LABOUR are the bookies' favourite to take control of a council for the first time ever tomorrow.

Bookmaker Star Sports currently offer 2/5 odds that voters will return a historic Labour majority in Worthing when polls close at 10pm tomorrow.

Worthing Borough Council, currently held by the Conservatives, is set for a battle for control between the Tories and Labour - with both parties currently having 17 seats each, two short of a majority.

It comes only five years after the town elected their first Labour councillor in 40 years.

William Kedjanyi, political betting analyst at Star Sports, said: “If somebody were to have preempted a Labour majority for Worthing Borough Council just a few years ago, it would have been barely believable.

“Such is the political landscape though, Labour are the solid favourites to take a majority.”

No overall control can be backed at 11/4, with only 13/2 odds for the Conservatives to gain a majority on the council.

The Argus: Labour leader Keir Starmer in Worthing on MondayLabour leader Keir Starmer in Worthing on Monday

Labour leader Keir Starmer visited the town earlier this week to campaign with councillors and activists ahead of the election on Thursday.

He told The Argus that voters in the town want change and that a Labour council would meet the ambition of local residents.

He said: “We’ve got good ideas for Worthing and we’re putting a positive case with positive candidates to try and bring about change, and we need to earn every vote on Thursday to try and turn councils like Worthing so we can make a real difference to the lives of thousands of people.”

Earlier in the campaign, Councillor Beccy Cooper, leader of the Labour group on Worthing Borough Council, said while she does not take anything for granted, she is “overall optimistic” that Labour will have a good result from the election.

“We will run until the very last second to run the best campaign we can and give the very best for our communities, and I do think there is a good likelihood that we will be able to form the next administration.”

Polling opens from 7am tomorrow across Worthing, with candidates from the Conservatives, Liberal Democrats, Greens and independents also running for election.