Voters will go to polling stations on May 7 in the biggest test at the ballot box for political parties since Labour won the general election in July 2024.
Almost 25,000 candidates are fighting to be elected to more than 5,000 seats on 136 councils across England, with Reform UK fielding around 4,800, less than 100 fewer than Labour and some 50 more than the Conservatives.
The Greens have almost 4,500 candidates, with the Liberal Democrats on just under 4,000 and there are more than 2,000 other candidates from minor parties or standing as independents or for residents’ groups.
The Conservatives are defending 1,236 seats, the Liberal Democrats 706, the Greens 194 and Reform UK just 83 (Peter Byrne/PA)
PA Wire
Labour are defending some 2,300 of the seats being contested, meaning potential problems for Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer if the party loses large numbers of councillors.
The Conservatives are defending 1,236 seats, the Liberal Democrats 706, the Greens 194 and Reform UK just 83, mostly as a result of by-election victories or defections since the previous times these councils went to the polls.
Elections in wards in St Helens and Bury have been postponed because of the deaths of a candidate.
There are also contests for mayoral elections in Croydon, Hackney, Lewisham, Newham and Tower Hamlets in London, and Watford in Hertfordshire.
Polling stations will be open between 7am and 10pm on May 7, with the first results expected within a few hours, and the final one on the evening of Saturday May 9.
The estimated declaration times are based on information compiled by the Press Association and all are approximate and can be affected by issues such as delays in verifying and counting ballots, or by recounts, as well as turnout.
The list is organised alphabetically, and all council timings relate to Friday May 8, apart from four which will declare on Saturday May 9, as they are counting mayoral contests on the Friday.
– Basingstoke & Deane 4pm
– Bradford 4pm on Saturday May 9
– Croydon – 4pm on Saturday May 9
– Hammersmith & Fulham 5.30am
– Kensington & Chelsea 5am
– Kingston-upon-Thames 6pm
– Lewisham 4pm on Saturday May 9
– Newcastle-under-Lyme 4am
– Newcastle-upon-Tyne 4.45pm
– North East Lincolnshire 2am
– Nuneaton & Bedworth 3.30pm
– Richmond-upon-Thames 5am
– South Cambridgeshire 4pm
– Tower Hamlets 6pm om Saturday May 9
– West Oxfordshire 2.30pm
All of the mayoral elections are counting on Friday May 8 with Hackney and Newham expected to declare at 1pm, Watford at 2pm, Lewisham at 3pm, Croydon at 4pm and Tower Hamlets at possibly around 6pm.
