Yorkshire local elections 2026: when results will be declared and key councils to watch overnight
Seven Yorkshire authorities go to the polls on Thursday 7 May, with voters choosing who will represent them on their local councils — and when the results drop could offer early clues to the wider picture across England. Kirklees is holding an all-out election, with 69 seats across 23 wards.
Calderdale has 54 seats up across 18 wards, Wakefield will elect 63 councillors across 21 wards, and Bradford has all 90 seats contested across 30 wards. In Leeds, a third of seats are being elected, with 36 seats up across 33 wards. Barnsley is holding an all-out election for all 63 seats across 21 wards.
In Sheffield, one third of the authority is being elected across 28 wards. Polling stations close at 10pm on Thursday across England, Scotland and Wales. Most ballot boxes will be secured overnight, with counting beginning on Friday morning for the bulk of contests.
Out of 136 English local authorities holding elections, 46 are scheduled to count and announce results overnight. Most others will declare later on Friday, while a small number are expected to complete on Saturday. All Scottish Parliament and Senedd results are due later on Friday.
Many of the councils counting through the night are only electing a third or half of their seats. Where a party holds a substantial majority — such as Broxbourne (Conservative) and Halton (Labour), both expected to declare during the night — overall control is unlikely to shift.
But in places with narrow majorities, including Harlow (Conservative) and Redditch (Labour), which are also due to complete overnight, rival gains could push the councils into no overall control. Labour is seeking to protect majorities at Hartlepool and Lincoln, both slated to declare around the same time.
In Hull, an early test for the Liberal Democrats will be whether they can retain their slender majority. Wigan is expected to be the first metropolitan borough to finish counting, with only a third of seats contested; Labour’s majority there is large enough to withstand heavy losses.
Nearby Salford is on a similar timetable and will, along with Wigan, offer early indications of whether Reform and the Greens are making inroads into Labour-held seats in north-west England. Tameside is less secure for Labour: the party’s narrow majority could disappear if Reform advances.
Labour may also face difficulty holding overall control in Exeter and Reading. At about 3.30am, Westminster is expected to be the first London borough to declare — and the first of the night where all seats are being contested. The Conservatives controlled Westminster continuously from the borough’s creation in 1964 until 2022, when Labour took power with a slender majority.
The outcome there will provide an early indication of Labour’s performance in the capital and whether the Conservatives are regaining support in a former stronghold. All declaration times are estimates. Most results will arrive on Friday, with a handful of counts completing on Saturday.