Polls are due to close shortly in key local elections across England which could prove make or break for under-fire PM Rishi Sunak.
More than 2,600 council seats are up for grabs across 107 local authorities in England, as well as 11 key mayoral battles where heavyweights like London Mayor Sadiq Khan and Greater Manchester’s Andy Burnham seek re-election.
Voters will also elect police and crime commissioners in England and Wales. And a crunch by-election is being held in Blackpool South after ex-Tory MP Scott Benton quit following a lobbying scandal.
The Tories are braced for a difficult night as they are defending seats won in 2021 when Boris Johnson was riding high in the polls. No10 fears the PM could be vulnerable to a challenge if Tory MPs are unhappy with the results. It will be the last major electoral test before the general election, with Labour keen to show that Keir Starmer can lead the party into No10.
Polls will close at 10pm with around a third of councils due to declare results overnight. The result of the Blackpool South by-election is likely to be declared halfway through the night.
Follow live updates below…
Boris Johnson blunder as ex-PM who designed voter ID law forgets his ID
Bungling Boris Johnson was turned away from his local polling station as he didn’t have the right ID, the Mirror understands.
The former Prime Minister fell foul of the voter ID rules introduced when he was in Downing Street when he tried to cast his ballot in South Oxfordshire today. Polling station staff initially turned him away as he only had an envelope with his name and address on it, according to a source.
Voters must show photo ID like a passport or a driving licence to vote under heavily-criticised rules that Mr Johnson pushed through. Mr Johnson is believed to have returned to vote with the correct ID later.
Laura Kuenssberg admits TV election night secret
BBC presenter Laura Kuenssberg, who will be live on air throughout the night, has admitted her TV election night secretas.
“I always start with good intentions – and stash a supply of bananas, dried fruit and nuts under the desk. But I’m afraid as the hours tick on, and the results start to flood in, the more sugary the better – whether its jelly beans, Percy Pigs or Haribo, I’m in,” she says in her politics newsletter.
“There’s a fine art to eating a bag of sweets surreptitiously in the middle of a live studio show. So far, I’ve never been caught on camera munching away. I hope tonight isn’t the first!”
Find out when results are announced with our handy hour-by-hour guide
Elections are taking place in more than 2,600 council seats across 107 local authorities – alongside key mayoral battles, and police and crime commissioner elections.
But don’t fret – here’s our hour-by-hour guide to the local elections including details of key battles and projected declaration times from the LGIU and PA.
You can find out when results for the different elections are expected to be announced here.
It wouldn’t be an election day without a photo of a dog at a polling station
Blow for Rishi Sunak as Tories sink in national poll
Support for the Tories has dropped to lower than it was under Liz Truss – as it crawls just three points ahead of Reform UK.
In a blow to Rishi Sunak on local elections day, dire polling shows the Conservatives are expected to get just 18% of the vote – lower than the 19% it sank to under ex-PM Ms Truss.
The last time YouGov recorded a lower vote share for the Tories was in the tumult around the 2019 European Parliament elections under Theresa May.
The polling puts Labour 26 points ahead on 44 points, while the Tories are just three points in front of Reform UK, the former Brexit Party, which is on 15 points. The Lib Dems are on 10% (+1) and the Greens are on 8% (+1).
Read the full story here.
Check out our mega local elections 2024 guide
Today’s round of local polls are make or break for Rishi Sunak.
The results could spell doom for the PM and will show whether Keir Starmer and Labour are on course for a general election landslide. Tory plotters may try to oust Mr Sunak if the party suffers big defeats.
Check out our mega local elections 2024 guide here.
Blackpool South is Rishi Sunak’s main Westminster test
Rishi Sunak faces a major test at the Blackpool South by-election, the result of which is likely to be declared halfway through the night.
Labour is confident of overturning the Tories’ 3,690 majority, in what would be the Conservatives’ 11th by-election defeat so far this parliament.
The by-election was triggered by the resignation of Tory Scott Benton (below) who was accused of lobbying ministers on behalf of gambling organisations.
It is the only Westminster seat – aka an MP’s seat – being contested and, as such, offers the best guide to the outcome of the general election. Conservatives will anxiously watch the share of votes the hard-right Reform Party get. If it does well it will spark fears Reform could eat into Tory vote in dozens of seats.
Veterans Minister apologises to ex-soldier turned away from polling station
Veterans Minister Johnny Mercer has apologised to a former soldier who was turned away at a polling station using his new ID card.
Army veteran Adam Diver, 48, had been planning to vote in Fleetwood, Lancashire, but said he was turned away after presenting his veteran card.
Voters are required to show ID at a polling station after the Tories changed the law in 2022. However the new veteran ID card, which was introduced earlier this year, is not among those accepted.
Mr Mercer tweeted: “I am sorry about this. The legislation on acceptable forms of ID came out before the veterans ID cards started coming out in January this year. I will do all I can to change it before the next on
I’m not one for complaining but I am gutted! I spent 27 years in the Army and today I was going to vote in my local elections.
I was sadly turned away at the door as my Veteran ID was not allowed as formal ID.
I will be fighting for this “special ID” to be “more” formal pic.twitter.com/38o13ZYUNv
— Adam Diver (@AdamDiver2) May 2, 2024
Keir Starmer votes in elections with wife Victoria
Labour leader Keir Starmer was photographed voting at a polling station in his Holborn and St Pancras constituency, north London, with his wife Victoria.
In a letter to Mirror readers ahead of local elections, Mr Starmer said: “Politics can – and should – be a force for good. It should tread lightly and restore the ordinary hope in people’s lives. But that doesn’t happen unless you vote for it.
“That’s why I urge Mirror readers to head down to the polling station with their ID and demand change from this tired Tory Party led by a Prime Minister too weak to call a general election. Because that change only comes with a vote for a Labour Party back in the service of working people.”
Read Mr Starmer’s full letter here.
Tories brace for a difficult night as last votes cast
Voters across England and Wales have been heading to polls to have their say in elections for 107 local authorities, 37 police & crime commissioners, 11 mayors, the London Assembly and the Blackpool South parliamentary by-election.
The final ballots are currently being cast before polls shut at 10pm. Around a third of councils due to declare results overnight, ncluding Bolton and Hartlepool, where Labour is hoping to win overall control.
Three police & crime commissioner (PCC) results are also due, for Avon & Somerset, Cumbria and Lincolnshire, all of which were won comfortably by the Tories at the last PCC elections in 2021, so it would be a shock if any changed hands.