Voting starts in local UK elections in first major electoral test for PM Rishi Sunak

The election is seen as one of the last big opportunities to gauge popular support ahead of a national election expected next year, and a chance to assess whether the main opposition Labor Party can turn its double-digit election run into victories.

Sunak, who took office last year after a scandal-plagued premiership of Boris Johnson and the chaotic economic policies that brought down Liz Truss, is credited with stabilizing the British economy. But his party is expected to suffer heavy losses when the results are announced on Friday.

Sunak said on Wednesday evening that the results would be “difficult for us” and that the Conservatives would lose some of their seats as a result of the events of the past year.

The votes will determine the more than 8,000 council seats across England in the 230 local government authorities, which are responsible for providing day-to-day public services such as bin collections, schools and transport.

The Conservatives face a battle on two fronts: with the main opposition Labor party – which leads by about 15 points in the national poll – seeking to win back seats in the so-called red wall areas of northern and central England, and the Liberal Democrats trying to make gains in the south.

The major parties are trying to manage expectations ahead of the elections. The Conservative Party chairman said his party could lose about 1,000 seats, while Labor leader Keir Starmer said the Conservatives should make gains due to their previously poor performance.

The last time most of these seats were contested in England was in 2019 when the Conservatives underperformed, losing more than 1,000 seats as smaller parties such as the Liberal Democrats and Greens made gains. Then-Prime Minister Theresa May announced her resignation later that month.

Looking at vote share may be a more useful indicator than which seats are changing hands, said Anthony Wells, YouGov’s European Head of Political and Social Research.

“It is unlikely that Labor will get as big a lead as the national elections,” he said, “because the Liberal Democrats, the Greens and the smaller parties inevitably do better in local elections than they do in national elections.” “But if (Labor) wants to be on its way to winning the next election, they should hope to get a lead in the national vote share of 10 points or so.”

It may only be possible to assess what the results mean for the main political parties by Friday afternoon because many councils do not count votes overnight.

The results will not directly affect Sunak’s practical ability to govern because the vote does not cause a change of seats in parliament.

This will be the first set of elections in England where voters will be required to show some form of photographic identification to vote. A YouGov poll last week found that about a quarter of voters are unaware of the change, which means people could be turned away from polling stations.