When polls close in England, Scotland and Wales at 10pm on Thursday May 7, most ballot boxes will be stored until the following morning, when counting will begin for the majority of contests.
Some councils in England will declare results overnight, however, providing early clues to how all the parties are faring – in particular whether Labour and the Conservatives are struggling to hold seats in the face of challenges from the smaller parties.
Here is the Press Association’s guide to when and where to expect the results.
All declaration times are estimates.
– 10pm, Thursday May 7
Polling stations close.
Of the 136 local authorities in England holding elections, 46 are due to count and declare results overnight.
The majority of authorities will count and declare later on Friday, while a handful are scheduled to finish on Saturday.
All results for the Scottish Parliament and Senedd will be counted and declared later on Friday.
– 1am, Friday May 8
Most of the local authorities counting overnight have only a third or half of their seats up for grabs, which means those councils where a party currently has a large majority – such as Broxbourne (Conservative) and Halton (Labour), both of which are due to declare around this time – are unlikely to see a change in overall control.
But councils where a party is defending only a slim majority, for example Harlow (Conservative) and Redditch (Labour), which are also due to finish counting at this time, may slip into no overall control if other parties make gains.
– 2am
Labour is defending majorities at Hartlepool and Lincoln, both of which are due to declare around now, while an early test for the Liberal Democrats will be if they can cling on to their tiny majority at Hull.
Wigan is the first Metropolitan borough council due to finish counting, where only a third of seats are up for election. Labour has a large enough majority here to retain control even if the party loses every one of the seats it is defending.
– 3am
Salford, another big Metropolitan council in Greater Manchester, should finish counting around this time. But like nearby Wigan, only a third of seats are up for grabs and Labour’s majority is large enough for the party to keep control even if it suffers heavy losses.
Both Wigan and Salford will provide early clues as to whether Reform and the Greens are managing to pick up Labour seats in north-west England.
Less safe for Labour is Tameside, a council where it has been the largest party since 1979, but where its slim majority could disappear in the face of a Reform surge.
Labour might also struggle to hold on to overall control of Exeter and Reading.
Around 3.30am, Westminster is due to be the first London council to finish counting – and the first council of the night where every seat is up for grabs.
Westminster was run by the Conservatives continuously from the borough council’s creation in 1964 through to 2022, when Labour won control with a tiny majority.
The outcome here will not only be the first indication of how Labour is faring in the capital, but also if the Tories have managed to recover support in one of their former London strongholds – or whether gains by smaller parties leave the council in no overall control.
– 4am
Hampshire is the first county council due to complete its declarations, where the Conservatives have been the majority party since 1997.
In London, a full set of results is due from Ealing (Labour), Sutton (Lib Dems) and Wandsworth (Labour), with Wandsworth most likely to see seats changing hands and any evidence of a rise in support for the Greens.
Every seat is up for election in Newcastle under Lyme and all the results should be in now, revealing whether the Tories have managed to keep their overall majority.
– 5am
Among the authorities counting overnight still left to declare are six London councils: Bexley, Hammersmith & Fulham, Havering, Kensington & Chelsea, Merton, and Richmond upon Thames.
Bexley is Reform’s top target in the capital and the party may also do well in Havering, while the Lib Dems have gained ground in Merton in recent years and – together with other parties – may take enough seats from Labour this time to leave the council in no overall control.
– 9am
Counting gets under way for the parliamentary elections in Scotland and Wales, for 86 local authorities in England, and for the six mayoral contests.
– 1pm
The first constituency results from Scotland are likely to be announced around this time, with Airdrie, Ayr and Coatbridge & Chryston potentially among them.
In England the first mayoral result is due, from Hackney in east London. Labour has held the position of mayor here since the role was established in 2002, but is facing a tough fight with the Greens, who have a built up a strong local following and who consider this to be one of their top targets.
The result for the Newham mayoral contest should also be declared around this time, which is another Labour defence.
Among the first councils to finish declaring results should be Manchester, where a third of seats are up for election but where Labour’s majority is so huge it will remain in overall control even if it sustains heavy losses.
– 2pm
Results due to be completed in England around this time include Hyndburn, Preston, Rochdale and St Helens, all of which currently have a Labour majority but where it would only take a few seat changes to leave Preston and St Helens with no party in overall control.
The Liberal Democrats will look to keep tight control of Cheltenham council and retain the mayoralty of Watford, which the party has held continuously since the role was created in 2002.
– 3pm
Results from Scottish constituencies should be coming in fast by now, though it will be some time before the overall state of the parties in the Parliament will become clear, as most of these individual seats are likely to be won by the SNP.
The other parties have better chances of picking up seats in one of the eight electoral regions in Scotland, each of which sends an additional seven members to the Parliament based on a form of proportional voting, and where results are not expected until later in the day.
The first declarations from Wales are due around this time, where a new system of voting has been adopted that has seen the country divided into 16 super-constituencies, each of which sends six members to the Senedd, allocated proportionally according to the number of votes cast.
The constituencies of Casnewydd Islwyn in south-east Wales, covering parts of Caerphilly and Newport, and Gwyr Abertawe in south-west Wales, which includes areas of Swansea, could be among the first to finish counting.
In London, the first of Friday’s results should be complete, with Labour defending huge majorities at Islington and Waltham Forest in the face of challenges from the Greens and independents in the former and Reform in the latter.
Labour has smaller majorities to defend elsewhere in England at Knowsley and Leeds, though only a third of seats are up for grabs at both councils, and Labour has held Knowsley continuously since 1973.
By contrast, all seats are up at Solihull, where it is the Conservatives who are defending a tiny majority.
The mayoral result from Lewisham is due around this time – a role Labour has held continuously since the post was created in 2002, but which is another target for the Greens.
– 4pm
Results will pick up pace, with around 40 councils in England due to finishing counting in the next couple of hours.
Labour has enjoyed a majority at Sunderland continuously since the council was established in its current form in 1973, but that could come to an end if Reform manage to pile up wins in one of their top targets outside London.
Full results are also due from Barnsley and Gateshead, two more Labour strongholds since 1973 where every seat is up for grabs, along with other Labour-majority councils at Bury, Crawley, Greenwich, Ipswich, Trafford and Wolverhampton.
The Conservatives will learn if they have held their majorities in the county councils of Suffolk and West Sussex, while the mayoral result from Croydon is due, which is another Tory defence.
– 5pm
A string of London councils currently held by Labour are due to finish counting, including Barnet, where the Tories are hoping to regain control; Hackney, a top target for the Greens; and Redbridge, where Reform and independents are eyeing gains.
Labour will also learn if it has managed to keep its majority at Coventry, Milton Keynes, Sandwell and Sefton, all of which have a full set of seats up for election.
Two county councils should have a complete set of results by now, both of which are currently run by the Tories and where Reform is the main challenger: Essex and Norfolk.
In Scotland, the first members elected under the regional vote system should be announced by now, which is where smaller parties – particularly the Greens and Reform – are hoping to have some success.
– 6pm
The mayoral result for the London borough of Tower Hamlets is due, where Lutfur Rahman of the Aspire party is seeking another term.
Two brand new local authorities should finish their declarations, East Surrey and West Surrey, which will operate as “shadow” councils until formally replacing Surrey county council in 2027.
Further declarations from London could bring more mixed news for Labour in the boroughs of Newham and Lambeth, while results for all 101 seats in Birmingham should be complete: the largest council in England and one that looks likely to pass from a Labour majority to no party in overall control.
– 7pm
The last results of the day from England will include Bromley in London, where the ruling Conservatives will hope to hold on to their majority in the face of a challenge from Reform, and Calderdale in West Yorkshire, where Labour is defending a very slim majority.
All the results from Scotland and Wales are scheduled to be announced by Friday evening, though it may be late in the night before counting is complete.
– 9am, Saturday May 9
Counting continues at four councils due to finish declaring today: Bradford, Croydon, Lewisham and Tower Hamlets.
– 4pm
A full set of results should be in for Bradford, Croydon and Lewisham.
Labour is defending a wafer-thin majority in Bradford and faces challenges on several fronts, including Reform, the Greens and independents, while in Lewisham the party has a huge majority but the Greens are hoping to make gains in another of their top London targets.
Croydon will be a close battle and the council could remain hung with no party having overall control.
– 6pm
Tower Hamlets will be the last council to finish declaring results, where the Aspire party is hoping to repeat its success at the last election in 2022 and secure a majority of seats.
