WINCHESTER Conservatives face a crucial test this week.

The party of power on the city council for the foreseeable future or one election wonders?

They enjoyed their best-ever night in May 2006, winning seven seats and seizing overall control for the first time since 1987. The last year they were even the biggest party was as long ago as 1994.

The Tories have largely enjoyed their first year in office: the council tax they set is below inflation; they can point to their vital backing of the athletics track at Bar End and have avoided banana skins that latterly affected the Liberal Democrats, such as the collapse of the Winchester Alliance for Mental Health.

The Conservatives are defending ten seats; Lib Dems hold six; Lab-our, two and Independents, one.

Normally a party defending so many can expect to struggle to hold them all, but the Tories believe the electoral tide is still flowing in their direction.

Council leader George Beckett said: "I think we will improve our position. We have very good candidates and the last 12 months have shown we have fresh ideas."

It was unclear whether the Tories would be damaged by the fall-out from the Daily Echo story of council chief executive Simon Eden's assertion that the city will probably have to allow development on the edges.

Several Tory councillors are unhappy with his comments because the proposed 2,000-home Barton Farm scheme is still a highly controversial doorstep issue.

The Tories will be unhappy to see six UK Independence Party candidates. Last year there was only one UKIP candidate compared to six in the previous election, held in 2004. UKIP was blamed for depriving the Conservatives of several gains.

Lib Dems, who have enjoyed sustained election success in Win-chester since the 1980s, were shocked by the scale of last year's defeat.

Buffeted by the Mark Oaten rent boy scandal, however their councillors expected the electoral consequences would be manageable.

Instead they suffered their worst electoral night, losing five seats, including leader Sheila Campbell, in a knockout blow that was harder for being so unexpected.

The party has had to regroup and become used to being in opposition for the first time in a decade.

So its back to the doorstep and the gruelling task of canvassing. One issue cropping up is the sharp rise in the cost of non-council tenants renting council garages.

Contentious Group leader Therese Evans said: "It is very contentious. Lots of local people are cross about the increases. They were only notified at the beginning of March."

Meanwhile, Labour will do well to hold the two seats it defends. Their councillors have for decades been confined to the three main estates of Stanmore, Winnall and Highcliffe.

Last year veteran Patrick Davies was swept away by the Conservatives in the St Luke ward that covers Stanmore; and Chris Pines narrowly held off the Tories to cling on to St John and All Saints, covering Highcliffe and Winnall.

Labour's problem is that its local heartland has seen its make-up change with right-to-buy increasing the number of homeowners and buy-to-let seeing hundreds of students moving in.

The unpopularity of the Blair government, with poll ratings at their lowest level since the 1983 election, is doing no favours.

Labour leader Peter Rees pointed out that many of the popular measures against antisocial behaviour including neighbourhood wardens have been Labour-inspired.

Mr Rees, who is standing down at this election, said: "Don't write us off. We are a force for good. Our three councillors have worked tirelessly."

He said the canvassing had been a lot more positive this year than 2006 when the Labour government was beset with bad publicity over Iraq and controversy over John Prescott. "It is very encouraging. But there is a difference between canvassing returns and the votes in the box."

As well as the six UKIP candidates (David Abbott, Chris Barton-Briddon, John Clark, Lawrence Hole, Judith Gordon and David Samuel) there are two Greens - Alison Craig and Dave Walker-Nix and two independents, Colin Chamberlain, leader of the Independent group and an "independent" independent Rupert Pitt.