Elections 2009: Generous pledges aim to woo voters

HALF-price school meals, low council tax increases and better roads are all being promised in a bid to attract voters at next month's county council elections.

All 62 seats on Staffordshire County Council are up for grabs on June 4 in what promises to be a fierce battle between Labour and the Tories.

The Labour group has been in power since the late 1970s, but maintains the slimmest of majorities with 32 seats. The Conservatives have 26 and the Lib Dems two.

But with Prime Minister Gordon Brown and his cabinet under massive pressure nationally, council leader John Taylor and fellow councillors face a difficult task trying to stay in power.

To tackle the general disillusionment, the Labour group has come out fighting with a number of generous pledges in its manifesto. Its headline pledge is half-price school meals for every nursery and primary school pupil. That will see meals cut from £1.99 to £1 and, according to Labour, save families £200 a year per child. It is also proposed for the county's children to eat their school dinners off Staffordshire-made crockery.

Staffordshire County Council's 2009 elections continues on this is staffordshire