Polls have opened for millions of people across England, Scotland and Wales as voting at the local, Holyrood and Senedd elections gets underway.
All seats in the Scottish and Welsh parliaments are up for election - as well as 136 councils including all London boroughs, and six mayoralties in England.
Voting ends at 10pm, after which more than 5,000 seats across 136 local authorities will begin to be decided, with 46 set to declare their results from just after midnight.
Labour is fielding the most candidates in England, with around 4,900, followed by Reform with 4,800, and Conservatives with 4,700.
The party either controls or leads the majority of the council areas where voters are going to the polls in England.
The results will determine who controls public services including, social care, waste collection and transport.
All adults aged 18 and over can vote in the council elections if they are either a British or Irish citizen, or a qualifying foreign national.
Everyone voting in person in the local elections in England will need a valid photo ID, but there is no such requirement in Scotland and Wales - where the minimum voting age is 16.
Polls have now CLOSED
The polls have now closed in the Local Elections 2026.
We're closing this blog but we'll be keeping you up to date here on GB News with all the results as they come in from across the country.
One hour to go...
Polling stations will be closing in an hour's time across England, Scotland and Wales.
Voters have been warned it can get busy as the deadline looms closer.
However, as long as you are in the queue before 10pm you will be allowed to vote.
We'll be bringing you all the results here through the night on GB News, both on our Live Blog and on Vote 2026: The People Decide with Martin Daubney.
When are we expecting the results in London?
Voters in London are still going to the polls, with stations open until 10pm tonight.
As a reminder, these elections are not for the Mayor of London, but instead for all 32 boroughs.
There are also contests for mayoral elections in Croydon, Hackney, Lewisham, Newham and Tower Hamlets, as well as Watford.
The first results expected within a few hours, and the final one on the evening of Saturday May 9.
All of the mayoral elections are counting on Friday May 8 with Hackney and Newham expected to declare at 1pm, Watford at 2pm, Lewisham at 3pm, Croydon at 4pm and Tower Hamlets at around 6pm.
PICTURED: Scottish First Minister John Swinney casts his vote
John Swinney casts his vote
|GETTY
Scotland's First Minister and Scottish National Party (SNP) leader John Swinney has cast his vote in Burrelton, Perthshire, alongside wife Elizabeth.
What counts as valid ID?
Since the 2024 General Election, voters are required to show an accepted form of photographic identification.
While this does not apply to voters in Scotland and Wales for the Holyrood and Senedd elections, all those heading to the polls in England must show valid photo ID.
Here are the accepted ID types at polling stations:
TRAVEL DOCUMENTS:
- A passport issued by the UK, any of the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man or a British Overseas Territory
- A passport or passport card issued by an EEA state, or a country whose citizens are Commonwealth citizens
DRIVING DOCUMENTS:
- A photocard driving licence (full or provisional) issued by the UK, any of the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man, or an EEA state
- A blue badge
- Older Person’s Bus Pass
- Disabled Person’s Bus Pass
- 60+ London Oyster Photocard
- Freedom Pass
- A National Entitlement Card
- 60 and Over Welsh Concessionary Travel Card
- Disabled Person’s Welsh Concessionary Travel Card
- Senior SmartPass issued in Northern Ireland
- Registered Blind SmartPass or Blind Person’s SmartPass issued in Northern Ireland
- War Disablement SmartPass issued in Northern Ireland
- 60+ SmartPass issued in Northern Ireland
- Half Fare SmartPass issued in Northern Ireland
- Identity card bearing the Proof of Age Standards Scheme hologram (a PASS card)
- Biometric Immigration Documents, including eVisas
- Ministry of Defence Form 90 (Defence Identity Card)
- Ministry of Defence Form 100 (HM Armed Forces Veteran Card)
- National identity card issued by an EEA state
- Electoral Identity Card issued in Northern Ireland
- Voter Authority Certificate
- Anonymous Elector's Document
PICTURED: Jeremy Corbyn casts his vote in the local elections
Jeremy Corbyn casts his vote in the local elections
|X/@JEREMYCORBYN
Your Party leader Jeremy Corbyn has cast his vote in the local elections.
Can you bring children to polling stations?
Parents are allowed to bring children to polling stations.
Many officials have encouraged parents to bring their kids to teach them about the democratic process.
However, they cannot mark or write anything on ballot papers, otherwise it could be recorded as a spoiled vote.
PICTURED: Paws at the polls
A dog waits for its owner to cast their vote at the 2026 Holyrood elections at Pollokshields Burgh Hall in Glasgow | PA
PICTURED: Ed Davey leaves polling station with wife Emily
Sir Ed Davey, leader of the Liberal Democrats was pictured leaving the polling station at Surbiton Hill Methodist Church in south west London, with his wife Emily Davey.
PICTURED: Zack Polanski at polling station in Wales with Welsh Green Party leader Anthony Slaughter
Zack Polanski joined Wales' Green Party leader Anthony Slaughter outside a polling station in Penarth, Wales
PICTURED: Kemi Badenoch at polling station in Essex
Kemi Badenoch, the Conservatives leader, has cast her vote alongside her husband, Hamish Badencoch at Clavering Village Hall in Saffron Walden | PA
PICTURED: Paws at the polls
A dog named Obi-Wan Kenobi has joined his owner outside St James Church polling station in Edinburgh | PA
PICTURED: Nigel Farage casts his vote
Reform UK's leader, Nigel Farage has cast his vote in Walton-on-the-Naze, Essex, this morning | PA
Ed Davey: 'Let's keep it going'
Sir Ed Davey, leader of the Liberal Democrats, took to social media today to encourage voters to head to the polls today for the local and devolved Governments' parliamentary elections | X / ED DAVEY
Keir Starmer gives final thoughts as polls open for local elections
The Prime Minister posted on X this morning offering his final comments as the polls opened, accompanied by a photo of him and his wife Lady Victoria heading to the polls | X / KEIR STARMER
Nigel Farage: 'Polls are now open'
Reform UK's leader Nigel Farage shared his final thoughts on social media as polls opened across the UK this morning, with an accompanying video | X NIGEL FARAGE
Zack Polanski's final words to voters as polls open
The leader of the Green Party posted on X this morning urging people to vote in today's local and devolved parliamentary elections | X / ZACK POLANSKI
Kemi Badenoch: 'Today is the day!'
The leader of the Conservatives Kemi Badenoch took to social media to encourage voters to head to the polling station this morning | X / KEMI BADENOCH
PICTURED: Keir Starmer with wife Lady Victoria heading to polls this morning
Sir Keir Starmer and his wife Lady Victoria Starmer arrive at the polling station in Westminster Chapel, central London | PA
PICTURED: Unusual polling stations
A caravan which is being used as a polling station opens up for voters in Duxford, Cambridgeshire this morning | PA
Why do the local elections matter?
Local elections typically attract fewer voters than general elections.
In 2024, turnout in England stood at 30 per cent, against 60 per cent at the general election held the same year - yet that does not make them insignificant.
Local councils wield considerable influence over people's daily lives — arguably more so than the government in Westminster.
While Whitehall retains control over areas such as foreign policy and defence, councils are responsible for a wide range of local services: how often bins are collected, how quickly potholes are filled, and which services receive funding priority, whether that is parks, libraries or leisure centres.
The devolved parliaments in Wales and Scotland also hold substantial powers.
Depending on the nation, these cover areas including income tax rates, the NHS, social care and education, among others.
Local elections are nonetheless watched closely in Westminster, where the results are treated as a bellwether to how a General Election might go.
When can we expect the first results from today's voting?
Viewers and readers hoping to find out the results of today's council elections can tune into GB News or GBNews.com tonight - with the first declarations expected in the early hours of Friday.
Staff will be working hard in Broxbourne in Hertfordshire and Halton in Cheshire to reveal the results of those two council elections first at around 1am.
Most of the local authorities counting overnight have only a third or half of their seats up for grabs, which means those councils where a party currently has a large majority, like Broxbourne or Halton, may not see a change in overall control.
However, some councils' leading parties are defending slim majorities - including in Harlow and Redditch - and are also due to finish counting at this time.
Through the night, big councils across the North West, London and the South East will all declare their results - with Southampton set to round off our overnight coverage at around 6.30am tomorrow.