Voting day for local elections in England

May 4, 2006

Voting day, Thursday 4th May, has begun for the local elections taking place in England. The elections will appoint local councillors, and, in some boroughs, local Mayors. Council elections include all 32 London boroughs, 36 metropolitan boroughs and 88 non-metropolitan districts. Mayoral elections will be held for Hackney, Watford, Newham and Lewisham. In the non-London council areas, the voting will affect either a third or half of the total number of councillors. In London, all council seats are up for election. Some council areas are not taking part in the election.

Polling stations will open between 07:00 and 22:00. Many voters will also have had the opportunity to apply for a postal vote. Counting begins once the polls close, with the results typically available in the early hours of the next morning.

The Labour, Conservative and Liberal Democrat parties have all launched major campaigns, as have some smaller parties such as the Green Party, UKIP (United Kingdom Independence Party), Respect and the BNP (British National Party).