Every adult in England, Scotland and Wales can cast a vote today, making it the biggest vote outside a general election since 1973. Image: European Parliament
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This bumper election day will see voters flock to polling stations to elect local councillors, mayors, police and crime commissioners and, in Scotland and Wales, devolved governments.
While a late night to watch election results roll in is part of the tradition for many, Covid-19 means vote counts and announcements will work differently this year.
Voters are used to seeing hundreds of volunteers crammed into leisure centres and community halls counting piles of ballot papers, but the number of people allowed to count at any one time will be limited for social distancing purposes. Other venues are too small for vote counts to be safe or are being used as vaccination centres.
This means counts will take longer and, instead of the usual overnight effort, some won’t begin going through ballots until Friday morning.
Polls close at 10pm but officials have warned exact timings for results are uncertain, and that voters should not pin their hopes on definitely hearing results before Monday. However we can have a rough idea of when most areas will declare. Here’s a rundown of when to expect results for your election.
Can't find your poll card? You don't need it to vote.
— Electoral Commission (@ElectoralCommUK) May 6, 2021
When will England’s local election results be announced?
For 19 of the 143 English councils holding local elections – including Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Colchester, Stevenage and Stockport – the count is expected overnight and the first should declare results at around 2am on Friday morning.
Most other councils will begin counting on Friday morning and make announcements in the late afternoon and evening (or on Saturday, in the case of Durham and Shropshire).
Mole Valley, Worcestershire, Rugby and Tandridge will count their votes late on Friday and declare in the late evening.
The rest of England’s councils will count on Saturday to announce in the afternoon and evening – including in Bradford, Oxford, Cheltenham and Norwich – or on Sunday, with councils including St Albans and Bristol declaring results that day.
When are London mayoral results expected?
First-past-the-post results for London’s next mayor – with Sadiq Khan expected to hold onto his post – will start rolling in on Friday evening, including from Southwark, Lambeth and West Central.
Announcements from all remaining seats are expected late in the day on Saturday or early Sunday.
When will other English mayor results be declared?
Another eleven areas will elect mayors this week. Doncaster’s result is expected in first, with the count beginning when polls close and a declaration expected early on Friday.
Liverpool numbers should be announced on Friday afternoon, and another seven – including from Liverpool City, the West Midlands and Bristol – expected on Saturday afternoon and evening.
West Yorkshire will not start counting votes until Sunday.
When will police and crime commissioner results be announced?
Nearly 40 police and crime commissioners will be elected across England and Wales. Cleveland is expected to announce first, at around 2pm on Friday, followed closely by Bedfordshire, Avon and Somerset, and Staffordshire. Derbyshire should announce results later that evening.
The rest of the counts will be spread across Saturday, Sunday and Monday. Essex and Durham will announce early on Saturday afternoon, with Merseyside and Nottinghamshire later in the day.
Wales’ counts will be held on Sunday, with most results expected before the evening.
By Monday, areas including Suffolk, Warwickshire, Kent and Lancashire are expected to be announcing their final results.
What time will Welsh Assembly election results be announced?
All 40 constituencies – plus the five regional top-up seats – will count their Senedd votes beginning on Friday morning.
Returning officers should start announcing constituency votes, counted using a first-past-the-post system, from around 3pm on Friday. The regional top-up seats, cast via proportional representation, will be declared in the late evening.
When will Scottish Parliament election results be announced?
Most constituencies in Scotland – including Glasgow Southside, Edinburgh Central, Moray and North East Fife – will begin counting votes between 9am and 10am on Friday, with 47 constituencies expected to declare the newly elected MSPs later on Friday.
The others will begin and likely be declared on Saturday, but regional results – so-called list votes – will not be announced until all constituency votes have been counted.
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