The elections taking place in Cheshire this year

The golden gates of Warrington
Image caption,

All 58 seats are up for election in Warrington

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Elections are taking place this year on 2 May.

In Cheshire, there are some council elections and all Cheshire residents can vote for the Police and Crime Commissioner.

Council elections will take place in Halton and Warrington though there are no scheduled council elections in Cheshire East, Chester West and Chester or Wirral.

The deadline for registering to vote in the 2 May elections is 16 April 2024.

Which Cheshire councils are holding elections?

Warrington Council has all 58 seats up for election this time around.

The council runs what is known as an all-out election system - meaning all seats are up for re-election every four years.

Currently, Labour hold 36 of the seats, the Conservatives hold 10, the Liberal Democrats hold 8 and there are four independent councillors.

The last elections in Warrington took place in 2021, after being delayed for a year by the Covid pandemic.

Warrington Council is one of a handful of councils holding their counts on Saturday 4 May and the final declarations are expected by about 16:30 GMT.

In Halton, one third of seats are up for election. Halton is also part of the Liverpool City Region, so residents of this area will also be able to vote in the Liverpool City Region mayoral election.

The count will be held on Friday 3 May and it is expected to declare its result mid-afternoon.

There is also an election for Cheshire’s Police and Crime Commissioner being held on 2 May.

What is the role of the Cheshire Police and Crime Commissioner?

The Police and Crime Commissioner is an elected representative who is responsible for holding the police force to account.

Their responsibilities include:

  • Appointing chief constables of forces and dismissing them when necessary

  • Holding the chief constable to account for the performance of a force's officers and staff

  • Setting out a force's strategy and policing priorities through the Police and Crime Plan

  • Setting the force’s budget and the local precept

Who is standing to become Cheshire's Police and Crime Commissioner?

The candidates are, in alphabetical order:

  • Paul Duffy is the Liberal Democrat candidate. He was a councillor on Congleton Town Council between 2019 and 2023, and stood for the Lib Dems in Congleton in the 2019 General Election.

  • Dan Price is Labour’s candidate. He was a councillor on Warrington Council and was first elected in 2011. He resigned from Labour in 2019 over Brexit and stood for Change UK in the European elections that year before rejoining Labour in 2021.

BBC Politics North West will be broadcasting a debate with the candidates on 14 April.

When will we know who has won?

The count for the Cheshire Police and Crime Commissioner election is taking place on Saturday 4 May and the result is expected in the afternoon.

Why not follow BBC North West on X, external? For more local politics coverage, BBC Politics North West is on BBC One on Sundays at 10:00am and on BBC iPlayer. You can also send story ideas to northwest.newsonline@bbc.co.uk, external