The Mirror looks at the key battlegrounds with over 1,000 council seats are up for grabs across 23 local authorities in the first major electoral test since the General Election
Millions of voters in England will head to the polls tomorrow at the local elections – the first major vote since last year’s General Election.
A total of 1,641 council seats are up for grabs across 23 local authorities while four regional mayors and two local mayors will also be elected. A key by-election is also taking place to choose a new MP for the constituency of Runcorn & Helsby after the ex-Labour MP Mike Amesbury resigned.
Kemi Badenoch’s Tories are bracing for an electoral wipeout with experts warning the Conservatives could lose hundreds of councillors on Thursday. Many of the seats up for grabs were last contested in 2021 when ex-PM Boris Johnson was benefiting from a Covid “vaccine bounce” in the polls.
It will also be Keir Starmer’s first major electoral test since Labour’s historic landslide victory at last year’s General Election. It could be a difficult night for the party that has slumped in the polls in recent months while Reform UK, the Liberal Democrats, and the Green Party will all be aiming to win ground.
Here’s our hour-by-hour guide to the local elections including details of key battles and projected declaration times from the LGIU and PA.
READ MORE: Local elections in your area – search your postcode to see if there’s a vote this week
Thursday, May 1: From 10pm
Voters in 23 local authorities in England will go to polling stations between 7am and 10pm.
As the clock strikes 10pm, polling stations will close, meaning no more ballots will be able to be cast. Counts will begin in various places across the country, but some areas are not expected to start counting until Friday morning.
READ MORE: Local elections in your area – search your postcode to see if there’s a vote this week
Unlike the General Election, there will be no dramatic exit poll predicting the results. Results will begin to trickle out overnight and you’ll be able to keep up to date with our live coverage.
Friday, May 2: From 2am
The result for the mayoral contest in North Tyneside is expected to be one of the first to be announced, at around 2am. Labour’s current mayor Norma Redfearn is stepping aside after three terms and 12 years in the job.
At a similar time, the result of the West of England mayoral elections will be declared. The current mayor is Dan Norris – he was elected a Labour MP last year so would have been unable to stand again. Since then, however, Norris was suspended from Labour after being arrested on suspicion of rape and child sex offences earlier this month. It is likely to affect Labour’s chances in the contest.
Polling experts say the race is too close to call, with the election proving to be a five-party race between Labour, the Tories, Reform, the Green Party and the Lib Dems. with Labour’s new candidate Helen Godwin holds a paper-thin lead, according to More in Common. Eyes will be on Reform UK’s candidate Arron Banks, who founded the Leave EU campaign and was formerly one of UKIP’s largest donors.
From 3am
One of the hotly anticipated results of the night will be that of the Runcorn and Helsby by-election. The by-election was triggered after former Labour MP Mike Amesbury quit after being convicted of assault after a 3am brawl on the street in his constituency. He previously won one of the 50 largest Labour majorities at the General Election.
Labour and Reform have been neck and neck throughout the campaign. Polling experts have said that if Nigel Farage’s party replicates his national voting intentions in the area, he should steal the Labour safe seat. It would be a major upset for Mr Starmer, who is facing his first electoral test since last July’s summer election.
Reform UK could see a win in the Greater Lincolnshire mayoral contest if turnout at the ballot boxes ends up being low, polling experts have predicted. The vote will likely be a two-horse race between Mr Farage’s party and the Tories. Reform UK’s Andrea Jenkyns, Boris Johnson’s pal and a former Tory MP, will be hoping for a win when the result is announced around 3:30pm.
From 5am
The Doncaster mayoral election result is expected at around 5am. Labour’s Ros Jones will be hoping for a fourth term in office but Reform UK are seriously challenging the area. Labour currently holds control of the city’s council but Mr Farage’s party are looking to steal this.
From 7am
At around 7am, a full set of council results should be in for Northumberland. The county council has been led by the Tories since 2017. Labour will be hoping to improve its standing in the area though pollsters have suggested the party’s success depends on greater Conservative to Reform defections, and reasonable levels of tactical voting
From 9am
Time to catch a nap if you’ve been following overnight.
Counting is expected to begin in 22 of the 23 local authorities and the two remaining mayoral contests, which means it will be several hours before the next major results.
From 1pm
Labour faces a fight in Durham where the party is seeking to win back control of the council it lost in 2021 for the first time in a century. While Labour performed strongly here at last year’s general election – winning all six parliamentary seats – the party’s position in the polls has since collapsed.
In recent weeks Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has visited County Durham – the home of the annual Miners’ Gala – in an attempt to win over Labour voters.
Around the same time Lancashire is also expected to declare its results which could be grim news for Kemi Badenoch if the Tories lose their slim majority on the council.
From 2pm
Around 2pm the result of Hull & East Yorkshire’s first ever mayoral battle is expected to be announced. The new mayor will represent over 600,000 people in the region. Reform has picked the former boxer and Olympic medallist Luke Campbell as its candidate.
From 3pm
Results will begin trickling in faster now with Buckinghamshire, Doncaster, and Leicestershire all set to declare.
According to the Local Government Information Unit, the Tories hold 105 of the 147 seats on Buckinghamshire council – with the Lib Dems in a distant second with just 13. Despite conceding the results will be difficult for the Conservatives, not even Kemi Badenoch will be expecting her party to lose control here.
Doncaster meanwhile is the only council Labour is defending – where the party has a considerable majority – and Leicestershire under the control of the Tories.
There will also be a result in the Cambridgeshire & Peterborough mayoral vote.
From 4pm
Results are expected around 4pm in Gloucestershire, Hertfordshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, and Derbyshire. Lib Dem bosses will be hoping to plant their “winning here” posters in Gloucestershire if the Tories suffer a terrible night at the local elections.
Shropshire could be another sign of the Tories’ downfall if they lose seats on the council while Labour and Reform UK will be hoping to win seats on Derbyshire council
From 5pm
A string of councils including Lincolnshire, North Northamptonshire, Nottinghamshire, Oxfordshire, Warwickshire, and Worcestershire are all expected to declare.
Tory losses are once again expected to mount as Reform UK aims to win ground in Lincolnshire where the Conservatives currently have a majority. The Local Government Information Unit points out that Nigel Farage’s former party Ukip once performed well in the area in the mid-2010s.
Labour, the Tories and the Lib Dems will be in a three-way battle in Oxfordshire and in Warwickshire the Conservatives will be defending a large number of councillors.
The Green Party will also be hoping to make gains in Worcestershire after increasing their number of councillors in the area in the most recent local elections. The result of the Doncaster mayoral contest is also set to be declared.
From 6pm
Four councils – Cambridgeshire, Cornwall, Devon, and Wiltshire – are now expected to declare.
Ed Davey’s Lib Dems will be hoping there is cause for celebration when Cornwall announces the results of its council elections while the party will also be aiming to wipe out the Tories majority in Devon and make gains in Wiltshire.
Tory high command will also be keeping an eye on whether the party is able to maintain its majority in Devon.
From 7pm
Almost time to sleep if you’ve pulled an all-nighter watching the results come in.
The final councils of Kent and West Northamptonshire are expected to declare and the bad news for Kemi Badenoch may be far from over. Both of the councils currently have a Tory majority but face strong challenges from rivals.
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