Voters across England, Scotland, and Wales headed to the polls on Thursday in a series of local, mayoral, and parliamentary elections that represent the biggest electoral test for Prime Minister Keir Starmer and the Labour government since the 2024 general election.
The contests are seen as a major barometer of the country's shifting political landscape, with smaller parties such as Reform UK, the Greens, and the Liberal Democrats gaining ground while both Labour and the Conservatives have struggled in recent opinion polls.
What Is at Stake
Elections are being held for the Scottish Parliament, the Welsh Senedd, and 136 local councils in England, where 5,014 seats are up for grabs. This includes all seats on London's 32 borough councils, as well as numerous borough, unitary, county, and district councils. Additionally, six mayoral contests are taking place in Croydon, Hackney, Lewisham, Newham, Tower Hamlets, and Watford.
Polling stations opened at 7 a.m. and will close at 10 p.m., with the first results expected around 12:30 a.m. on Friday. A steady stream of declarations will follow from about 3 a.m., with roughly a third of councils expected to have declared by 7 a.m. Major results, including mayoral outcomes in London boroughs and council results in Manchester and Leeds, are anticipated around lunchtime on Friday.
By the end of Friday, approximately 80 more councils will have declared, but some areas, including Croydon, Tower Hamlets, and Hastings, will not announce results until Saturday afternoon.
Scottish and Welsh Elections
In Scotland, 129 Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs) will be elected to Holyrood, where they will legislate on devolved matters such as education, health, and transport. At the last Scottish Parliament election in 2021, the SNP won 64 seats, one short of a majority, followed by the Scottish Conservatives with 31, Scottish Labour with 22, the Scottish Greens with eight, and the Scottish Liberal Democrats with four. Counting will begin on Friday morning, with first declarations expected at lunchtime and most results by evening.
In Wales, voters will elect 96 members of the Senedd across 16 constituencies, with six representatives per constituency under a new proportional voting system. Voters will choose a party rather than an individual candidate, with seats allocated based on the proportion of votes each party receives.
Political Context
After the May 2025 local elections, Labour held 34% of all council seats in England, down two percentage points from 2024. The Conservatives fell to 26%, a four-point drop, while the Liberal Democrats rose to 19%. Smaller parties increased their share to 12%, the Greens held steady at 5%, and Reform UK surged from zero to 5%, winning 677 councillors.
These elections are widely viewed as a critical test of the multiparty system that has emerged in British politics, with potential implications for the future of the union and the leadership of all major parties.
