Local elections are coming up soon with 23 councils and six mayors to be voted on in England. The elections will take place on Thursday, May 1 with around a third of electors in England eligible to vote and more than 1600 councillors to be elected. But this won’t be the only election – on the same day, a Westminster by-election will also take place for the seat of Runcorn and Helsby in Cheshire.
Voters living in the constituency will choose a new MP after former MP Mike Amesbury stood down after being given a prison sentence for assaulting a constituent. Some parts of England won’t see any voting in their area due to some local councils being reorganised. In these areas, voting has been postponed.
Many of the councils up for election are county councils. Every seat on all of the 23 authorities is up for grabs, but boundary changes mean some areas will be electing fewer councillors than before.
Mayors in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, Doncaster, North Tyneside, and the West of England are up for election.
In two areas, Hull and East Yorkshire, and Greater Lincolnshire, voters will have the chance to elect a mayor for the first time.
People planning to vote in the 2025 local elections have been warned that in order to be eligible for voting, they must be registered by midnight on Friday, April 11. On top of the requirement to be registered, voters are also being warned that they must remember to bring a form of photo identification with them to the polling station.
Passports, driving licences and blue badges are accepted forms of identification when going to vote.
Full list of councils hosting elections:
County councils
• Cambridgeshire
• Derbyshire
• Devon
• Gloucestershire
• Hertfordshire
• Kent
• Lancashire
• Leicestershire
• Lincolnshire
• Nottinghamshire
• Oxfordshire
• Staffordshire
• Warwickshire
• Worcestershire
Unitary authorities
• Buckinghamshire
• Cornwall
• County Durham
• North Northamptonshire
• Northumberland
• Shropshire
• West Northamptonshire
• Wiltshire
Metropolitan district
• Doncaster
The Isles of Scilly, which has a unique governance structure, is also holding a local election of its own.
Additionally, about 1,270 parish councils will be holding elections.
