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Just when you thought it was safe to open the door ... the politicians are once again out and about looking for votes.

But only in .

Four months after the the last election, voters in the city will go to the polls on 9 September in an election the result of which (and we don't often say this in council by-elections) could be fascinating.

The facts:
13 of the 39 seats on Norwich City Council are up for grabs. They should have been contested in May but the elections were postponed because Norwich was about to become a Unitary Authority. Now that those plans have been scrapped by the new government, the elections have to take place as soon as possible.

The council is in no overall control. It's run by a minority Labour administration. Labour have 15 seats, The Greens are the main opposition with 13, the Lib Dems have six and the Conservatives have five

Of the seats being contested six are Labour seats, four belong to the Greens, two to the Lib Dems and one to the Conservatives.

Why is it so interesting?
First of all, it is the first time since the General Election that so many people will be voting. Will they use this as an opportunity to pass judgement on the coalition? Secondly, can the Greens, after years of steady success, gain the two or three more seats that they need to run the council and form the first Green administration in the country?

What all the parties are agreed on is that there's little public enthusiasm for these elections. It's been summer, so many people have been away and those who have answered the doors have expressed surprise (and more) to discover that there's another election campaign under way.

Labour
are putting in a lot of effort. They are keen to fight on their local record but also hope that public concern about the coaltion government's forthcoming cuts will win them votes and perhaps some more seats. The party says its local membership has increased by 150 since the General Election. Some of the new support is coming from defecting Liberal Democrats, the rest from former Labour supporters returning to the fold. Big names like David Miliband, Harriet Harman and other front bench spokesmen have been to Norwich to press the flesh. They're taking these elections seriously.

The Liberal Democrats
probably have most to lose in this election. Norwich was one of the party's few successes in the country when Simon Wright unseated Labour's Charles Clarke. His wife, Rosalind, now leads the small Lib Dem group on the city council. Will her husband's dramatic win mean more Lib Dem seats, or will (as Labour believes) her party's controversial role in the coalition cost her votes? It's interesting that in their campaigning the Lib Dems are focusing entirely on local issues and what they see as Labour's poor running of the council.

The Conservatives
are also small in number on the council but they gained two more seats in the last set of elections and are hoping for some sort of "in government" bounce this time round. On the face of it their campaign is fairly low key, they're not bothering to ask people to put up posters in their windows, there doesn't seem to be many activists out and about but the party insists it is working hard. There has been unofficial talk of a possible Lib Dem/Tory coalition on the council if both parties gain a few more seats.

Green Party
And what about ? In recent years they've gone from strength to strength in Norwich, for a while they appeared unstoppable. But despite all their efforts they failed to do well in last year's Norwich North by-election or this year's election in Norwich South. And in September they won't be able to rely on the student vote. If they can get a few more seats they'll make history, becoming he first Green administration in the country but if they lose seats (which the other parties believe possible) people will start asking if the Green bubble has burst.

So you can see why the outcome - whatever it is - is so eagerly anticipated in political circles. One thing is already certain - the turnout will be low and that will provide convenient excuses for whoever doesn't do well.

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The first 100 days of a new government is always a benchmark.

The coalition has not fallen apart, as many predicted.

What has happened is that we've seen record spending cuts planned to tackle Britain's deficit and radical policies outlined to reform health, education, welfare and the police.

So it's been an interesting time with more "interesting" times ahead as the trades unions square up to Cameron, planning a day of protests in opposition to the cuts to coincide with autumn's spending review.

And a public backlash is expected as details emerge of where axes will fall in the public sector.

Although our region is by no means one of the most reliant on the public sector, there are still pockets like Luton, Cambridge, where around 40% of jobs come from the council. (Source: House of Commons)

"The autumn spending review will be a chance to consider the real priorities, and I think many people will take an interest in the proposals put forward then. I know my mail bag is full, for one," says Conservative Norwich North MP Chloe Smith.

She thinks the new government has got to work quickly and properly.

"I have been glad to see David Cameron and the Cabinet carry through on the promises they made; including getting to grips with the country's dire finances, improving provisions for training and education, increasing the state pension and commencing a compensation scheme for Equitable Life victims.

"Since the election, many people that I speak to support the simple idea of parties working together in coalition and I feel the coalition is operating constructively."

There's no doubt that the coaltion has caused friction in the Lib Dem ranks. Their former leader Charles Kennedy was "profoundly disappointed" that a deal couldn't be done with Labour and locally, Colchester Lib Dem MP, Bob Russell, voted against the government over the VAT rise.

"I am not at all happy," he said about the proposed increase.

Don't wory Mr Russell, onlydays to go.

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Hang on, I hear you say, we've already had elections this year.

Yes, but there are special circumstances in Norwich.

How come? Well, it's political ... no surprise there then.

The Labour government was keen to push ahead with plans to create a unitary authority in Norwich and okayed them in the dying weeks of its administration.

The Conseratives wanted things to stay as they were. Eric Pickles, incoming Secretary for Local Government and Communities, made it very clear he would pull the plug on the plans and warned councils (Devon was in the same boat) "not to waste any more money" on the changes.

Meanwhile, the local elections in May - this year accompanied by a general election - did not happen in Norwich.

Now the unitary authority is no more it's left a democratic deficit.

But fear ye not. That is about to put right and elections are being held in the city on 9 September.

There's quite a lot of interest in the ballot as this is the first test of public opinion since the formation of the coalition.

In fact though, there's only one Conservative ward. Ssix are Labour, two Lib Dem and four are held by the Green Party.

So it's a complicated picture and not one that might shine a great deal of light on the national landscape.

But Norwich, once again, will find itself and its polls in the spotlight and we political pundits will pick over the bones of how Green support holds up, whether Labour voters return to the fold, and will there be any kind of reaction to the first 100 days of the Lib Dem/Conservative coalition?

They are, of course, fighting against each other locally and we'll be watching to see how that pans out too.

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A bit of people power in Basildon last night.

An extraordinary council meeting called over proposals to sell off recreational land was so swamped by protestors it had to be abandoned.

The council wants to raise funds to pay for a sports village in Gloucester Park, including a prestigious 50-metre pool, which it hopes will be used in the run-up to the 2012 Olympics.

As more than 200-odd people crammed into the council chamber, the atmosphere very nearly turned nasty.

They had rather underestimated the size of the crowd.

When asked to leave by council chairman Mo Larkin because they were breaking health and safety rules, there were angry shouts of "no".

She then threatened to call the police to remove people.

One woman shouted: "I ask, why have a public meeting for all the areas in this small room?"

Parcels of recreational land earmarked for development include Pound Lane in Laindon and Felmores next to Northlands Park.

Finally Councillor Larkin called for a vote on an adjournment "because it has to be democratic", to howls of laughter.

So watch this space for round two ...

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We're a region of market towns. OK - so some of them are cities but let's not be too picky. It's the bits in between that are the problem.

Yes, the green stuff you see out of train windows is where many people live and in the East of England more of the region than not is "rural".

• Large expanses of arable land are characteristic of the region
• Twenty per cent of all cereal farms in the UK were in the East of England in 2006.
• There is one area with National Park status covering the Norfolk and Suffolk Broads which is around 300 square km in area and makes up 2% of the region

A new body - A - "made up of leading organisations which represent rural interests" is calling on the government to let local people seize the initiative.

It wants plans for referenda in the government's Community Right to Build scheme to be scrapped. The scheme requires 90% community support before new, small-scale development can go ahead in villages,

It hopes to develop community ownership of shops, Post Offices, pubs, broadband hubs, sustainable energy and local transport.

And the Rural Coalition is calling for the government to take proper account of the impact of public sector funding cuts on rural areas before finalising the Comprehensive Spending Review in October.

Well, it's a nice thought ...

One of our newly-elected MPs, the Conservative member for Mid Norfolk, George Freeman, has been campaigning for rural regeneration with his 'Norfolk Way'. He sees the delivery of rural broadband as paramount.

"As well as lobbying for government reforms to open up the digital network and push for Norfolk to be a pilot area, I'm speaking to a number of specialist broadband providers in rural areas about quick ways we can improve speeds in rural areas in the short term."

The Rural Coalition is throwing down the gauntlet to the government.

Its chairman Matthew Taylor, author of the Taylor Review of affordable housing and rural economies in 2008, says:"On its current course, with no change in policy and no commitment to action, much of the countryside is becoming part dormitory, part theme park and part retirement home.

"If the government is serious about localism, it should rise to the challenge."

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We're all green these days and those of us with green fingers may well fancy an allotment.

Fresh veg, fresh air, what's not to like? The waiting list.

I read in my local paper that some people have been waiting for years to wield a spade and I realise how lucky I am to have a veg patch at the bottom of my garden, however neglected.

There is a huge demand for allotments. Adam Keating from Basildon Council told me: "We have got waiting lists of more than 150 people. We're keen to create allotments because there is a need and we're fully subscribed at present."

There's a plan afoot for 100 new plots in the Laindon area of the town funded mostly by developers with a £60,000 contribution from the council.

But now the , which represents more than 350 councils in England and Wales, wants allotments to be eligible for grants from the

What's that?

Well, apparently the Government provides grants for projects within 10 miles of an active landfill site. And there is one in that would fit the bill.

At present guidelines for the scheme stipulate that allotments are excluded, since they are used by individuals, not the general public.

Don't individuals add up to the general public?

Growing green with grants from rubbish has an attractive symmetry, don't you think?

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It's always a bit of a culture shock returning to work after a holiday - none more so for me this year after a trip to South Africa.

The 2010 World Cup catapaulted this country of contrasts into the global spotlight but few would have glimpsed the stark contrasts which still exist between the white-gated communities and the shanty towns occupied by the black population.

There's freedom of movement now but not much else, and the gap between the haves and have-nots is huge.

Set all of that against the most stunning landscapes, coastline, wildlfe and natural resources that anyone could wish for.

They are planning a national health service and want to introduce a form of National Insurance; free education is also an ambition.

It's easy to sit in the back of the bus, full of solutions for fledgling economies but at present we don't look like we're in a position to preach.

The return home was greeted with a reduced growth forecast and house price falls as our economy splutters.

More cheering is a new three-year project under way in East Anglia to try to save the turtle dove from extinction.

MPs, led by the Liberal Democrat Bob Russell, have signed a Commons motion, saying the turtle dove population is a tenth of what it was 40 years ago.

They blame the disappearance of wildflowers brought about by intensive farming.

And they're welcoming a research project in East Anglia, where seed-rich corn crops are being sown to help tackle the problem.

Turtle doves are flying round with tracking transmitters to find out what they are eating and how they are managing to rear their young.

It's hoped the data will give enough evidence to prove farmers should be paid to plant a special seed mix, specifically to feed turtle doves.

The says:

Farms at Diss in Norfolk and Westhorpe in Suffolk have already signed up to the project. The RSPB is looking for 16 farms in all to take part in the trials.

In the Bible turtle doves are a sublime vision of earthly love and friendship.

Perhaps South Africa could do with a few.

THE MOTION IN FULL: That this House is alarmed at the huge reduction in the number of turtle doves, down by 88 per cent since 1970 and fears that the bird faces extinction in the British Isles; notes that the reduction has been caused by the disappearance of wild flowers brought about by intensive farming; welcomes a research project by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds and Natural England which involves the sowing of plots of seed-rich corn crops in 16 farms across East Anglia; and calls on the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to promote policies to reverse the decline in turtle doves.

The motion is signed by Liberal Democrat MPs Bob Russell, Mike Hancock, and deputy leader Simon Hughes, Conservatives Robert Halfon and Peter Bottomley, and Labour MPs Kelvin Hopkins and Eric Illsley.

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