Local elections 2023: When are they and who can vote?

Voters in some parts of England and Northern Ireland will choose new councillors in May.

The deadlines for registering to vote in England and Northern Ireland have now passed.

On 4 May, more than 8,000 seats will be contested at 230 councils across England.

Mayoral elections are also taking place in Bedford, Leicester, Mansfield and Middlesbrough.

In Northern Ireland, 11 council elections are being held on 18 May.

There are no elections in Scotland or Wales.

To see if there is an election in your area, who is standing and where you can vote, use our lookup, made in collaboration with the Electoral Commission.

You can find your polling station here.

Voters (and proxies) must be:

Rules vary so voters should read their ballot paper carefully.

Voters usually have one vote for each available seat in an election area (known as a ward or division). Large wards may have several seats.

Whoever receives the most votes wins.

Northern Ireland uses the single transferable vote (STV) system - where voters rank candidates in order of preference.

No. The deadlines to register to vote in person, by proxy or by post in England or Northern Ireland have passed.

If you missed the deadline to nominate a proxy but then find you can't vote in person, you can apply for an emergency proxy vote before 17:00 on polling day.

From 4 May 2023, voters in England must show photo ID to vote in person. You do not need to bring your poll card.

There are 22 forms of valid ID including:

You can use out-of-date ID as long as you look the same.

Those without the right ID were encouraged to sign up for a free Voter Authority Certificate.

The deadline to apply in time to vote in the 4 May elections has passed. Just over 85,000 people asked for one - about 4% of the estimated two million people without valid ID.

Voter ID has been required in Northern Ireland since 2003. The deadline to apply for the NI Electoral Identity Card is 5 May.

Animals - apart from assistance dogs - are not usually allowed in polling stations.

However, other dogs can be admitted at the discretion of the local authority.

Voters are encouraged to bring children to polling stations to educate them about democracy - but they must not mark the ballot paper.

Local councils are responsible for many public services, including:

In Northern Ireland councils have fewer responsibilities. They do not run education, road-building or housing, but do collect taxes and maintain some local services.

Results from more than 60 English councils are expected overnight, with the rest announced throughout the day on Friday 5 May.

In Northern Ireland votes are not counted overnight so results will start coming in on 19 May.