Around this time tomorrow, parts of England could have a bunch of brand new councillors and mayors. In the first elections since the big general election last summer, voters will decide who they want to be in charge of local issues like housing, education and employment.
Some county councils have postponed their local elections after the government offered the chance to do so ‘where this will help the area to deliver both reorganisation and devolution to the most ambitious timeframe’. That means only some parts of the country will be going to the polling station today. Here’s a full breakdown of everything you need to know.
When are the 2025 local elections?
Today (Thursday, May 1)! Polling stations opened at 7am this morning and will close at 10pm.
Where are elections being held?
The local elections are going on for 23 of England’s local authorities, six mayors, Council of the Isles of Scilly. Every seat in each authority is up for grabs — that’s a total of 1,641 seats being contested. There’s also one parliamentary by-election happening in Runcorn and Helsby.
The full list of places electing new councillors is as follows:
- Buckinghamshire
- Cambridgeshire
- Cornwall
- Derbyshire
- Devon
- Doncaster
- Durham
- Gloucestershire
- Hertfordshire
- Kent
- Lancashire
- Leicestershire
- Lincolnshire
- North Northamptonshire
- Northumberland
- Nottinghamshire
- Oxfordshire
- Shropshire
- Staffordshire
- Warwickshire
- West Northamptonshire
- Wiltshire
- Worcestershire
The mayoral elections are happening in:
- Cambridgeshire & Peterborough
- Doncaster
- Greater Lincolnshire
- Hull & East Yorkshire
- North Tyneside
- West of England
Why isn’t London in the 2025 local elections?
Local government elections only happen every four years, and London’s last one happened in 2022. That means the capital city’s next election is scheduled for 2026.
How to vote in the local elections
Those registered to vote in the their local elections should have received a polling card, which tells you where you need to go to cast your vote.
Do you need ID to vote?
Yep, anyone without the correct ID will be turned away from their polling station. More than 20 forms of ID are accepted, including passports, driving licenses and older or Disabled Person's bus passes. You are also allowed to use out-of-date ID as long as you look the same.
How many seats are currently held by each political party?
The Conservative party currently control 16 out of the 23 councils. According to the PA news agency, the Tories currently hold 55 percent of the seats, Labour holds 17 percent, the Liberal Democrats have 13 percent, Independents hold 10 percent, the Greens hold two percent and Reform hold one percent while another two percent is held by independent parties or are vacant.
When are election results announced?
It’s expected that results will be revealed from mid-afternoon on Friday, May 2.
Important elections results to watch out for
The Runcorn and Helsby by-election will be the big one to keep an eye on. Previous Labour MP Mike Amesbury stepped down after being convicted for punching a man on the street. It looks like Reform is likely to come up trumps.
Predictions
The Conservatives are preparing for significant losses. The last time those seats were contested was in 2021, when Boris Johnson was still prime minister and the party was enjoying a moment of popularity.
It’s predicted that Tory MPs will lose seats to Reform and Liberal Democrats. The Labour party has also set its expectations low as it’s had a steady drop in the polls since the autumn budget.
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