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A host of local and mayoral elections are being held across England on Thursday - the first voting day since the general election last year.

There will also be a new Member of Parliament.

Here is everything you need to know.

Local elections

There will be local elections in 23 of England's 317 local authorities on Thursday.

Some are slightly different to others, depending on the type of authority.

Here is the full list:

County councils

• Cambridgeshire
• Derbyshire
• Devon
• Gloucestershire
• Hertfordshire
• Kent
• Lancashire
• Leicestershire
• Lincolnshire
• Nottinghamshire
• Oxfordshire
• Staffordshire
• Warwickshire
• Worcestershire

Unitary authorities

• Buckinghamshire
• Cornwall
• County Durham
• North Northamptonshire
• Northumberland
• Shropshire
• West Northamptonshire
• Wiltshire

Metropolitan district

• Doncaster

The Isles of Scilly, which has a unique governance structure, is also holding a local election of its own.

Additionally, about 1,270 parish councils will be holding elections.

What is the difference between the types of authorities?

A county council is part of a two-tier local government system, taking care of things that affect the whole county, such as:

• Education
• Transport
• Planning
• Fire and public safety
• Social care
• Libraries
• Waste management
• Trading standards

They work alongside the other, lower-tier councils - district, borough or city - that take care of things on a smaller scale, such as:

• Rubbish collection
• Recycling
• Council tax collections
• Housing
• Planning applications

A unitary authority is a one-tier local government, where the services of a county council and the other smaller councils listed above are combined.

A metropolitan district has a council that oversees all services, similar to a unitary authority - but has a mayor with a role similar to that of local councils.

The mayors for Doncaster and North Tyneside are single authority, making them the political leader of the council and leaving them responsible for delivering local council services.

Metro mayors chair combined authorities made up of several local councils.

Metro mayor election

There are six mayoral elections taking place on Thursday. Four areas are voting where there is already a mayor in place:

• West of England
• Cambridgeshire and Peterborough
• Doncaster
• North Tyneside

And the other two are holding mayoral elections for the first time:

• Hull and East Yorkshire
• Greater Lincolnshire

New MP for Runcorn and Helsby

A by-election is also being held in Runcorn and Helsby after Mike Amesbury agreed to stand down following his conviction for punching a man in the street.

How can I vote?

You must be aged 18 or over (or 16 or over in Scotland and Wales) and be registered to vote.

If you have not yet registered, it is too late to do so in time for the elections on Thursday.

There are three ways to vote:

In person at your local polling station

You'll be sent a poll card just before an election or referendum telling you when to vote and at which polling station. It will usually be in a public building, such as a school or local hall, near your home.

You can only vote at the polling station allocated to your address. This will be shown on your poll card. You can also enter your postcode on to find out where your polling station is.

You will be able to cast your vote any time between 7am and 10pm

You must bring a form of photo ID with you in order to vote. There are 22 accepted types of ID.

At the polling station, you will need to give your name and address to staff and show them your photo ID.

There will be instructions in the polling booth telling you exactly how to cast your vote.

Postal vote

You can register to vote by post for any reason, including that you simply don't want to go to a polling station on the day.

But the deadline for the postal vote in these elections was 14 April. If you want to apply for future votes, you can do so by clicking .

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By proxy

This is where you apply for someone to vote on your behalf if you cannot go to the polling station in person and do not want to or can't vote by post.

But the deadline for the postal vote in these elections was 23 April. If you want to apply for future votes, you can do so by clicking .

Which elections have been postponed - and why?

Elections for county councils in the following areas have been postponed until May 2026:

• Norfolk
• Suffolk
• Essex
• Thurrock
• Surrey
• East and West Sussex
• Hampshire
• Isle of Wight

Most areas of the UK are now covered by one-tier systems such as unitary authorities, but there are still 21 county councils.

Remaining county councils are being encouraged to merge with other local authorities to become unitary authorities.

So in December last year, county councils could request to postpone their elections set for Thursday if they were trying to reorganise into one-tier systems.

While 16 county councils requested to postpone, only the eight listed above were successful.