Overview
- PA has published estimated declaration times for council results, with most counts on Friday May 8 and a few running into Saturday May 9.
- Mayoral results are due Friday, with Hackney and Newham around 1pm, Watford 2pm, Lewisham 3pm, Croydon 4pm, and Tower Hamlets about 6pm.
- Almost 25,000 candidates are competing for more than 5,000 seats across 136 councils, with polling on May 7 from 7am to 10pm.
- Labour is defending about 2,300 seats, the Conservatives 1,236, the Liberal Democrats 706, the Greens 194, and Reform UK 83.
- Reform UK and the Greens have expanded slates, including across most Greater Manchester wards, raising the chance of vote-splitting and more councils moving to no overall control, while voters face an April 20 registration deadline and photo ID rules and contests in St Helens and Bury are postponed after candidate deaths.