Angela Rayner’s confirmation that nine councils will no longer go to polls this year has sparked fury from Nigel Farage.
The Reform UK leader took to social media after the announcement to accuse the Government of behaving like a “dictator” and called on supporters to sign a petition to help “save democracy”.
While voters in Cumbria, Cheshire and Warrington, Greater Essex, Hampshire and Solent, Norfolk and Suffolk, and Sussex and Brighton will no longer be going to the polls this May, millions will still have the opportunity to have their say.
It will provide Britons with their first opportunity to register their views on the new Government and their local services.
The election will be a huge risk for both the Tories and Labour, but Reform and the Liberal Democrats could win big.
These councils were last fought in 2021, when the Tories were riding high under Boris Johnson thanks to the rollout of the Covid-19 vaccine.
This means that despite Labour’s tanking poll ratings, Kemi Badenoch is set for the biggest bruising on May 1.
Electoral Calculus, a political consultancy, has published forecasts suggesting the Conservatives are on course to lose 460 seats.
By contrast, Labour could gain 290 seats, Reform 275 and the Lib Dems 88.
The Greens could also lose three dozen seats.
Will your area have local or mayoral elections this May? Read the full list below.
County councils
Cambridgeshire – All seats up for election
Derbyshire – All seats up for election
Devon – All seats up for election
Gloucestershire – All seats up for election
Hertfordshire – All seats up for election
Kent – All seats up for election
Lancashire – All seats up for election
Leicestershire – All seats up for election
Lincolnshire – All seats up for election
Nottinghamshire – All seats up for election
Oxfordshire – All seats up for election
Staffordshire – All seats up for election
Warwickshire – All seats up for election
Worcestershire – All seats up for election
Metropolitan boroughs
Doncaster – All seats up for election
Unitary authorities
Buckinghamshire – All seats up for election
Cornwall – All seats up for election
Durham – All seats up for election
North Northamptonshire – All seats up for election
Northumberland – All seats up for election
Shropshire – All seats up for election
West Northamptonshire – All seats up for election
Wiltshire – All seats up for election
Combined-authority mayors
Cambridgeshire and Peterborough – Currently held by Labour
Greater Lincolnshire – To be elected for first time
Hull & East Yorkshire – To be elected for first time
West of England – Currently held by Labour
Local authority directly elected mayors
Doncaster – Currently held by Labour
North Tyneside – Currently held by Labour
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