Local elections 2026 live: Polls set to close as millions vote in make-or-break test for Starmer

Labour could potentially lose hundreds of seats in the crucial contests
The final countdown is on as voters have less than two hours to cast their ballots in the crucial elections taking place throughout the country.

Sir Keir Starmer is facing the biggest test of his premiership as millions of voters headed to the polls on Thursday for the Scottish and Welsh parliaments, as well as for local councils across England.

The prime minister could potentially lose hundreds of council seats, as well as Labour ’s dominance in the Welsh parliament, the Senedd, in the biggest test of public opinion since the general election in 2024.

The latest YouGov poll from Wednesday shows that Labour’s 27-year rule in Wales is set to end with the party predicted to fall to third place , with Plaid Cymru taking the lead and Nigel Farage’s Reform UK coming in second.

Plaid Cymru leader Ap Iorwerth said Wales has a "choice of two futures" between “hope" and "division".

Sir Keir did not respond to reporters when asked how he was feeling as he arrived to cast his ballot at Westminster Chapel with his wife Lady Victoria.

Each of the party leaders, including Nigel Farage and Kemi Badenoch, have now cast their votes ahead of the 10pm deadline.

MPs are reportedly moving to oust the prime minister in the wake of the elections , in a bloodless coup modelled on the way Sir Tony Blair was encouraged to make way for his successor Gordon Brown.

Final ballots to be cast as 10pm deadline nears
Voters have until 10pm to cast their votes before polling booths close.

As long as voters are in the queue before this time, they will still be able to vote.

While most ballot boxes will be stored until Friday morning, counting will begin for some of England’s local authorities.

When are results are being counted & declared in London local elections?

How many seats is each party defending?

In England, Labour are defending just over half of the council seats being contested, reflecting the party’s current strength in London and in Metropolitan boroughs while just over a quarter are Conservative defences.

This is a different scenario from last year’s local elections, when the Tories were defending the greatest number of council seats, due to most of those contests being for county councils where the party was dominant.

Other parties are defending a smaller proportion of seats.

The Liberal Democrats are defending around 700 and the Greens nearly 200, while Reform are defending 80, mostly due to recent by-election victories or defections.

Boundary changes introduced at this year’s Scottish Parliament election mean that while some seats are unchanged, others have disappeared, been renamed, changed shape or are brand new, although there will still be 129 seats in the Parliament.

At the previous election in 2021, the SNP won 64 seats, one short of the number needed for an overall majority while the Conservatives won 31 seats, Labour 22, the Greens eight and the Liberal Democrats four.

In Wales, the enlargement of the Senedd from 60 to 96 seats, together with the introduction of new constituencies and a change in the system of voting, means it will not be possible to compare directly the state of the parties before the election with what happens on polling day.

At the previous election in 2021, when the Senedd comprised 60 seats, Labour won 30, one short of an overall majority, the Tories won 16, Plaid Cymru 13 and the Lib Dems one.

The caravan, golf club, and cemetery where voters cast their ballots
What happens after voting closes tonight?

At 10pm on Thursday, polling stations will close across the country.

Of the 136 local authorities in England holding elections, 46 are due to count and declare results overnight.

Most of the local authorities counting overnight have only a third or half of their seats up for grabs, which means those councils where a party currently has a large majority – such as Broxbourne (Conservative) and Halton (Labour), both of which are due to declare around this time – are unlikely to see a change in overall control.

But councils where a party is defending only a slim majority, for example Harlow (Conservative) and Redditch (Labour), which are also due to finish counting at this time, may slip into no overall control if other parties make gains.

Labour is defending majorities at Hartlepool and Lincoln, both of which are due to declare around now, while an early test for the Liberal Democrats will be if they can cling on to their tiny majority at Hull.

Wigan is the first Metropolitan borough council due to finish counting, where only a third of seats are up for election.

Labour has a large enough majority here to retain control even if the party loses every one of the seats it is defending.

Salford, another big Metropolitan council in Greater Manchester, should finish counting around this time.

But like nearby Wigan, only a third of seats are up for grabs and Labour’s majority is large enough for the party to keep control even if it suffers heavy losses.

Both Wigan and Salford will provide early clues as to whether Reform and the Greens are managing to pick up Labour seats in north-west England.

Around 3.30am, Westminster is due to be the first London council to finish counting – and the first council of the night where every seat is up for grabs.

The outcome here will not only be the first indication of how Labour is faring in the capital, but also if the Tories have managed to recover support in one of their former London strongholds – or whether gains by smaller parties leave the council in no overall control.

Hampshire is the first county council due to complete its declarations, where the Conservatives have been the majority party since 1997.

In London, a full set of results is due from Ealing (Labour), Sutton (Lib Dems) and Wandsworth (Labour), with Wandsworth most likely to see seats changing hands and any evidence of a rise in support for the Greens.

Every seat is up for election in Newcastle under Lyme and all the results should be in now, revealing whether the Tories have managed to keep their overall majority.

Among the authorities counting overnight still left to declare are six London councils: Bexley, Hammersmith & Fulham, Havering, Kensington & Chelsea, Merton, and Richmond upon Thames.

Bexley is Reform’s top target in the capital and the party may also do well in Havering, while the Lib Dems have gained ground in Merton in recent years and – together with other parties – may take enough seats from Labour this time to leave the council in no overall control.

Counting gets under way for the parliamentary elections in Scotland and Wales, for 86 local authorities in England, and for the six mayoral contests.

Why many votes won't be counted overnight
Although polls close in England, Scotland and Wales at 10pm on Thursday, counting will not begin for the majority of contests until Friday morning.

Unlike in previous elections, vote counting for the Scottish and Welsh parliamentary elections will not be completed overnight.

The Electoral Management Board for Scotland (EMB) announced the changes last year, saying it would reduce costs, improve the robustness of the process, and ensure that staff are well-rested.

Wales' Electoral Management Board said the new rule would allow voters to keep up to date with the count when it takes place during the day.

It said it would also mean staff were well-rested.

Some councils in England will declare results overnight.

Where are the local elections taking place?

In pictures: Party leaders cast votes on election day
How pluralist is local government?

Multi-party politics is not new at a local government level, a political expert has said.

Justin Fisher, the director of the policy unit at Brunel University of London, stated: “Since 2022, the largest groups of GB councils has been under ‘No Overall Control’, and this has been rising.

After the 2025 local elections, 43.5% of local authorities were under ‘No Overall Control’.

This figure is likely to rise again after Thursday.

“The Conservative/Labour domination of GB councils has been declining for some time.

While 57% of councils were runs by either the Conservatives or Labour in 2019, by 2025, the figure was 38%.

Similarly, the proportion of GB Conservative and Labour councillors was 70% in 2019.

By 2025, it was 57%.

“It is possible that the Liberal Democrats may become the second party of local government in terms of councillors – something that hasn’t happened since the mid-1990s.

“Local government has always been more multi-party than Westminster.”
Cow drops in at polling station in North Norfolk
ELECTIONS: It's Polling Day!

Hours of Poll are 7am until 10pm - remember to bring your Voter ID 🪪 If you're going to bring your dogs or other slightly larger pets to the polling station, please make sure they're well behaved and don't dismantle the polling station!

🐕🐄 pic.twitter.com/wnK9YsZIvA — North Norfolk District Council (@NorthNorfolkDC) May 7, 2026
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