Local elections 2026 explained: eight councils across Yorkshire go to the polls

Five councils across the region - Calderdale, Kirklees, Wakefield, Bradford and Barnsley - are holding all-out elections, while in Sheffield, Leeds and Hull a third of councillors are up for votes.

Overall, 422 councillors across West, East and South Yorkshire are up for election.

These are important people in their own right, deciding about important issues like planning, social care and waste collection.

But mid-term elections are often used to send a message to the Government of the day, particularly when they are not well liked.

As voters in Yorkshire and across Great Britain head to the polls, Sir Keir Starmer will be waiting for the results in 10 Downing Street rather anxiously.

The Prime Minister, who finds himself in the throes of a scandal about Lord Mandelson’s appointment as US ambassador, is fighting for his future.

Results in Yorkshire could spell the end of Sir Keir. Labour currently controls seven of the eight councils up for election.

By 10pm on Thursday, when polls close, that number could have reduced to just one.

Elsewhere in the country, voters in Scotland will decide who will run the Scottish Parliament, Holyrood, and in Wales they will do the same with the Welsh Parliament, the Senedd.

All councils in the capital, London, are also up for election.

Pollster and Tory peer Lord Robert Hayward predicts Labour will lose 75 per cent of its seats that are being contested.

He said the governing party will lose some 1,850 seats in councils across the nation.

Labour is not the only mainstream party set to suffer big losses, Lord Hayward said, predicting that Kemi Badenoch’s Conservatives will lose 600 seats.

Reform UK is expected to be the main beneficiary of both of the two major parties, he predicted, gaining some 1,550 seats from both Labour and the Conservatives, largely in white working class areas outside of London.

The Green Party, also a rising force in British politics, will gain 500 seats largely in London and traditionally middle class areas of other major cities, Lord Hayward said, while the Liberal Democrats are set to make gains of around 150 seats.

Results will start to come in overnight, with Hull the first to declare.

On Friday, results from Barnsley, Calderdale, Kirklees, Leeds, Wakefield and Sheffield will be announced.

Bradford City Council is to hold its count on Saturday, 9 May.

Remember voters are now required to show a photo ID to be able to cast a vote.

A passport, driving licence, armed forces veteran card and older person’s bus pass are among the valid forms of ID.

Voters can also get a temporary ID from their council if they do not hold any of the above.