Campaigning in the 2025 local elections enters its final day as millions of voters in England will head to the polls tomorrow – the first major vote since last year’s 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.
The contest is being closely fought between Labour and Nigel Farage’s right-wing Reform UK party, which is hoping for a major upset in the constituency. Polling stations will be open between 7am and 10pm on Thursday with results expected to trickle in from the early hours of Friday morning.
The Electoral Commission has urged voters they must show photo ID when they arrive at polling stations under new controversial rules. Niki Nixon, Director of Communications at the Electoral Commission, said: “If you’re going along to your polling station to vote on Thursday, don’t forget your photo ID, you’ll need to show it before you can be given your ballot paper.
“Check you have it with you before heading to the polling station, so that you don’t have to return later in the day. If you lose your ID, or your Voter Authority Certificate does not arrive in time, you can appoint an emergency proxy to vote on your behalf. You will need to contact your council to arrange this before 5pm on election day, and the person you appoint will need their own acceptable photo ID.”
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It comes as Tory leader Kemi Badenoch braces for heavy losses with experts suggesting the Conservatives face losing hundreds of council seats. Speaking to the BBC, she ruled out resigning if the results are bad.
She said earlier this week: “No, because this is something that we have said has to be got through. We’ve got to get through this initial period where the public rejected Conservatism. Last year, they voted whatever they could to get Conservatives out. We have a job to do to fix the brand. Anyone who thinks that this is an overnight task and that changing leader yet again is the solution is not paying attention. The public are quite tired of watching us change leader.”
It will also be the first major electoral test for Keir Starmer since Labour’s historic landslide at the General Election last year. Writing for The Mirror earlier this month the polling guru Professor Sir John Curtice said the elections take place in “unprecedented circumstances”.
He said: “Never before have both Labour, whose current average poll rating is just 24%, and the Conservatives, on 22%, been so unpopular at the same time. Both are struggling to keep pace with Reform, narrowly ahead on 25%.
“British politics was once a two-horse race between Conservative and Labour. Now it is a fragmented five-way battle. Even the Greens (9%) are at a record high in the polls, while the Liberal Democrats (14%) are a force once more.”
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