UK voters will go the polls this week in key local elections that could see significant losses for Theresa May’s Conservative Party. Political pundits have predicted huge losses against the party in the fallout over Brexit so there is the potential for Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour Party to win big. More than 8,300 seats are up for grabs and 4,906 of them are Conservatives. Labour has 2,113 seats up for re-election while the Liberal Democrats have 647, UKIP has 176 and the Green Party has 71, with independents fighting for 512 seats.
Conservative peer and elections expert Lord Hayward has predicted a loss of at least 800 Conservative seats, plus wins of 500 seats for the Liberal Democrats and 300 for Labour.
Seats in 248 local councils are being contested along with 11 local authorities in Northern Ireland.
Voters will also decide on who will be the six directly-elected mayors in Bedford, Copeland, Leicester, Mansfield, Middlesbrough and the new North of Tyne.
When do polls open, what time do polls close?
The local elections 2019 are on Thursday, May 2.
Polling stations open at 7am and will close at 10pm.
What are local elections about?
While local elections are good indicators of how the political parties are generally faring with the general public, their purpose is what their name suggests.
People will be voting for which representatives in their local authorities, known as councillors, they want to have in power.
Candidates will generally stand on the issues important to the communities in which they are standing.
These include anything from rubbish collection and parking to social services and planning issues.
Councillors are elected for four years to sit on the council and they help to make policy decisions on behalf of the people they represent.
Not all councils run elections at the same time as local authority election cycles vary around the UK.
This is why certain areas of the UK will not be participating on May 2 – you can find out if your council is having elections by visiting your local authority website.
Eligible voters must have registered by midnight on Friday, April 12 online.
Postal ballots must have been submitted by 5pm on Monday, April 13.
You can find out if you participate by viewing the Your Vote Matters website.
