Cambridgeshire and Peterborough elections to be held on 2 May
- Published
The Cambridgeshire electorate can cast their votes on 2 May
Local elections are taking place for Peterborough and Cambridge city councils, and the county's police and crime commissioner, on 2 May.
Peterborough and Cambridge will be electing a third of their councillors.
There will be one vacant post in each ward. However in some areas, such as Werrington, there may be more.
This is typically because another councillor resigned creating an additional vacancy.
The other two thirds of the councillors in the county will be up for re-election in different years.
Councillors are elected using the first past the post system. This means every person gets to vote for their preferred candidate and whoever gets the most votes wins.
The police and crime commissioner position will also be elected using this method. In previous years, a system called the single transferable vote was used.
Key dates to remember
5 April - Nominations for the elections close and details of who is standing are expected to be published shortly afterwards
16 April - Deadline to register to vote
17 April - Deadline to apply for a postal vote
24 April - Deadline to apply for a proxy vote and a voter ID card
2 May - Polling day
Do I need ID to vote at a polling station?
These are the first Cambridgeshire and Peterborough wide elections to take place since voters have been asked to provide photographic ID when they vote.
A list of acceptable forms of ID are available on your local council website, external.
If you do not have any of the items you can apply for a voter authority certificate, external.
When will we know the results?
Peterborough will count their ballots overnight, with results expected in the early hours of 3 May. Cambridge intend to count and declare their results during the day on 3 May.
Counting for the police and crime commissioner ballot papers will also take place during the day on 3 May.
Counting will take place in Peterborough overnight, just like the 2023 election
What is a police and crime commissioner (PCC)?
Under the terms of the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act, a PCC is elected to hold the chief constable and the force to account. This effectively makes the police answerable to the communities they serve.
PCCs work in partnership across a range of agencies at local and national level to ensure there is a co-ordinated approach to preventing and reducing crime.
The local council picture
This will be the first set of elections to take place in Cambridge since proposals for a city wide congestion charge were abolished in September.
Last year there was a noticeable swing to the Conservative party, who ran a campaign focused on abolishing the proposals.
However, Labour has a large majority with 25 councillors, with the Liberal Democrats the second largest party with 11 councillors.
The Greens have four councillors, with the Conservatives currently having just one seat. A former Labour member sits as an independent councillor.
In Peterborough, this will be the first set of elections since the group Peterborough First took over running the council.
The group is predominantly made up of ex-Conservatives who left the local group in 2023.
Their 10 councillors are supported by Labour, Liberal Democrats and The Greens.
The Conservatives remain the largest party. This will be the first election where many incumbent councillors will defend their seat with the Peterborough First ticket.
There are no routine council elections scheduled for South Cambridgeshire, Huntingdonshire, East Cambridgeshire or Fenland this year.
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