Local election 2019 polls – what are the latest predictions for important seats and who will win?
VOTERS across England hit the ballot for local elections on May 2, 2019 - TODAY - and it will be a key test for Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn.
Here's all we know about the election which could prove devastating for the Conservatives.
Who will do well in the local elections?
Certainly not the Conservatives at the way things are going.
Although pollsters don’t ask how people will be voting at local polls, the Tories’ ratings if there were another general election have dropped by around ten percentage points in the last month alone.
Labour has picked up a small part of the votes alongside smaller parties Change UK and Ukip.
Change UK isn’t standing candidates on Thursday but you can expect pro-Brexit party Ukip to hoover up some votes from frustrated Tories.
However, Ukip has pushed to the right in recent months and could put more moderate Brexiteers off giving them their vote.
The Tories are being squeezed in the polls by the Brexit Party, but they aren’t standing in the locals, and are focusing on the EU poll next month instead.
Many Brits might not turn out to vote at all out of total frustration over the whole thing.
Or they could back completely independent candidates in the hope of something completely different with a fresh start.
One MP told The Sun: "Turnout will be low - but who will stay at home the most?
"The danger for us is that as the Government we take most of the responsibility and Labour's core vote is a bit more tribal."
Another predicted that the locals would be a poor result for everyone and wouldn't change much at all.
Prediction for important seats
More than 8,000 seats are up for grabs on 38 councils in England, and 11 councils in Northern Ireland too.
Here are some of the key battlegrounds where results are expected to be close:
- Broxbourne - As this is one of the first to declare it could be an indication of what is to come especially as going in to the elections the Tories were way ahead with 28 out of the 30 seats
- Calderdale - Labour will be hoping for a gain of two to take control
- Derby - this is a minority Tory seat, so can Labour take back control?
- Dudley - Tories hold a majority after a Ukip councillor defected, but can they hold on to it?
- Lewes - Lib Dems will be hoping to gain here after the Tories won a majority in 2015
- Peterborough - the constituency that saw voters oust former Labour MP Fiona Onasanya forcing a by-election will see Tories trying to cling on to their majority of one in the locals
- Plymouth - Tories have 26 seats to Labour's 31, so this is a close one to call
- Scarborough - the number of wards is being reduced from 16 to 50, there is currently no overall majority with Tories only one seat away from winning control
- Stockport - the Lib Dems are hoping to make gains in the local elections and will be looking for a majority here
- Thanet - the Conservatives are the largest group after a Ukip break away despite gaining its first council majority in 2015
- Thurrock - Tories again, and this time they need two more seats to claim the majority
- Trafford - Labour holds 30 steas, while Tories have 29, so this is going to be close
- Winchester - the Lib Dems need one seat to gain overall control
Fenland District Council in Cambridgeshire only has Conservative MPs standing - so they're assured of keeping that one!
What do the latest polls predict?
Polling experts predict the Conservatives could lose 800 seats, with Labour, the Lib Dems and Ukip getting chunks of their vote.
Two new parties, Change UK and the Brexit Party, aren’t standing in these local elections but have also been causing an upset.
But the Tories are determined to fight back.
Mrs May told MPs at Prime Minister's Questions on Wednesday, May 1: "Conservative councils give better services, they recycle more, they fix more potholes and they charge lower taxes.
"A vote for Labour is a vote for mismanagement, worse services and higher taxes."
When and where are the local elections being held?
The local polls will be held in parts of the country this Thursday, 2 May, which is TODAY.
More than 8,000 seats are up for grabs on 38 councils in England.
Northern Ireland is also holding elections for 462 seats on 11 councils.
If you are registered to vote you should have already been sent a polling card telling you which station to go to on the day - between 7am and 10pm.
Most of the seats were last contested back in 2015, on the same day of the general election where David Cameron’s Tories won an unexpected victory.
As a result the Tories are likely to do worse than before, and the turnout is set to be down too as no other major elections are taking place on the same day.
Deputy Chairwoman Helen Whately admitted they would be the chance to "kick the government" and suggested a difficult night was ahead.
Boris has begged Brits not to punish the Tories for Brexit and to focus on their local records instead.
When do the results come in?
Polls will close at 10pm and the results will start to be counted overnight.
The first ones usually come in after midnight, but other councils who don’t count until the next day will take much more time to come through.
The first few results could be an indicator of what’s to come later in the evening - if the Tories are in trouble it will hinted at.
The results can be measured in several ways - the overall share of the vote, the number of seats won (and that compared to the number they had before), and the control of councils which could flip sides.