On Thursday, May 1, local elections will be taking place up and down the country. Not only will there be council and mayoral votes, but a crucial Parliamentary by-election will be held on the same day – the first elections held since the general election in 2024.

It marks the first big election test for Keir Starmer, Kemi Badenoch, Nigel Farage and other party leaders.

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Reform have previously been touted as contenders for 450 council seats, meanwhile the Tories stand to lose more than 500.

Here is everything you need to know for the all important day, including where and how to vote.

Where are votes taking place?

Elections will be held in 14 county councils including Cambridgeshire, Derbyshire, Devon, Gloucestershire, Hertfordshire, Kent, Lancashire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire, Oxfordshire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire and Worcestershire.

They are also being held in eight unitary authorities including Buckinghamshire, Cornwall, County Durham, North Northamptonshire, Northumberland, Shropshire, West Northamptonshire and Wiltshire, as well as the metropolitan borough of Doncaster.

Elections for borough mayors are being held in Doncaster and North Tyneside. These are mayors that oversee councils.

At the same time, elections for regional metro-mayors, who run large combined authorities, take place in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, West of England, Greater Lincolnshire and Hull and East Yorkshire.

The council of the Isles of Scilly is also holding an election. Every current member of this council is an independent.

Meanwhile, a by-election is taking place to elect a new MP for the Runcorn and Helsby constituency in Cheshire. This is not a local election, but is being held on the same day. When party leaders and commentators look at the election results to see how well they have done, they will consider this result as well as the results of local polls.

Enter your postcode in our handy interactive tool below to see if there’s an election in your area:

When does voting take place?

You can vote from 7am to 10pm on Thursday, May 1.

How do I vote?

A person can vote in the May 1 elections if they are on the local government register in an area where elections are taking place, and if they are:

• aged 18 or over on polling day
• a British citizen
• an Irish, EU or qualifying Commonwealth citizen

You must be registered to vote. Unfortunately it’s now too late to register in time for the May 1 elections. However, you don’t need to register every time – if you voted in a previous election and haven’t changed address, you are probably still registered today.

You can check if your area is holding an election on May 1 by entering your postcode at the Electoral Commission website here. The site will also tell you where your polling station is.

You may also receive a polling card at your home with details of your polling station.

It is also possible to vote by post if you applied for a postal vote, but be aware that the deadline for applications has already passed.

If you vote in person then you must bring photo ID to the polling station. Valid ID includes a UK, European Economic Area (EEA) or Commonwealth passport; a UK or EEA drivers’ licence; and some concessionary travel passes, such as an older person’s bus pass or an Oyster 60+ card. A full list is available at https://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/voting-and-elections/voter-id/accepted-forms-photo-id.

When will the results be announced?

Many councils will start counting votes on Friday, May 2 and announce the results later that day. However counting begins for some of the mayor votes once polls close at 10pm on May 1, and results are likely to be announced in the early hours of Friday morning. The result of the by-election is also likely early on Friday morning.

What do we expect to happen?

Most of the council elections are taking place in areas where the Conservatives have done well in the past because most of the big cities, where Labour is strongest, are not holding votes this year. In fact, Tories are defending around 900 seats and Labour are defending around 280.

That makes it very hard for the Conservatives to make gains and some experts think Tories could lose seats to Reform UK and the Liberal Democrats.

For example, elections will be held in Kent, a county council which Conservatives currently control. The question here is whether they will succeed in holding on to what they have, or will lose seats to the Liberal Democrats and Reform.

In a similar way, Tories are battling to hold on to Gloucestershire County Council which they run as the largest party (though without a majority). They have been hit by defections to Reform while Lib Dems and Greens could make gains.

In both authorities there’s no opportunity to score a stunning victory against Labour, but a very real chance the Tories could suffer embarrassing losses.

Meanwhile, Reform UK leader Nigel Farage hopes to use these elections to demonstrate that he, rather than Mrs Badenoch, is the opposition politician best placed to take on Sir Keir at the next general election.

Runcorn and Helsby is usually a safe Labour seat, but the result in this by-election could be close because the party in government at Westminster often struggles in by-elections. Voters could use the election to protest against means-testing of winter fuel payments, benefit cuts or concerns about the economy. They could also be angry with Labour because the by-election was caused by the resignation of former Labour MP Mike Amesbury, who was convicted of assaulting a constituent.