𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

Elections on May 7 will be the biggest and most important since the 2024 General Election.

Voters across England will elect more than 4,850 councillors in 136 local councils. The results will determine who controls town and city halls, overseeing crucial services such as bin collections and social care. They will also be watched carefully by politicians at Westminster, who will try to work out what the results tell them about their chances of winning the next general election.

Mayors will also be elected in Croydon, Hackney, Lewisham, Newham, Tower Hamlets and Watford.

These are mayors that lead local councils, rather than the new breed of “Metro” mayors that lead large regional authorities. Voting for regional mayors, in Greater Essex, Norfolk and Suffolk, Hampshire and the Solent, and Sussex and Brighton, has been pushed back until May 2028.

Voters in Scotland and Wales will elect representatives to their national parliaments, deciding who runs the devolved governments in those two nations. That includes 129 Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs) and 96 Members of the Senedd (MSs).

But voting for Northern Ireland’s local councils and Assembly is scheduled for May 2027.

You must be 18 to vote in the local elections in England, and 16 to vote in the Scottish Parliament or Welsh Senedd elections.

Traditionally, you either had to vote by post in advance, or in person on polling day.

But this year, the Government is piloting a new system, allowing people to vote in advance at locations in Cambridge, North Hertfordshire and Tunbridge Wells. And on polling day, May 7, Milton Keynes voters will be able to vote at the centre:mk shopping centre, rather than being limited to traditional polling stations.

To vote, you must be on the electoral register. You can register online with your National Insurance number, external, or by writing to your council’s electoral registration office.

Everyone voting in person in the local elections in England will need valid photo ID, such as a passport or driving licence. You do not need ID to vote in person in the Scottish Parliament or Senedd elections.

Following last year’s local elections, Labour had 34% of all council seats in England, the Conservative Party had 26%, and the Liberal Democrats had 19%. The Green Party held 5% of seats, and Reform UK also had 5%.

There are 129 MSPs, and the SNP are the largest party with 60. The Conservatives are second with 28 MSPs, and Labour are third with 20.

There are 60 members of the Welsh Senedd. The largest party is Labour, with 29 seats, followed by the Conservatives and Plaid Cymru, each 13 members. However, changes to the Welsh Senedd mean there will be 96 members this time.

There is a lot of speculation that Labour could do badly. Expectations are so low that it Sir Keir Starmer may be pleased if Labour makes modest losses rather than experiencing a huge wipeout.

In English local councils, Reform and the Green Party could do well. Independent candidates campaigning on Palestine could also do well in some cities.

Reform is hoping that Conservatives also suffer big losses. This would allow the insurgent party to claim that only Reform is capable of providing real opposition to Labour.

In Scotland, the SNP could remain as the largest party, but Reform hopes it will become the second-largest, allowing it to paint itself as a truly national party.

Labour has run Wales since the devolved government was created in 1999, but that could change if Reform or Welsh nationalist party Plaid Cymru, or both, do well in this year’s elections.

Of course, voters will decide who to support and could prove all the speculation wrong.

The area served by each local authority is divided into wards or divisions. Voters generally have one vote and choose a councillor to represent their area using the first-past-the-post system, which means the candidate with the most votes is elected.

If any party holds a majority of councillors, they would be expected to lead the council.

If no party has a majority, then the council is said to be under “no overall control”. In this situation, you might find two or more parties agree to work together, to provide stable government for local people even if they disagree on some issues.

When a council is under no overall control, the leader of the largest party usually becomes council leader. However, this is not guaranteed.

Voters are given two ballot papers – one to elect a constituency MSP, who will represent their local area, and the other for a regional ballot.

Constituency MSPs are elected using the first-past-the-post system.

Votes in the regional ballot are cast for parties rather than individual candidates.

The regional seats are then distributed to ensure that each party has a number of MSPs proportionate to the votes they received.

Wales is divided into 16 large constituencies.

Voters choose a party, rather than individual candidates.

Each constituency has six MSs, and they are allocated to the parties in proportion to the number of votes each party receives.

Votes in the Scottish and Welsh elections begin to be counted on the morning of Friday, May 8, with results throughout the day.

English local councils each have their own arrangements, but most will also count votes on Friday.