Voting began on Thursday morning across Britain as voters prepare to elect the composition of several local councils and several mayors, as well as the Scottish and Welsh parliaments.
The vote is expected to deliver major gains for the far-right Reform Party as well as the leftist Greens, while the ruling, centre-left Labor Party could suffer major losses, putting further pressure on embattled Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
What are you voting for in the UK elections today?
Nearly 5,000 local council seats are up for grabs in 136 councils, as well as six mayoral contests.
Voting is also taking place in Scotland for a devolved parliament, known as Holyrood, and in Wales, known as the Senedd.
While local councils are responsible for issues such as garbage collection and potholes, voters will likely see this vote as a referendum on the Prime Minister.
Labor is expected to lose ground in Wales, where it has been the largest party since the transfer of power, and in Scotland to nationalist parties – plaid Cymru and the Scottish Nationalist Party (SNP) respectively.
Polls open at 7am (0600 GMT) and close at 10pm and most results are expected by Friday afternoon.
Why are UK local elections important for Starmer?
Despite sweeping power in July 2024 with a landslide majority, Labor and, particularly Keir Starmer, have lagged in the polls, mostly due to Britain’s complex first-past-the-post voting system.
The Prime Minister came close to being ousted from his own party in February after the scandal of the close friendship between Peter Mandelson and late pedophile Jeffrey Epstein emerged.
Mandelson was appointed by Starmer’s government as ambassador to Washington, but the release of the Epstein files revealed that Mandelson had maintained a close relationship with the disgraced financier for years, even possibly providing him with illegal inside information.
In that scandal, Scottish Labor leader Anas Sarwar had demanded Starmer’s resignation. Starmer managed to survive, but analysts expect a poor showing in Thursday’s poll – as polls predict – could lead to renewed pressure within the party to get rid of Starmer.
Edited by: Dmytro Lyubenko