Voting has officially closed at polling stations across the country, and the government now anxiously awaits the results of the make-or-break local elections. Sir Keir Starmer is facing the biggest test of his premiership after millions of voters headed to the polls on Thursday for the Scottish and Welsh parliaments, as well as for local councils across England.
The prime minister could potentially lose hundreds of council seats, as well as Labour’s dominance in the Welsh parliament, the Senedd, in the biggest test of public opinion since the general election in 2024. The latest YouGov poll from Wednesday shows that Labour’s 27-year rule in Wales is set to end, with the party predicted to fall to third place, with Plaid Cymru taking the lead and Nigel Farage’s Reform UK coming in second.
When Will Results Be Declared?
Ballot papers in Scotland and Wales will be counted during the daytime on Friday, with the first results expected in the early afternoon and the final declarations due in the evening. In England, 46 of the 136 local authorities holding elections will count and declare overnight, while the majority of the remaining authorities will not begin counting until Friday morning.
Mayoral and Local Authority Counts
All six mayoral results in England are due to be declared on the afternoon of 8 May. Four local authorities – Bradford, Croydon, Lewisham and Tower Hamlets – are counting on Saturday 9 May, with a full set of results likely by the evening.
Miliband Suggests Starmer Set Resignation Timeline
Ed Miliband has suggested to Sir Keir Starmer that the prime minister should set out a timeline for his departure from No 10, The Times reports. Citing two sources familiar with the discussion, The Times reported that the former Labour leader made his suggestion during a private meeting with Sir Keir about a fortnight ago, stating it would avoid the strife of potential Labour civil war.
What Each Party Is Offering Voters
Political parties are battling it out as constituents head to the polls to vote in crunch local elections. More than one million people are eligible to vote on Thursday in the biggest set of elections since 2024.
How Many Seats Is Each Party Defending?
In England, Labour are defending just over half of the council seats being contested, reflecting the party’s current strength in London and in Metropolitan boroughs, while just over a quarter are Conservative defences. This is a different scenario from last year’s local elections, when the Tories were defending the greatest number of council seats, due to most of those contests being for county councils where the party was dominant. Other parties are defending a smaller proportion of seats. The Liberal Democrats are defending around 700 and the Greens nearly 200, while Reform are defending 80, mostly due to recent by-election victories or defections.
Scottish and Welsh Parliament Seats
Boundary changes introduced at this year’s Scottish Parliament election mean that while some seats are unchanged, others have disappeared, been renamed, changed shape or are brand new, although there will still be 129 seats in the Parliament. At the previous election in 2021, the SNP won 64 seats, one short of the number needed for an overall majority, while the Conservatives won 31 seats, Labour 22, the Greens eight and the Liberal Democrats four. In Wales, the enlargement of the Senedd from 60 to 96 seats, together with the introduction of new constituencies and a change in the system of voting, means it will not be possible to compare directly the state of the parties before the election with what happens on polling day. At the previous election in 2021, when the Senedd comprised 60 seats, Labour won 30, one short of an overall majority, the Tories won 16, Plaid Cymru 13 and the Lib Dems one.
Unusual Polling Stations
Polling stations opened up in a variety of venues across the UK, including a caravan, a golf club, and a cemetery.
