Local elections across England have opened, with Chancellor Rishi Sunak and Labour leader Keir Starmer hoping to win seats for both their respective parties. However, the results are seen as difficult to predict and likely to be mixed enough for all parties to claim at least some success.
The elections cover slightly more than 8,000 seats across 230 councils in England, including metropolitan, unitary and district authorities. In addition, four mayoral races are taking place.
Labour struggled under former leader Jeremy Corbyn's tenure; however, the big winners were the Liberal Democrats and Greens. The Lib Dems are expecting gains even on top of their 700-plus new councillors from 2019 while the Greens are predicting more net wins.
Instant verdicts will be even more perilous given that only a few councils are counting results overnight on Thursday. The rest will do so at various points on Friday.
Polling stations have opened across South Yorkshire for local elections in Barnsley (for 21 of the 63 seats) and Sheffield (with 29 of the council's total of 84 up for grabs). Registered voters can cast their ballots from 07:00-22:00 BST after showing photo ID before being allowed to vote. Counting in both local elections will begin on Friday with results expected later that same day.
West Yorkshire local elections take place today as well, with voting happening in Bradford, Leeds, and Calderdale. English citizens must present photo identification before voting is permitted. All five local election counts start today with outcomes anticipated later this evening or tomorrow morning depending on location.
In Devonshire County polls opened earlier today too; final tallies should be announced throughout Friday when counting begins promptly following poll closures tonight around ten o'clock in accordance with British Summer Time regulations. District councils with seats up for grabs include East Devon, Mid Devon, North Devon, the South Hams, Teignbridge, Torridge and West Devon.
A third of the seats on both Plymouth's and Exeter's city council are also being contested this year, with a full count expected after voting concludes tonight.
Meanwhile, polling stations have opened across East Yorkshire and northern Lincolnshire for local elections in Hull (for 20 of the 57 available seats) as well as in the East Riding of Yorkshire (all 67). Registered voters can cast their ballots from 07:00 to 22:00 BST upon showing photo ID. Counting in Hull and Lincolnshire will begin immediately following poll closures tonight; results should be available by daybreak Friday morning.
With such an unpredictable election landscape unfolding before us, it remains to be seen how these various races will ultimately impact each party’s political standing moving forward into future Parliamentary sessions.