Third of Devon's city councils seats up for election

The two city councils have been different political battlegrounds to the rest of the rural South West

Voters in Devon's cities will get to choose councillors for the next four years on 5 May.

A third of the seats on both the 57-seat Plymouth and 39-seat Exeter City Councils are up for election.

Across England, there could be elections for more than 4,000 council seats across 146 councils.

Polling is due to be open from 07:00-22:00 BST on 5 May, with postal voting and proxy votes also available.

The two cities have very different politics to the rest of the rural South West, where the traditional contest between Conservative and Liberal Democrats still largely dominates.

• How do I vote in the UK's elections?

• Simple guide to the 2022 elections

• Is there an election in my area?

Plymouth is the only place in the region where local elections are routinely a close contest between the Conservatives and Labour.

This time is no exception - with the added twist of the Conservative leader of the council being removed by a vote of no confidence on the eve of the campaign.

At the moment Labour has 23 seats with the Conservatives - under their new leader - holding 22.

There are also 12 Independents, nine of whom previously sat as Conservatives while three were formerly Labour councillors.

A minority Conservative administration - relying on support from some of the Independents - has run the council since the last election.

But the administration failed to command enough support to pass its budget in February - followed by the vote of no confidence in the then leader in March.

Exeter is also a one of a kind on the political map of the South West.

When Ben Bradshaw won the parliamentary seat in 1997 he was only the second ever Labour MP to represent the city.

He has held it ever since and Labour also now enjoys a very comfortable majority on the city council.

Ahead of the election on May 5, Exeter City Council has 24 Labour councillors.

The Conservatives are trailing way behind with just six, the Lib Dems and the Greens each have two, there is one Independent and four vacant seats.