Local elections 2025 live: Polls to open in Starmer’s first major ballot box test as PM – UK Times

England’s local elections on 1 May represent a key test for all the major parties.

Here are the key seats to look out for in the early hours of Friday morning and beyond – and why they matter:

Elections are being held in England on May 1 to choose hundreds of councillors, a handful of mayors and a new MP for the constituency of Runcorn & Helsby.

Here, we check out the locations, timings and key numbers behind this year’s contests:

The local elections are set to get underway as Sir Keir Starmer faces his first major test at the ballot box since becoming prime minister.

Voters are heading to the polls in 23 council areas across England and six mayoral contests across devolved regions today.

A by-election is also being held in the Runcorn and Helsby constituency, which was triggered by the resignation of former MP Mike Amesbury after his conviction for punching a man. The contest will be watched closely as Labour faces a battle against Nigel Farage’s Reform UK despite winning with 53 per cent of the vote less than a year ago.

The PM has not visited the area – but allies have insisted he has been campaigning ahead of the local contests. However, Sir Keir accepted the results could be tough for the incumbent government, with so many of the elections in traditional Tory heartlands.

But then Kemi Badenoch’s Conservatives also fear losing ground across England, with the Tory vote being squeezed by both Reform and the Liberal Democrats.

Of the 23 local authorities holding elections, 14 are county councils: Cambridgeshire, Derbyshire, Devon, Gloucestershire, Hertfordshire, Kent, Lancashire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire, Oxfordshire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire and Worcestershire.

Polls are also taking place in eight unitary authorities: Buckinghamshire, Cornwall, Durham, North Northamptonshire, Northumberland, Shropshire, West Northamptonshire and Wiltshire.

In addition, one metropolitan council, Doncaster, is holding an election.

A key test for all parties will be in the six mayoral contests for the West of England, Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, North Tyneside, Doncaster, Greater Lincolnshire, and Hull and East Yorkshire.