Image source, Getty Images

Polls close at 10pm, so there could be a long wait for some results.

If you're planning to stay up all night and follow the television coverage, we expect the first full councils to be declared at about midnight. (One of either Swindon Council, or Halton in Cheshire, is expected to be first to declare its results).

The most active period is between 2-3am, when more than 40 councils are expected to declare their results. This includes the big metropolitan councils of Liverpool and Leeds

About 108 English councils are expected to report by 6am on Friday. The other 140 should come in throughout Friday, until about 6pm.

Results from Northern Ireland's 11 councils are expected to take longer, because of the different voting system there.

Image source, REUTERS

Legally the Queen can vote but, by convention, she does not exercise that right. According to the official website of the monarchy,, external the Queen "has to remain strictly neutral with respect to political matters" and is "unable to vote or stand for election".

Even if they did wish to vote today, the Queen and the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge would be disappointed.

Not all seats in this year’s elections are being voted on, with some going uncontested.

That includes the parish council for Sandringham, where the Queen's private home Sandringham Estate can be found.

The estate is also home to Prince William, Catherine and their three young children.

Image source, Getty Images

The countdown is on with just five hours left for voters to head to the polls in England and Northern Ireland.

Elections are being held for 248 English councils, six mayors and all 11 councils in Northern Ireland.

Don't know where to go? You can use this postcode checker., external

Standing outside your local library and asking for people's polling card number might not be everyone's idea of a good time.

On election day, however, people volunteer to do exactly that. They are known as tellers.

They use the information they gather to check on who's voted - and then remind those who haven't to do so.

You don't have to give them any information if you don't want to.

Results for about 108 English councils are expected to be declared before 06:00 BST on Friday.

The remaining 140 are scheduled to come in throughout Friday, mostly between midday and 18:00 BST.

The Northern Irish ones will take longer to come through because they have a more complicated voting system.

Find out more about the voting and results here.

In theory, it is possible.

But the Electoral Commission says the best way to make sure your vote is counted is to mark your ballot paper with an X in a box next to your preferred candidate.

However, a smiley face or anything which is interpreted by a returning officer as an expression of preference "must not be rejected if the voter's intention is clear", its guidance to Returning Officers says.

Polling stations for the vote - spanning metropolitan and district councils and unitary authorities - opened at 07:00 BST and will close at 22:00 BST.

Proud owners have taken to Twitter in their droves throughout the day to post pictures of their pets.

Elections are being held for 248 English councils, six mayors and all 11 councils in Northern Ireland.

There are no local elections in Scotland and Wales.

Sports centres and town halls are among the venues that will be packed with ballot boxes and tellers this evening as they race to provide election results.

We're expecting the first results to be announced around midnight, with 108 councils reporting by 06:00 BST.

Image source, Getty Images

Can you tweet about your vote? Can you vote if you've been drinking? Do you have to use the polling station's pencil on a string?

We've got answers to all these questions and more in our guide to the dos and don'ts of voting.

While many parts of England and the whole of Northern Ireland are voting for local councillors today, elections in Northamptonshire's districts and boroughs are not taking place.

Northamptonshire County Council's financial crisis has meant it has twice banned spending, made cuts to services and had to sell off £70m of assets.

From 2020, it is proposed that Northamptonshire County Council will no longer exist. It is due to be scrapped, along with seven other district and borough councils in Northamptonshire, to make way for two new unitary authorities.

Elections were due at all of the other councils, but because of the county council's crisis Communities Secretary James Brokenshire said polls "would involve significant costs that would be hard to justify" and so district and borough council elections have been postponed.

Dozens of Twitter users have posted pictures of their bikes outside local polling stations.

Although the hashtag is not getting quite as much traction as dogs or indeed goats, other social media users were nonetheless appreciative of their efforts.

Image source, PA

Prime Minister Theresa May and her husband Philip are among those to have voted in the local elections.

They cast their votes at a polling station near their home in the PM's Maidenhead constituency.

The BBC, like other broadcasters, isn't allowed to report details of campaigning while the polls are open.

The BBC is required by electoral law to adopt a code of practice, ensuring fairness between candidates and that is particularly important on polling day.

On polling day specifically, the BBC doesn't report on any of the election campaigns until polls close at 10pm.

Coverage on the day is usually restricted to uncontroversial factual accounts, such as the appearance of politicians - or dogs - at polling stations. Read more here

Rural areas have the advantage when it comes to charming animals caught up in local election fever. Dorset Council tweeted this image of a goat at one of its polling stations.

Image source, Getty Images

In 10 areas today, people might be surprised by a requirement to show identification before they can vote.

It's the second time that the government has tried this requirement, after a trial last year.

The government has said it's needed to combat voter fraud.

Critics have said it will just put people off voting but, after a court challenge, the voter ID plan was ruled lawful in March.

In Broxtowe, external, Craven, external, Derby, external, North Kesteven, external and Braintree, external, voters will have to show either one piece of photo ID or two forms of non-photo ID.

In Mid Sussex, external, Watford, external and North West Leicestershire, external, people will have to bring their polling cards or photo ID.

Voters in Pendle, external and Woking, external will only be able to show photo ID at the polling station to be given a ballot paper.

People who don't have identification were able to apply for a postal vote or a local elector card from their council.

Last year, about 350 people did not vote at all after being turned away from polling stations which required ID. But the trial did not have much impact on voter turnout, and in two areas it increased.

This year sees the biggest set of local elections in England's four-year electoral cycle, with more than 8,400 seats up for grabs.

Seats being defended by each party:

• Conservatives: 4,901
• Labour: 2,105
• Lib Dem: 647
• UKIP: 176
• Green Party: 71
• Ind/Oth: 518