Today marks a big day in English politics as many travel to their local polling stations to cast their votes in the local elections.
SHARE:
There are 23 local elections across England’s 317 local authorities today. England has different authorities across the different geographical areas, and they are responsible for different decisions in your area. According to Harry Busz, Deputy Director at Democracy Volunteers “these are the most important elections for lots of people because these are the councils that will be running a lot of the services which effect people in their day to day lives”.
County councils are responsible for local decisions and services across the entire county. This is part of a two-tier local government, the second tier of this system is district, borough or city councils which work alongside county councils in the given region.
County councils are responsible for things like education, libraries, transport, trading standards and waste management. While district, borough and city councils cover a smaller area and are usually responsible for services like rubbish collection, Council Tax collections, recycling and housing.
The county councils across England who are involved in the local elections today are:
Lancashire
Staffordshire
Derbyshire
Nottinghamshire
Lincolnshire
Worcestershire
Warwickshire
Leicestershire
Cambridgeshire
Gloucestershire
Oxfordshire
Hertfordshire
Kent
Devon
Some parts of England operate under 1 tier of local government, these are unitary authorities or London and metropolitan boroughs. Unitary authorities are responsible for all of the services listed above.
The unitary authorities across England who are involved in the local elections are:
Northumberland
County Durham
Shropshire
West Northamptonshire
North Northamptonshire
Buckinghamshire
Wiltshire
Cornwall
Metropolitan districts, like a unitary authority, have councils that are responsible for all services and decisions within their area. These areas also have a mayor. For example, today there are four mayoral elections taking place across England where there is already a standing mayor. These areas are:
North Tyneside
Doncaster
West of England
Cambridgeshire and Peterborough
Greater Lincolnshire and Hull and East Yorkshire are running mayoral elections for the first time today. Harry Busz, Deputy Director at Democracy Volunteers says these mayoral elections are “essentially to try and devolve back down to those regions, so the Hull and East Yorkshire combined authority is being elected for the first time”.
23 of England’s 317 local authorities are involved in the local elections today. The grey regions on the map highlight the areas not up for local elections this year.
Some county council elections across England have been postponed until 2026 as they try to restructure into one-tier local government systems. These areas include:
Isle of Wight
Surrey
Thurrock
Hampshire
Norfolk
Essex
East and West Sussex
Suffolk
Runcorn and Helsby
A by-election is taking place today in the Runcorn and Helsby parliamentary constituency in Cheshire, following the resignation of the sitting MP, Mike Amesbury.
How to vote
You must be registered to vote and over the age of 18 in England to cast your vote today. It is now too late to register to vote in time for these 2025 local elections. The deadline for postal voting in this election was 14th April and 23rd April for voting by proxy.
If you have not applied for either of these outcomes by the deadlines, today you can vote in person at your local polling station. You must vote at the polling station given to your address; this can be found on your polling card. Your poll card is sent to your registered address just before an election or referendum.
You can enter your address on this website to find where your local polling station is located. Voting is open from 7am and 10pm today, Thursday May 1.
Submitted Article
Headline
Short Headline
Standfirst
Published Article
Headline2025 local elections: How they work and how you can cast your vote before the end of the day
Short HeadlineEverything you need to know about how today's elections work across England
StandfirstVoting is open until 10pm this evening at your allocated polling station.
There are 23 local elections across England’s 317 local authorities today. England has different authorities across the different geographical areas, and they are responsible for different decisions in your area. According to Harry Busz, Deputy Director at Democracy Volunteers “these are the most important elections for lots of people because these are the councils that will be running a lot of the services which effect people in their day to day lives”.
County councils are responsible for local decisions and services across the entire county. This is part of a two-tier local government, the second tier of this system is district, borough or city councils which work alongside county councils in the given region.
County councils are responsible for things like education, libraries, transport, trading standards and waste management. While district, borough and city councils cover a smaller area and are usually responsible for services like rubbish collection, Council Tax collections, recycling and housing.
The county councils across England who are involved in the local elections today are:
Lancashire
Staffordshire
Derbyshire
Nottinghamshire
Lincolnshire
Worcestershire
Warwickshire
Leicestershire
Cambridgeshire
Gloucestershire
Oxfordshire
Hertfordshire
Kent
Devon
Some parts of England operate under 1 tier of local government, these are unitary authorities or London and metropolitan boroughs. Unitary authorities are responsible for all of the services listed above.
The unitary authorities across England who are involved in the local elections are:
Northumberland
County Durham
Shropshire
West Northamptonshire
North Northamptonshire
Buckinghamshire
Wiltshire
Cornwall
Metropolitan districts, like a unitary authority, have councils that are responsible for all services and decisions within their area. These areas also have a mayor. For example, today there are four mayoral elections taking place across England where there is already a standing mayor. These areas are:
North Tyneside
Doncaster
West of England
Cambridgeshire and Peterborough
Greater Lincolnshire and Hull and East Yorkshire are running mayoral elections for the first time today. Harry Busz, Deputy Director at Democracy Volunteers says these mayoral elections are “essentially to try and devolve back down to those regions, so the Hull and East Yorkshire combined authority is being elected for the first time”.
23 of England’s 317 local authorities are involved in the local elections today. The grey regions on the map highlight the areas not up for local elections this year.
Some county council elections across England have been postponed until 2026 as they try to restructure into one-tier local government systems. These areas include:
Isle of Wight
Surrey
Thurrock
Hampshire
Norfolk
Essex
East and West Sussex
Suffolk
Runcorn and Helsby
A by-election is taking place today in the Runcorn and Helsby parliamentary constituency in Cheshire, following the resignation of the sitting MP, Mike Amesbury.
How to vote
You must be registered to vote and over the age of 18 in England to cast your vote today. It is now too late to register to vote in time for these 2025 local elections. The deadline for postal voting in this election was 14th April and 23rd April for voting by proxy.
If you have not applied for either of these outcomes by the deadlines, today you can vote in person at your local polling station. You must vote at the polling station given to your address; this can be found on your polling card. Your poll card is sent to your registered address just before an election or referendum.
You can enter your address on this website to find where your local polling station is located. Voting is open from 7am and 10pm today, Thursday May 1.
The first direct negotiations between Russian and Ukrainian officials since the breakdown of talks in 2022 have begun in Istanbul, as both sides revisit unresolved demands amid continued fighting on the ground
A devastating fire at Bicester Motion, a historic motoring and aviation centre located on a former RAF base in Oxfordshire, has claimed the lives of two firefighters and a member of the public.
