Who should I vote for in the local elections? Take our quiz to find out which party best suits you
In just a few weeks, millions of voters will head to the polls and more than 5,000 council seats across England will be up for grabs.
On May 7, elections will be held for 136 local authorities, including some of the UK’s largest cities and the whole of London. Many urban authorities and rural areas, as well as some provincial councils, will also vote.
This is the biggest local election in the UK in three years and an important test for all political parties.
Helping voters make decisions at the ballot box, Independent There is a useful test to help voters find out which parties’ positions best suit their views.
Elections for local councilors and mayors can reflect voters’ attitudes towards social issues such as housing, local services, public transport and schools.
But they can also be an indicator for voters of how parties and leaders are handling national issues; This could mean high cost of living this year, the economy and immigration, or even conflicts such as foreign relations in Iran and Ukraine.
Labor is expected to suffer heavy losses at the polls, while the prime minister is expected to face a leadership challenge if results are particularly bad.
Since May 2025, the party’s vote share in local by-elections has fallen by an average of 25 percent. If the same situation is repeated in this year’s local elections, the party can be expected to lose approximately 2,000 seats.
On April 7, reform remained ahead in the polls with 24 per cent, compared to Labor’s 16 per cent and the Conservative Party’s 19 per cent, according to figures from YouGov.
Leader Nigel Farage will aim to make gains at the polls against the major parties, alongside the Liberal Democrats’ Sir Ed Davey and the Greens’ Zack Polanski.
Important information for voters
Polls close at 10pm on May 7, but only a third of councils will carry out the count and announce results overnight.
Most councils will wait until the next day, Friday, May 8, to begin counting votes, and are likely to start announcing full results in the early afternoon.
A small number of councils have indicated that vote counting will not end until Saturday, May 9.
The deadline to register to vote is 23.59 on Monday, April 20, and the deadline to vote by mail is 17.00 on Tuesday, April 21.
