Voters head to the polls across the UK to elect new local leaders

5 May 2022, 07:03

Voters are preparing to head to the polls today to have their say in the UK local elections.

Polls opened at 7am and close at 10pm across the UK, with more than 4,000 seats being contested in England across 146 councils.

All local authorities in Scotland and Wales are also holding an election.

In Northern Ireland, voters are electing 90 members to the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Parties have been hitting the campaign trail over the last few weeks, with big issues including the cost of living crisis, council funding, education, and other local services.

LBC's Iain Dale will be bringing you full coverage of the local elections from 10pm. You can listen to Election Night Live on Global player.

In England, more than 4,000 councillors in 146 councils will be standing for election in major cities including Leeds, Manchester, Birmingham and all 32 London boroughs.

All 32 councils in Scotland and all 22 in Wales will also be holding elections.

Meanwhile, tensions were high in Northern Ireland ahead of Stormont elections where voters will go to the polls across 18 constituencies to elect 90 MLAs.

How can you vote?

There are three ways to vote:

• In person at a polling station (often in places such as schools and community centres - you can find details of your polling place here)
• By postal vote
• By nominating someone to vote for you (a proxy vote)

If you've forgotten to post your ballot back, you can hand it in at your local polling station.

When will the results be announced?

Counting is set to begin when the polls close at 10pm on Thursday.

The count will continue throughout the night, with some results declared in the early hours of Friday morning. Others will come in later in the day, with some trickling through into Saturday morning.