When will we know the results?
- Published
Polls have closed in local council and mayoral elections across parts of England.
These are the first local elections since the general election was held in July 2024.
Which elections are taking place?
Elections are taking place in 23 councils across England.
All seats will be contested in:
14 county councils: Cambridgeshire, Derbyshire, Devon, Gloucestershire, Hertfordshire, Kent, Lancashire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire, Oxfordshire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire and Worcestershire
8 unitary authorities: Buckinghamshire, Cornwall, County Durham, North Northamptonshire, Northumberland, Shropshire, West Northamptonshire and Wiltshire
1 metropolitan district: Doncaster
Six mayoral elections are also happening: in the West of England, Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, North Tyneside, Doncaster and – for the first time – in Greater Lincolnshire and Hull and East Yorkshire.
In addition, council elections are taking place in the Isles of Scilly.
Voters in the Runcorn and Helsby constituency will also elect their new MP.
The former Labour MP Mike Amesbury announced he was standing down after his conviction for assaulting a constituent.
No routine elections are taking place in Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland.
When will we know the results?
With polls closed, the wait now begins for results.
Whether you're staying up through the night, or plan to set an alarm for a certain result, here's roughly when we're expecting calls to be made. But election results can come far later, or far earlier, than expected.
02:00: North Tyneside and West of England mayoral results are expected
03:00: Runcorn & Helsby by-election result is expected, and we could have results in the Greater Lincolnshire mayoral race
05:00: Results in the Doncaster mayoral election could be announced
07:00: We could have Northumberland's full council results
Northumberland is the only council expected to declare its results overnight, with most councils not beginning counting until later on Friday morning.
Results from the other local authorities and the remaining two mayoral contests in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough and Hull and East Yorkshire are expected by Friday evening.
What do local councils do and why do local elections matter?
Different types of councils are responsible for a variety of local services. These include:
care for the elderly and disabled
fixing potholes on some roads
collecting rubbish and recycling
housing
education
Matt Chorley: Local elections might lack glamour - but they matter
What do mayors do?
Six mayors will be elected on 1 May:
two single authority mayors in Doncaster and North Tyneside
four metro mayors in the West of England, Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, Greater Lincolnshire, and Hull and East Yorkshire
A single authority mayor is the political leader of the council. They are responsible for delivering local council services.
Metro mayors are regional leaders who chair combined authorities, which are groups of several local councils.
They set out plans to boost their local economy, and have some powers over housing and transport.
How does the BBC report polling day?
Detailed BBC election guidelines are written and published for each election, setting out the approach it has to take on polling day.
The BBC, like other broadcasters, is not allowed to report details of campaigning or local election issues on TV, radio or online on polling day until 22:00, when voting closes.
While polls are open, it is a criminal offence to report any exit polls, which aim to predict election results on the basis of surveys of how people say they have voted.
References to the local elections on the day are normally restricted to uncontroversial factual accounts, such as the appearance of politicians at polling stations, the weather, or practical information about how to vote.
Once the polls have closed at 22:00, the election guidelines no longer apply.
However, the BBC must still report the results with the impartiality required both by Ofcom and the BBC's own Editorial Guidelines.
