Voters across the United Kingdom went to the polls on Thursday in the first nationwide test of Sir Keir Starmer's premiership, with 5,066 councillors to be chosen across 136 English local authorities and six directly elected mayors, alongside elections to the Scottish Parliament and the Welsh Senedd.
Polling stations opened at 7am and close at 10pm. The bulk of council declarations are expected during Friday afternoon, with the devolved parliaments due to be called over the weekend.
Polling by More in Common suggested Labour could lose up to 1,500 council seats in England, in what would be the party's worst local performance in five decades. The party is defending control of councils in Camden, Lewisham, Hackney, Islington, Haringey, Southwark, Lambeth, Wigan, Sunderland and Barnsley.
Reform UK, led by Nigel Farage, is the main beneficiary in opinion surveys, drawing former Labour voters in working-class constituencies in northern England and outer London. The Green Party is expected to gain in inner London and several university towns. The Conservatives, polling around 20 per cent nationally, are not expected to recover the heavy losses suffered last year.
Cost-of-living pressures, weak growth and a recent row over the relationship between Lord Mandelson and Jeffrey Epstein have weighed on the prime minister's personal ratings. Labour strategists say a clean-up of Whitehall and forthcoming planning reforms will steady the ship before the next general election.
Six directly elected mayoralties are also being contested, including new combined-authority posts. London mayor Sir Sadiq Khan is not on the ballot this cycle but every borough seat in the capital is in play.
The Electoral Commission said turnout in early-counting urban wards appeared in line with the 2022 set of local contests, though some rural districts reported lighter morning queues than four years ago.