Voters in Bassetlaw District Council take to the polls to elect a third of the north Nottinghamshire authority.
Labour currently has an overwhelming majority on the council but admitted its biggest fear is UKIP.
The Conservative group is hoping to increase its share and go someway to returning to its only period in power. The Lib Dems have six candidates.
Labour has controlled the council for decades apart from two brief periods in the 1970s and then again about eight years ago.
The area of Bassetlaw is divided in two by the A1 with the Labour heartland of Worksop to the west and the more Conservative Retford to the east.
Despite being in Nottinghamshire economically it looks to its large neighbour in Sheffield, rather than the distant county town of Nottingham.
It prides itself on being the birthplace of the United States of America - three of the first four signatories to the Mayflower Compact were from Bassetlaw.
Labour's John Mann has been MP for Bassetlaw since 2001.
That was towards the end of Tony Blair's leadership when the party was unpopular nationally, even in the former coal-mining heartland of Bassetlaw.
The Conservatives enjoyed several years in power but in 2011 the council returned to red and this is the first election where it faces a serious challenge from UKIP.
"Our biggest worry is UKIP," councillor Griff Wynne said. "This is the first time they have entered candidates in every ward.
"They are targeting Labour seats for the first time and they are an unknown quantity."
Mr Wynne, deputy leader of the council, said the main issue though is to convince people to vote at all.
Former leader of the council and the Conservatives Mike Quigley is hoping to win back a seat after he lost two years ago.
"The problem with local politics is that people tend to be driven on what's happening nationally," he said.
"We took control when Labour was doing pretty badly nationally and I think that's often how people vote."
UKIP is hoping to capitalise on the party's popularity nationally and is the only party to field a candidate in every ward, hoping to build support for future European elections.
Roger Vernon said: "We did quite well in the county council elections last year, which isn't bad considering we [the local branch] were only formed in March.
"We are up against a strongly entrenched Labour party, we realise it is a hard race for us to row."
The Liberal Democrats have not had a councillor in Bassetlaw for more than 10 years.
A total of 54 candidates are fighting for 16 seats including two independents.

Dave Walsh, president of Liverpool Trades Council, said the council should not be afraid of setting an illegal budget.
He said: "There's an old saying in the Labour movement, 'better to break the law than the poor'. Vulnerable people in this city are going to be left without care."
But Mayor Joe Anderson said the council would set a legal budget.
He said: "This city was set back 30 years ago by people setting an illegal budget. There's two options, either set a legal budget or an illegal budget.
"I'm on the side of setting a legal budget - as tough as that is."
The council has rejected calls for the authority to ignore government spending targets and set an illegal budget.
In the 1980s, Liverpool's Labour-controlled council set an illegal budget which led to the banning of and surcharge of 47 councillors.
The council has to save £156m over the next three years, on top of £173m worth of cuts over the last three years.
The latest financial position shows that Liverpool City Council will have to save £45m in 2014-15, £63m in 2015-16 and £48m in 2016-17.
Traffic near to the Town Hall in Dale Street was blocked by the protest on Wednesday evening and police stepped in to clear the road as a woman was trying to get to hospital.
A dyed-in the wool Labour council is facing UKIP in every ward for the first time in Thursday's election.
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More than 100 people held a protest outside Liverpool Town Hall over cuts.