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How will you vote in the upcoming elections?

Nuns leave a polling station after voting in London at the 2015 election - Credit: AFP via Getty Images

With millions expected to turn out to voting stations across Wales, Scotland, and England on May 6, we wanted to find out how you will be voting.

More than 5,000 seats are up for grabs in county councils, district councils and unitary authorities across England. 

Of those, the Conservatives are defending 2,052 seats and Labour 1,621. The Liberal Democrats are looking to defend 588 seats while independents defend 418.

The majority of county councils up for election are held by the Conservatives, while Labour holds a swathe of unitary authorities, metropolitan boroughs and district councils in the north and Midlands.

This includes several so-called red wall seats, where the Tories made large gains in the 2019 general election. These seats are where the most heavily fought battles are expected to take place.

The election will be Sir Keir Starmer’s first major test as Labour leader. Current polls suggest Labour could lose a swathe of seats and potentially put Sir Keir’s leadership on shaky ground.

Of particular concern to Labour are six seats in the Midlands and the north of England. In three of these, the Conservatives took control of constituencies in the 2019 general election: Durham, Bury and Rotherham. Labour is also battling to hold the Westminster seat of Hartlepool.

In Scotland, 129 Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs) face election. The SNP are tipped to win the biggest share of seats but could miss out on a supermajority it needs to pass legislation for a second independence vote.

Scottish Labour and Conservatives oppose a second referendum and are aiming to get enough seats to disrupt the SNP’s chances of pushing through any such legislation. Alex Salmond’s Alba Party – which is also running on a pro-independence platform – is, too, hoping to nab voters from his old party.



Meanwhile, in Wales, voters are expected to return the closest election results since devolution in 1999 as they elect 60 members to the Senedd Cymru – the Welsh parliament.

Elections will also take place to elect the London assembly, and 13 mayors and 39 police and crime commissioners in England.

Tell us how you will be voting by taking part in our readers’ poll.

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