Local elections 2024: at-a-glance guide to results and declaration times

The results of Thursday’s elections are being declared over several days, starting shortly after polls close and ending on Sunday, 5 May.

Here is a summary of all the key contests and times.

Thursday 2 May

Polls close across England and Wales in elections for 107 local authorities, 37 police & crime commissioners, 11 mayors, the London Assembly and the Blackpool South parliamentary by-election.

Around a third of councils are due to declare overnight, including Bolton and Hartlepool, where Labour is hoping to win overall control, Southend-on-Sea and Thurrock – key tests of Conservative and Labour popularity in Essex – and Redditch in Worcestershire, where the Tories could lose their majority if the party’s vote collapses.

The result of the Blackpool South by-election is likely to be declared halfway through the night, with Labour tipped to gain this marginal seat from the Conservatives, in what would be the Tories’ 11th such defeat so far this parliament.

Three police & crime commissioner (PCC) results are also due, for Avon & Somerset, Cumbria and Lincolnshire, all of which were won comfortably by the Tories at the last PCC elections in 2021, so it would be a shock if any changed hands.

Here are the unofficial, estimated times for these results.

By-election:

Expected halfway through the night

Councils:

• 12.30am, Broxbourne

• 1.30am, Hartlepool, Rochford, Sunderland

• 2am, Bolton, Gosport, Ipswich, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, North East Lincolnshire, South Tyneside, Wigan

• 2.30am, Chorley, Eastleigh, Fareham, Hart, Oldham, Portsmouth, Rushmoor, Southend-on-Sea

• 2.45am, Exeter

• 3am, Harlow, Kingston-upon-Hull, Lincoln, Sefton, Tameside, Thurrock

• 3.15am, Reading

• 3.30am, Colchester, Gateshead, Redditch, Stockport

• 4am, Peterborough, Plymouth

• 4.30am, Southampton

• 5.30am, Winchester

Police & crime commissioners:

• 1.30am, Cumbria

• 2.30am, Avon & Somerset

• 3am, Lincolnshire

Friday 3 May

Counting begins in the morning for almost all the remaining councils in England, along with most PCCs and four of the mayoral elections: East Midlands, North East, Tees Valley and York & North Yorkshire.

Key council results include Dudley, where Labour could become the largest party if the Conservatives are doing badly; Solihull and Walsall, where the Tories could lose overall control; Sheffield, which is likely to see a three-way tussle between Labour, the Liberal Democrats and the Greens over who ends up the largest party; Cannock Chase, where the Tories and Labour are currently tied; and Brentwood and Wokingham, where the Lib Dems are hoping to win an overall majority.

A few council results will arrive late on Friday, including Dorset, Elmbridge in Surrey and Gloucester: all places where the Liberal Democrats are hoping for big wins in blue-wall territories. Bristol is also due to declare, where the Greens are already the largest party but could take full control.

Of the four mayoral results due this afternoon, most eyes will be on Tees Valley, where Conservative incumbent Ben Houchen is hoping for a third term and whose re-election would hand a boost to Rishi Sunak in what could otherwise be a grim set of polls for the prime minister.

Some 24 PCC results are due, with Plaid Cymru keen to hold on to its one post in Dyfed-Powys and Labour looking to make gains from the Tories in areas such as Cleveland, Humberside and Lancashire.

Councils:

• 11am, Norwich

• 12pm, Blackburn with Darwen, Walsall

• 12.30pm, Castle Point, Havant

• 1pm, Cannock Chase, Manchester, Watford, Welwyn Hatfield

• 1.30pm, Burnley, Preston, Sheffield, West Oxfordshire

• 2pm, Basildon, Brentwood, Hyndburn, Knowsley, Nuneaton & Bedworth, Rossendale

• 2.30pm, Crawley, Rochdale, Solihull

• 3pm, Barnsley, Hastings, Kirklees, Maidstone, Rotherham, Three Rivers

• 3.30pm, Halton, Milton Keynes, Sandwell, Trafford

• 4pm, Adur, Bury, Calderdale, Cheltenham, Epping Forest, Pendle, St Albans, Swindon, Tunbridge Wells, Woking, Wokingham

• 4.30pm, Dudley, Leeds, Wakefield

• 5pm, Basingstoke & Deane, Bradford, Cambridge, Coventry, Oxford, Runnymede, Tandridge, Worthing

• 5.30pm, Rugby, Wolverhampton, Worcester

• 5.45pm, Cherwell

• 6pm, Mole Valley, North Hertfordshire, Reigate & Banstead, Stevenage, Tamworth

• 6.30pm, Bristol, Elmbridge

• 7pm, Dorset

• 8pm, West Lancashire

• 10pm, Gloucester

Mayors:

• 12pm, North East

• 12.30pm, Tees Valley

• 2.30pm, East Midlands

• 3pm, York & North Yorkshire

Police & crime commissioners:

• 1pm, Gwent, North Wales

• 1.30pm, Humberside

• 2pm, Cambridgeshire & Peterborough, Hampshire, Suffolk

• 3pm, Bedfordshire, Devon & Cornwall, Dyfed-Powys, Norfolk, Surrey

• 3.30pm, Leicestershire

• 4pm, Essex, Lancashire, Northamptonshire, South Wales, Staffordshire

• 4.30pm, Northumbria

• 5pm, Cleveland, Durham, Gloucestershire, Nottinghamshire

• 6pm, Derbyshire, West Mercia

Saturday 4 May

Counting begins on Saturday for some of the most high-profile contests of these elections: the mayoral contests in Greater Manchester, London and the West Midlands, along with counts for the mayors of the Liverpool City Region, South Yorkshire, West Yorkshire and Salford, plus eight more PCCs, three councils and the London Assembly.

By early afternoon the outcome of the London mayoral election should start to become clear, with each of the 14 constituencies across the capital due to report their results and show whether Labour’s Sadiq Khan has won a third term in office.

A strong Labour performance in the capital could see the party gain the London Assembly seat of West Central, where the Conservatives are defending a majority of just over 2,000.

The Tories will be hoping Andy Street holds on as mayor of the West Midlands and helps offset losses elsewhere, including in the PCC elections where Labour could take back Cheshire.

Councils:

• 4pm, North Tyneside, Stroud, Warrington

Mayors:

• 12pm, Liverpool City Region

• 1.30pm, London (results announced by local area, followed by overall total later; indicative picture expected by this time)

• 2pm, South Yorkshire

• 3pm, West Midlands

• 3.15pm, West Yorkshire

• 4pm, Greater Manchester

• 5pm, Salford

Police & crime commissioners:

• 12pm, Hertfordshire

• 2pm, Thames Valley

• 2.30pm, Warwickshire, West Midlands

• 3pm, Cheshire, Dorset

• 3.30pm, Merseyside

• 4pm, Wiltshire

Sunday 5 May

Salford is the 107th and final council due to declare, along with the PCCs for Kent and Sussex plus any late results from the previous days.

Councils:

• 3pm, Salford

Police & crime commissioners:

• 3.30pm, Sussex

• 4pm, Kent