UK local elections: key results to watch out for

Turnout has been relatively low so far but broadly in line with local election norms, with fewer than 35 per cent of the electorate casting a ballot in any of the mayoral races that have declared so far.

Turnout for local authority elections tends to be lower than for general elections, at about 30 per cent. For the UK’s general election last July, 59.8 per cent headed to the polls.

Reform UK’s Andrea Jenkyns won the Greater Lincolnshire mayoralty, in which just 29.9 per cent of the electorate turned out to vote.

Labour held on to the mayoralties of North Tyneside, where turnout was 33.6 per cent, Doncaster, where it was 32.1 per cent, and the West of England where it was 30 per cent.

While the majority of councils in this round are yet to declare, in 2024 the mean turnout for all English single-tier and county councils was 30.8 per cent, while in 2023 it was 31.8 per cent, according to the Elections Centre.

The Runcorn and Helsby by-election drew a turnout of 46 per cent, compared with 59 per cent at the general election nine months ago.