The Colchester Council elections on May 2 could be a defining moment for Lib Dem Mark Cory and Green Mark Goacher.
Mr Cory will not only be hoping to hold on to his Wivenhoe seat, but will be hoping his coalition retains control of the authority.
Mr Goacher is hoping to beat Conservative group leader Darius Laws in the Castle ward and become his party's first ever councillor in Colchester.
But how much will national politics help or hinder their parties?
The Lib Dems have been ravaged ever since Nick Clegg got into bed with the Tories, but could the party's stance on Brexit appeal to voters in local elections?
This year surely represents the best chance the Greens are ever going to have with climate change, David Attenborough's Blue Planet and Extinction Rebellion hitting the headlines.
The two Marks discussed their manifestos and their hopes for Colchester with Gazette head of content Dom Bowers and Essex University journalism student Rhiannon Bevan.
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