Local elections 2017 poll times: When are elections for councils and local mayors?
LOCAL council and mayoral elections 2017 take place TODAY with the results set to give an indication of who will win the general election in June. Here is everything you need to know including poll dates and times and who will win.
Polling expert: Labour party will suffer in 2017 local elections
When are the local elections?
Britons will go to the polls on Thursday May 4 for the first major vote since last June’s EU referendum. Polls will open at 7am and close at 10pm.
The deadlines for voting registration and for postal vote applications have now passed.
What are the local elections for?
There are 4,851 council seats up for election across 88 local councils in England, Scotland and Wales.
Directly elected mayors will also be voted in for the West Midlands, Greater Manchester, Liverpool City Region, Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, Tees Valley and the West of England.
These six posts will lead newly-created combined local authorities and will be given devolved power for economic development, and in some areas transport and housing.
Doncaster and North Tyneside are also voting for local authority mayors, who are elected leaders of their respective councils.
The results of the elections could give an indication of how Britain will vote in the June 8 general election.
Of the seats up for grabs 1,535 are currently Labour, 1,136 are Conservative and 484 are Liberal Democrat.
The SNP are defending 438 seats, Plaid Cymru have 170, Ukip have 146 and the Green Party have 34.
Boundary changes since the last election means that these numbers are estimated. There are also 687 independent councillors defending their seats.
The local election sees Labour, the Conservatives, Liberal Democrats and Ukip contest 88 councils
Who will win the mayoral elections?
Labour is predicted to win the mayoral elections in Liverpool, Manchester and Tees Valley.
The party’s former Health Secretary Andy Burnham looks set to win in Manchester, MP Steve Rotheram is running in Liverpool and Sue Jeffrey is predicted to become Tees Valley’s new mayor.
The West Midlands is a key battleground and could go to either Labour MEP Sion Simon or Tory Andy Street – the former boss of John Lewis.
Tees Valley is likely to be a toss-up between Labour’s Sue Jeffrey and the Conservative Ben Houchen, while the West of England looks set to be a run-off between Conservative candidate Tim Bowles and Liberal Democrat candidate Stephen Williams.
Who will win the local elections?
The Conservatives are forecast to win a net gain of 115 seats in the council elections, according to Professors Colin Rallings and Michael Thrasher of the Elections Centre in Plymouth.
The Liberal Democrats are predicted to gain 85 seats, while Labour are set to suffer a net loss of 75 seats. Ukip could also see a net loss of 105 seats.
In Wales, the Conservatives and Plaid Cymru are forecast to make gains at Labour’s expense, but no party looks likely to win overall control.
Labour is heading for disaster in Scotland, Professor John Curtice of Strathclyde University has said.
“It will be very, very surprising if Labour retains control of any council in Scotland,” he told The Guardian.
The SNP is likely to make the most gains and could win overall control of some councils. Labour needs every candidate standing in Glasgow, Renfrewshire and West Dunbarton to retain control of those councils.
Andy Burnham is the favourite to be elected in Manchester
Full list of council seats up for election
England
Buckinghamshire
Cambridgeshire
Cornwall
Cumbria
Derbyshire
Devon
Doncaster
Dorset
Durham
East Sussex
Essex
Gloucestershire
Hampshire
Hertfordshire
Isle of Wight
Kent
Lancashire
Leicestershire
Lincolnshire
Norfolk
North Yorkshire
Northamptonshire
Northumberland
Nottinghamshire
Oxfordshire
Shropshire
Somerset
Staffordshire
Suffolk
Surrey
Warwickshire
West Sussex
Wiltshire
Worcestershire
Scotland
Aberdeen
Aberdeenshire
Angus
Argyll & Bute
Clackmannanshire
Comhairle nan Eilean Siar
Dumfries & Galloway
Dundee
East Ayrshire
East Dunbartonshire
East Lothian
East Renfrewshire
Edinburgh
Falkirk
Fife
Glasgow
Highland
Inverclyde
Midlothian
Moray
North Ayshire
North Lanarkshire
Orkney
Perth & Kinross
Renfrewshire
Scottish Borders
Shetland
South Ayrshire
South Lanarkshire
Stirling
West Dunbartonshire
West Lothian
Wales
Anglesey
Blaunau Gwent
Bridgend
Caerphilly
Cardiff
Carmarthenshire
Ceredigion
Conwy
Denbighshire
Flintshire
Gwynedd
Merthyr Tydfil
Monmouthshire
Neath Port Talbot
Newport
Pembrokeshire
Powys
Rhonda Cynon Taf
Swansea
Torfaen
Vale of Glamorgan
Wrexham