Local elections 2026 live: Polls open for millions of voters in England, Scotland and Wales

Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey is calling on voters to opt for “hard-working local champions” and to put a stop to Reform UK.

He added: “We have less than 24 hours to stop Reform and defend the country we love from Nigel Farage’s Trump-style politics.

“We’ve now seen what Reform looks like in power – banning journalists, scrapping renewables, closing care homes and raising council tax despite their promises. Our communities can’t afford that chaos.

“Across the country, from Hampshire to Hull, the battle is now between the Liberal Democrats and Reform. We are the ones taking the fight to them and standing up for decency, tolerance and the rule of law.

MPs are reportedly moving to oust the Prime Minister in the wake of the results.

Backbenchers from the 2024 intake are plotting to write a missive blaming the Prime Minister for expected losses at the polls and asking him to set a date for his departure, according to the Times newspaper.

The move would echo the drafting of a round-robin letter by normally loyal Labour MPs calling for Sir Tony Blair to step down in September 2006.

Today’s elections are set to be crucial for Sir Keir Starmer’s premiership, with devastating results predicted for the Labour Party.

Some 1,850 Labour seats are expected to be lost in councils across England, according to polling guru Lord Robert Hayward.

Labour’s prospects look equally painful in Wales where the governing party is set to lose the national vote for the first time in more than a century.

The Prime Minister has acknowledged the elections will be “a challenge” but in a final plea to voters he urged them to “choose unity over division”.

Almost 25,000 candidates are fighting to be elected to more than 5,000 seats on 136 councils across England.

In Scotland, all 129 seats are up for election at Holyrood while voters in Wales will choose 96 members of the Senedd.

Polls have now opened for millions of voters across England, Scotland and wales.

Labour are forecast a historic defeat in the Welsh Senedd elections, having been the largest party for more than a century and holding the Parliament for 27 years.

Opinion polls in Wales have consistently forecast Plaid Cymru and Reform to become the biggest parties in the Senedd.