Elections 2026 live: counting under way after votes in England, Scotland and Wales | May 2026 elections
important events
Here are the latest images from the vote counts in England:
Meanwhile, as the polls closed, Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy said the elections were “tough”.
He said:
I don’t want to gloss over it, the message coming from the doorstep is that this is a tough election cycle.
This is a series of midterm elections where people are worried about the cost of living and want to see the government move faster.
Lammy added that although Labor had run a “positive campaign” the party’s “message” had been “suppressed by the politics of grievance”.
Labor deputy leader Lucy Powell added:
These elections took place in a difficult and difficult environment. After more than a decade of Britain being held back, working people up and down the country rightly want to see the whole of the UK firing on all cylinders in their interests. Labor has begun to deliver on this promise, and we are determined to make it happen for everyone, everywhere.
Keir Starmer thanked party activists after the polls closed.
The Prime Minister said the following in his post on X:
Thank you to all Labor Party members and volunteers who support local campaigns across the country. Together we will build a stronger and fairer Britain.
These elections are seen as the biggest test for the prime ministership since the general elections.
What should be considered in Scotland?
Libby Brooks
Libby Brooks is the Guardian’s Scotland correspondent
Although the incumbent Scottish National Party is heading for a gravity-defying fifth term, the fine details of the results and the subsequent makeup of the Holyrood chamber remain highly unpredictable.
Polls this week showed Reform UK, which has gained significant momentum in Scotland over the past 18 months, is running neck and neck with Scottish Labor, which has suffered from growing public dissatisfaction with the UK Labor government, despite its leader Anas Sarwar taking the career-defining decision to step aside for Starmer in February.
Most of the constituency’s seats are in the balance and the SNP’s majority is by no means guaranteed. He could then turn to the Scottish Greens, who although the Green Party of England and Wales is a separate entity, are expecting a strong performance thanks in part to Polanski’s bounce, to form a pro-independence majority at Holyrood.
SNP leader John Swinney has vowed to hold a vote on the first day of the new parliament to get the power to hold a second independence referendum, despite the UK government repeatedly rejecting previous demands and failing to offer an alternative route.
While the first full council result in England is not expected until 2am, there could be some minor results from midnight.
I’ll bring you updates here, but you can head to our results tracker to see all results for England, Scotland and Wales:
What to consider in Wales?
Bethan McKernan
Bethan McKernan is the Guardian’s Wales correspondent
This week the Welsh parliament will increase its membership from 60 to 96 under a new, more proportional electoral system. Labor is expected to lose control of the Senedd for the first time since devolution in 1999, while Plaid Cymru’s Rhun ap Iorwerth is expected to become the new first minister and put Welsh independence firmly on the agenda.
Coalition arithmetic shows that Reform is extremely unlikely to form a government even if it wins the most seats. If numbers allow, Plaid Cymru will form a minority government without entering into formal coalition agreements with Labor or the Green Party.
Labour’s projected losses are so catastrophic that some polls put the party in fourth place, behind the Greens. Many polls suggest Labor first minister Eluned Morgan will lose her seat.
The margins of the Senedd’s new list system are very sharp, making predictions very difficult. According to the More in Common poll, the last (sixth) seat in each constituency could be decided by as little as 0.06% of the vote.
What results do we expect first?
Aletha Adu
Aletha Adu is the Guardian’s political correspondent
The early hours of Friday morning will yield only a handful of declarations, but they could set the tone for the entire election.
Hartlepool is one of the first big tests of whether Reform UK can turn its voting momentum into real council gains. The manifesto guide itself points to the possibility of the Reformation making significant progress here as one of the biggest stories of the night.
If reform performs strongly, Labor strategists will be less worried about isolated local setbacks and more about the emergence of a permanent anti-establishment rival that could swallow up Labour’s old coalition in cities the party once considered safe.
Oxford may offer an early sign of how fragmented the progressive and anti-Tory electorate has become, with Labour, the Greens and the Liberal Democrats competing for similar voters. The manifesto guide speaks of “a hodgepodge of different Liberal winners at Oxford”.
Dudley is important because it is in the politically volatile Midlands, where Labor faces pressure from Reformation amid frustration over immigration, living standards and distrust of Westminster politics.
You can see the full election results timeline here:
Polls closed in England, Scotland and Wales
Hello and welcome to the Guardian’s live coverage of the election results in England, Scotland and Wales.
Thursday’s votes involved the Scottish and Welsh parliaments and 136 local councils in England; Here 5,014 seats are contested, including each of London’s 32 borough councils, more than a dozen borough councils, six unitary councils, six borough councils and three district councils. A further 73 councils held elections for half or a third of the available seats.
There were also six mayoral contests in Croydon, Hackney, Lewisham, Newham, Tower Hamlets and Watford.
So there is a lot to come…
In England we expect the first results between midnight and 2am, but in Scotland and Wales counting does not start until 9am; so these results are slightly wrong.
As always, we will bring you the latest news, colors and reactions throughout the night.
If you notice any errors, feel free to contact hamish.mackay@theguardian.com. My colleague Andrew Sparrow will take over at 6am and comments will be open from 8am.
