Local elections 2023: Voting taking place across England
- Published
Voters are electing councillors and mayors across England
Voting for councillors and mayors is continuing across many parts of England, in the biggest round of local elections since 2019.
A total of 230 councils are holding elections, with voters choosing the councillors they want to run services in their local area.
Mayors are being elected in Bedford, Leicester, Mansfield and Middlesbrough.
Voting is taking place between 07:00 and 22:00 BST, with the results due on Friday.
For the first time in England, voters need to show photo ID in polling stations - passports, driving licences and some other forms of ID can be used.
Some voters have taken photos of their dogs outside polling stations, in what has become an election-day tradition in recent years.
The first results are expected just after midnight on Friday morning, with 65 councils counting votes overnight.
The rest will begin counting later on Friday morning, and results will continue to come in throughout the day, including for the four mayoral races.
The final result is expected to be announced around 20:00 BST on Friday, although this could be later depending on factors such as recounts.
Elections are not taking place in London, Scotland or Wales.
A modern browser with JavaScript and a stable internet connection is required to view this interactive. Opens in a new browser tab More information about these elections
Council elections in Northern Ireland have been moved back to Thursday 18 May because of the Coronation of King Charles III on Saturday.
Most of the councils up for election in England are district councils, responsible for services including bin collections, parks, public housing and planning applications.
Other services in these areas such as roads, schools, social and care services are managed by county councils which are elected at a different time.
The rest of the councils being elected on Thursday are a mixture of metropolitan and unitary ones - single local authorities that deal with all local services.
The elections mark the first time in England that voters are required to show ID to cast their ballot in person.
Passports, driving licences, and older or disabled people's bus passes are among the documents that will be accepted at polling stations.
Those without the right ID were encouraged to apply for a new free voter certificate, the deadline for which closed last week.
The BBC, like other broadcasters, is not allowed to report details of campaigning or election issues while polls are open.
On polling day, the BBC does not report on any of the election campaigns from 00:30 BST until polls close at 22:00 BST on TV, radio or bbc.co.uk.
The BBC, however, is still able to report on other political events and stories which are not directly related to the elections.
