pm.

Local elections are rarely decided on local issues alone, and Labour will be watching to see how their prosecution of the war in Iraq plays with the electorate.

As with all mid-term polls, the results will be interpreted in part as a referendum on the performance of the prime minister of the day.

Twenty of the council's 59 seats are being contested in Swindon one in every ward except Penhill and Blunsdon.

Voters will get their first chance to make their views felt about Labour and Liberal Democrats' 7.3 per cent council tax rise, which they say was crucial to safeguarding the future of community groups.

Council leader Mike Bawden needs a net gain of just one member to give his Conservative group an overall majority for the first time in 26 years.

With the Tories expected to make gains across the country, failure in Swindon would be deeply embarrassing, and could raise questions about Coun Bawden's leadership.

Equally, if Labour suffers heavy losses, leader Kevin Small will be under pressure to explain why.

The Lib Dems, Greens and Socialists will be relying on the support of those fed-up with the two bigger parties, and could pick up votes for their opposition to plans for a university at Coate.

Swindon Council is currently led by the Conservatives as a minority administration. They hold 29 of the authority's 59 seats.

Labour has 22 and the Liberal Democrats eight, so a handful of seats could swing the overall result.

Voting is also set to take place in the European elections. The South West region, of which Swindon is a part, will be electing seven European Members of Parliament for five-year terms.

For information about your nearest polling station call Swindon Council's election helpline on 01793 463543.

In the Advertiser's focus on the St Philip ward on Monday we reported that Labour candidate Teresa Page was "fighting to reverse a change in school boundaries that has seen some houses transferred to a different catchment area".

Coun Page now accepts there has been no changes to the school boundaries in St Philip and that no houses have been transferred to a different catchment area.

"I apologise if what I said misled people," she said.

Andy Tate