Polls open across Britain tomorrow at 7am for one of the most consequential set of local elections in a generation. More than 5,000 council seats are being contested in England, the Scottish Parliament is being elected and the Senedd is voting on its new government. Photo ID is required at all English polling stations. Reform is predicted to top the national vote share for the first time. Here is everything you need to know.
What is being voted on?
In England: More than 5,000 council seats across 136 local authorities are being contested. These range from county councils in rural England – where Reform is expected to make historic gains – to London borough councils where the Greens are projected to challenge Labour’s long-held dominance. In some boroughs, there are also mayoral elections: residents of Croydon, Hackney, Lewisham, Newham and Tower Hamlets will vote for a borough mayor as well as ward councillors. Coventry is holding its biggest election in 22 years with all 54 seats contested simultaneously due to a boundary review.
In Scotland: Elections to the Scottish Parliament at Holyrood are taking place, with the SNP seeking to maintain or extend its control. The Scottish Parliament uses the Additional Member System – a proportional voting method combining constituency seats and regional list seats.
In Wales: Senedd elections are taking place, with Plaid Cymru widely predicted to form its first-ever Welsh Government – a historic outcome if it materialises. The Senedd uses a similar proportional system to Holyrood.
How to vote in person – step by step
1. Find your polling station. Your polling station address is printed on your poll card, which should have been delivered to your home. If you have lost it or are unsure, you can find your allocated polling station by entering your postcode at gov.uk/contact-electoral-registration-office. Note: your polling station may have changed since the last election, and you must go to your allocated station, not the nearest one.
2. Bring photo ID. This is compulsory in English local elections. You cannot vote without it. Accepted forms of photo ID include: a UK passport, a UK driving licence, a Blue Badge, a national identity card issued by an EU country (if you are a qualifying EU citizen), an Oyster 60+ card, an older person’s bus pass, an Employers’ age verification card or a Voter Authority Certificate. The ID does not need to be current – expired ID is accepted as long as the photo still looks like you. If you do not have any accepted ID and your Voter Authority Certificate has not arrived in time, you can arrange an emergency proxy vote by contacting your council before 5pm on polling day.
3. Arrive between 7am and 10pm. Polling stations open at 7am and close sharply at 10pm. Anyone in the queue at 10pm will be allowed to vote. Do not leave it until the last minute.
4. At the polling station. Tell staff your name and address, or hand them your poll card. Show your photo ID. You will be given your ballot paper. Take it to a private booth and mark your choice clearly with an X. Fold your ballot paper and place it in the ballot box.
5. Do not photograph your ballot. It is an offence to photograph a completed ballot paper.
What each party needs from Thursday
Labour is defending more than 2,500 seats, most of which were won in 2022 when the party was polling around 35% nationally. It is now polling around 16-20%. The Elections Centre projects Labour could lose between half and three-quarters of the seats it is defending. Specific areas of concern include northern metropolitan boroughs where Reform is surging strongly, and London boroughs where the Greens are expected to mount a serious challenge. If Labour loses Wigan, Sunderland, Barnsley and major London councils, Keir Starmer’s position as party leader is likely to become immediately untenable.
Reform UK is contesting wards for the first time in meaningful numbers, having gone from near-zero local government presence in 2022 to polling 27% nationally. The Elections Centre projects Reform could top the national equivalent vote share and win the most seats of any party, potentially taking control of county councils in Essex, Norfolk and Suffolk. A result of this scale in traditionally Conservative rural England would represent a historic realignment. Reform is also making inroads in traditional Labour areas – in Sunderland, where boundary changes mean all seats are up, Labour and Liberal Democrat sources have reportedly described a Reform victory as “likely.”
The Greens need their seat totals to match their polling. They are projected to gain around 555 seats from a base of 141. The most watched contests are in inner London: Hackney, Lambeth, Lewisham and Waltham Forest are all seen as potential Green gains. Zack Polanski’s party is also targeting Hastings. If the Greens take Hackney – where the mayoral race is closely watched – it would be the most significant Green victory in English local government history. The key question is whether the Green surge in polling translates into votes where it counts on the ground.
The Conservatives face a deeply uncomfortable night. Polling around 18%, the party is being squeezed by Reform in Leave-voting areas and by the Liberal Democrats in their southern heartlands. The Elections Centre projects the Conservatives could lose their current status as the second-largest party in English local government, potentially falling to fifth place. Several councils held for decades are at risk.
The Liberal Democrats are expected to make gains, particularly in their traditional southern England strongholds. They are projected to gain around 393 seats and potentially overtake the Conservatives in overall local council seats nationally.
What the forecasters say
The Elections Centre at the University of Exeter, which uses national polling data, local election history and demographic modelling, projects:
- Reform to win the most seats and top the national equivalent vote share at around 27%
- Labour to retain only around 44% of the seats it is defending
- The Greens to finish with almost five times the number of seats they began with
- The Conservatives to lose approximately two thirds of their incumbents
- The Liberal Democrats to come a close third in total seats
PollCheck’s ward-level analysis projects that 57 councils will change control entirely. Three eastern counties – Essex, Norfolk and Suffolk – are projected to flip to Reform. Labour is projected to lose control in Wigan, Sunderland and Barnsley.
The key contests to watch
Hackney: The most closely watched single contest of the night. Can the Greens take the borough mayoralty and council from Labour? A Green win here would be the headline result of the election.
Sunderland: Can Reform take a northern metropolitan borough that has been Labour since its creation? This would be the most dramatic individual result of the night.
Essex and Norfolk: Are county council totals consistent with a Reform takeover of traditional Tory England?
Scotland: Can the SNP hold its position at Holyrood? Can Labour begin to rebuild in Scotland under a changed national landscape?
Wales: Does Plaid Cymru form the first non-Labour Welsh Government? A historic result if it occurs.
When will we know the results?
Most English councils declare their results on Friday 8 May. Some London boroughs are expected to declare as early as 4:30am on Friday. Others – including Lewisham, Croydon and Tower Hamlets – may not finish counting until Saturday afternoon. Scottish Parliament and Senedd results will come through on Friday.
The bottom line
This is the most consequential set of local elections in at least a decade and possibly in a generation. The result will determine whether Starmer survives as Labour leader into the summer. It will determine whether Reform’s poll ratings translate into historic local government control. It will determine whether the Green surge is real or overstated. And in Scotland and Wales, it may produce the most significant constitutional moments since devolution.
Polls open at 7am. They close at 10pm. Take your photo ID. Make your vote count.
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