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.

Labour is also pledging a free play scheme place for every child during the summer holidays, a council tax rebate to all foster carers of Staffordshire children and to look into the feasibility of offering mortgages to first-time buyers.

And the party is offering a £50 voucher to over-85s to help elderly people stay in their homes as long as possible.

Despite these offers, Labour promises to keep council tax increases at the lowest possible level.

The Tories aim to keep rises within two per cent over the next two years. They plan to keep council tax low by cutting waste and scrapping the "silly stuff" following a review of council services.

They also want 20mph safety zones around schools, a crackdown on school bullying and a summer holiday fun scheme. Over-85s are again in line for support – this time with a council tax discount.

In addition, the Tories plan a review to improve public and school transport, the introduction of a young person's travel card and a three-year £30 million investment to improve the county's roads.

Community action teams will be introduced to work alongside local parishes and communities to provide minor maintenance and repairs of roads and footpaths.

The Lib Dems are hoping to pounce on voters' disillusionment with Labour and the Tories to add to their two seats. Their manifesto is broken into highways, transportation, youth services, education, social care and community.

They are promising to have enough highways officers to do the work required, promote the community speed watch scheme, speed up the review of speed limits and develop safer crossing areas. They also plan to put more money in youth services and encourage "life skill" training courses in first aid, driver awareness and cookery in clubs, colleges and schools.

Meanwhile, the Greens have put forward 28 candidates, mostly in Mid-Staffordshire and the south of the county. In their manifesto they say they will tackle unemployment and promote sustainable communities by using local contractors and services. They are also against privatising home care services, academy schools and post office closures.

Ukip, which is contesting 23 seats, says it will slash council tax by 40 per cent, which it says it can achieve by cutting council spending by 10 per cent.

The BNP, which is fielding 12 candidates, also says it will reduce council tax and promises that its councillors will work harder at grassroots level.

See tomorrow's Sentinel for the parties' European Election manifestos