VOTERS in England are taking part in local elections this week although not every council authority is taking part.
We explain when and where they are, how to find out who your candidates are and how to check if you’re registered to vote.
Local elections are on Thursday, May 2, 2019.
There are 343 councils in England, but not every authority will be holding elections.
Elections take place in four-year cycles so different councils will hold elections in different years.
This year they are happening in 248 councils and 8,245 seats are up for grabs with about 25,000 people standing.
As well as England, voters will go to the polls to elect 462 councillors to Northern Ireland’s 11 councils.
The majority of England’s smaller councils are holding elections and about 30 of the larger ones are.
There are also six mayoral elections in Bedford, Copeland, Leicester, Mansfield, Middlesbrough and North of Tyne.
No elections are taking place in London or Scotland and Wales.
Polling stations will open at 7am and close at 10pm.
Details of where you need to go are on you polling card.
If you aren’t sure where it is you can contact your local council to find out where you need to go.
To check to see if there are local elections in your area you an pop in your post code here.
With more about 25,000 people running in this week’s election it can be confusing to know who is standing in your area.
You can go here, to find out about the candidates in your area just by popping in your post code.
It will tell you if there are elections in your area and it will provide a list of the candidates and the party they represent.
The deadline to register to vote has past, but you can find out if you’re registered here.
The Conservatives are defending the largest number of seats, with 4,906 Tory councillors up for re-election, compared with 2,113 for Labour.
The Liberal Democrats have 647 seats to defend, Ukip 176 and the Green Party 71.
There are also 512 seats held by independents being fought.
Brighton, Cheshire West, Chester, Milton Keynes, Bolton, Calderdale, Scarborough, Thurrock and Blackpool are all places to watch.
The first results will come between midnight and 1am on Friday with St Helens, Sunderland, Swindon and North Tyneside predicted to be the quickest.
Between 2 and 4am results will start coming in from Oldham, Plymouth, Portsmouth, Stockport, Liverpool and Trafford.
Some local authorities won’t start counting until 9am.
Manchester is expected to declare at 3pm, Brighton and York at 5pm and Cheshire West and Chester at 7pm.
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