VOTERS in England head to the polls on Thursday for local elections, with thousands of council seats up for grabs.
Polling stations will open their doors bright and early, giving us the whole day to make our mark.
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Even though polls predict Labour faces major losses in local elections, the Prime Minister promised to ‘fight for every vote’ Credit: PA
If you a re stuck in the queue when the polling station closes, you can still cast your vote
When are the 2026 local elections?
The 2026 local elections are set for Thursday, May 7.
It’s also the same day as the Scottish Parliament elections at Holyrood and the Senedd elections in Wales.
This means millions of people right across Great Britain will be voting on the same day.
In England alone, around 5,066 council seats across 2,969 wards and divisions are set to be contested.
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That includes every London borough, all 10 Greater Manchester councils, plus a host of metropolitan, unitary, county and district authorities.
It is the first time that every one of the capital’s 32 boroughs will vote simultaneously since 2022.
Croydon, Hackney, Lewisham, Newham and Tower Hamlets are also set to pick a mayor on the same day.
What time do polling stations open?
Polling stations open at 7am and close at 10pm, giving voters 15 hours to cast their ballots.
But if you happen to be stuck in a queue when the the polls officially shut, fear not.
By law you will still be allowed to vote as long as you joined the queue before the clock strikes 10pm.
Polling station staff will keep the doors open until everyone already in the queue has cast their ballot.
When will the local election results be announced?
Counting can kick off as soon the polls shut at 10pm.
Some councils, including a handful of London boroughs, will count overnight, with the first results expected in the early hours of Friday, May 8.
Others, particularly larger boroughs and areas with several ballots to wade through, will count through the following day.
This means some declarations won’t come until Saturday, May 9.
Even though polls suggest Labour faces substantial losses in the local elections, Prime Minister Keir Starmer said: “Our candidates, our members, are really geared up for this and we’re going to go out there and fight for every vote.
“We know we need to earn every vote, we go into the battle in good spirits.”
