More than 20 million people are eligible to vote in Thursday’s local elections in England – and their verdict could shape the nation’s political landscape for many years to come.
Labour is on course for a wave of devastating losses that will pile fresh pressure on the embattled Prime Minister, and could even trigger attempts to oust Sir Keir Starmer from office.
But Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch is also braced for a dismal day at the polls as the two-party system continues to fracture.
According to the Tory peer and pollster Lord Robert Hayward, Labour will lose around 1,850 of the 2,500 council seats it is defending across the country, while the Conservatives will shed about 600 of the 1,300 they possess.
Nigel Farage’s Reform UK is expected to gain 1,550 seats, while the resurgent Green Party of England and Wales, led by Zack Polanski, is predicted to pick up around 500.
The Liberal Democrats – whose leader, Sir Ed Davey, insisted last month that the party would “keep on winning” – are expected to gain around 150 seats.
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George Michael in 1985 during the Wham! years (Photo: Michael Putland/Getty)
music
Careless Whisper voted nation’s favourite
George Michael’s beloved 1984 hit has been ranked the number one track for the eighth year running.
His 1986 hit A Different Corner came in at number two.
I’m never gonna dance again
Careless Whisper came top of Smooth Radio’s All Time Top 500 list.
Michael’s first breakaway single from Wham!, he penned the lyrics when he was just 17-years-old.
Smooth Radio presenter Kate Garraway said: “It’s a fitting tribute to one of the greatest artists of all time.”
George Michael: Outed wil be broadcast on Channel 4 (Photo: Jim Steinfeldt/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty)
MUSIC
7 min read
Top of the pops
1Careless Whisper – George Michael
2A Different Corner – George Michael
3Bohemian Rhapsody – Queen
4Man In The Mirror – Michael Jackson
5Bridge Over Troubled Water – Simon and Garfunkel
19-year-old suspect appears in court over alleged bomb hoax
The Birmingham man was
accused of false communications which led a Peter Kay arena
show to be evacuated.
Caption: Handout photo taken with permission from the X social media site of Steve Aspinall of the Utilita Arena in Birmingham which was evacuated on Friday evening. The Peter Kay gig has been evacuated after a “potential suspicious bag” was found, police say.. Issue date: Friday May 1, 2026. PA Photo. Photo credit should read: Steve Aspinall/PA Wire
NOTE TO EDITORS: This handout photo may only be used in for editorial reporting purposes for the contemporaneous illustration of events, things or the people in the image or facts mentioned in the caption. Reuse of the picture may require further permission from the copyright holder.
Photographer: Steve Aspinall
Provider: Steve Aspinall/PA Wire
Source: PA
Everything you need to know
Omar Majed, 19, appeared at Birmingham Magistrates’ Court today.
He had been arrested over an alleged bomb hoax at the Utilita Arena.
He did not give a plea to his only charge of communicating false information to police.
The case was sent to crown court, where Majed will appear on 1 June.
NEWS
2 min read
Go deeper on this topic
Comedian Peter Kay was ushered off stage mid-performance at the arena on Friday after a “suspicious bag” was reported. The show was cancelled and police later said “nothing suspicious was found” during searches.
The show was part of Kay’s ‘Better Late Than Never’ national tour, which will see all proceeds donated to 12 cancer charities.
Majed was disruptive throughout the hearing, eventually taken down to the cells after he shouted that proposed bail conditions were “not acceptable”.
Peter Kay on stage at The Brit Awards in 2010 (Photo: Getty Images)
Ditch Strictly and
slash licence fee – radical plan for BBC cuts
The plans would see the BBC forced to ditch popular shows
like The Traitors and Strictly Come Dancing.
Claudia Winkleman and Tess Daly’s farewell on the BBC1’s Strictly Come Dancing Christmas Special gave the BBC a festive viewing boost (BBC Studios)
What you need to know
GB News has submitted a plan for overhauling the national broadcaster.
The proposal would force the BBC to limit itself to areas commercial competitors are struggling to fund such as educational programming.
The £180-a-year TV licence would be drastically cut and only paid by households which use the BBC.
Criminal sanctions for non-payment would be abolished.
Analysis
4 min read
Why is this significant?
This comes as the Government consults on a new BBC Charter, which will set out the funding and governance of the corporation for the next decade.
Some of the proposals are markedly similar to those advocated by its star presenter, Nigel Farage. Any similarities between the GB News plan and Reform’s policies are entirely coincidental, the channel said.
Analysis
4 min read
A ‘blueprint’ for Reform
It’s a 30-page blueprint for a reduced BBC. Reform could use it as an off-the-shelf prescription if it won power. But the Tories could too if they were really being radical.”
an anonymous gb news insider
GB News is launching a national talk radio station (Photo: GB News)
Can you learn to love pigeons? A much-unloved animal in the UK
Features writer Kasia Delgado went on a safari to see if she
could look past their rat-like nature
The tour guide
People think pigeons are stupid but lots of studies have shown them to have amazing memories, that they can identify people by their facial features, and they have an extraordinary sense of direction.
Florence Wilkinson, author of Wild City: Encounters with Urban Wildlife, took Kasia on a tour.
Positives of pigeons
War heroes
During the Second World War, carrier pigeons were routinely used to send messages, and they saved thousands of lives.
Homing ability
Scientists have put them in blacked-out vans and put miniature goggles on them to blur their vision and still the pigeons manage to return home.
The Dove family
We think of them as all grey, but they vary in shades, and some of them are quite amazingly coloured, says Florence.
Kasia’s feeding test
As I gingerly chuck some seed, wincing slightly, 15 or so flap their wings at me. I wouldn’t say I feel content or relaxed but I don’t hate it as much as I thought I would.
I can see they’re not going to do me harm and after all, they’re just enjoying some free food.
A common myth?
Disease carriers
Research has found that between 1941 and 2004, there were only 207 reports worldwide of pathogens transmitted from pigeons to humans.
Not all walks are
created equal
Read on to find out how to supercharge yours into an unbeatable health-builder
How to supercharge your walk
Get a bit breathless
All walking paces are linked with a lower risk of cardiovascular disease but there are additional gains made by those who walk at a moderate-to-vigorous intensity.
Walk uphill
Try to find varying inclines to increase energy and muscle burn.
Add weights
The extra resistance challenges your heart to work harder, increasing cardiovascular fitness.
How to supercharge your walk
Uneven ground
Mountainous and uneven terrain work your stabilising muscles harder, increasing the difficulty and output from your walk.
Go Nordic
Using poles engages the arms as well as the legs and core, turning walking into a full-body workout.
A walk is beneficial at any time of day, but after eating could be best. Research has found that 10- to 30-minute walks taken 10 to 30 minutes after a meal can reduce the peak blood-sugar measurements reached.
Slower and lower blood sugar throughout the day reduces the risk of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
How to supercharge your walk
Go green
Walking in nature has more psychological benefits than concrete. It’s shown to significantly reduce anxiety and depression.
Improve your posture
Staying tall through the spine, open your chest and keep your eyes forward (not leaning over on your phone..).
Meet outside
Walking is a good time to have conversations, whether with your boss or a friend.
Mistakes to avoid
1Focusing on step count – most research suggests that benefits plateau at 7,000 steps a day.
2Using ankle weights – they can tug at the hip flexors and the knees.
3 Doing one-and-done – just hiking for three hours on the weekend, and nothing throughout the week, means you’re missing out on benefits.
4Thinking it’s not a workout – walking packs in cardio and brain-boosting effects without the recovery time of intense exercise.
Eight million people in the UK are living with heart or circulatory disease
And while chest pain is a well-known symptom, there are more subtle signs you should be aware of too.
Overlooked signs of heart disease
Dizziness and fainting
An abnormal heart rhythm can cause a dizzy feeling. While much dizziness is not serious, it can be associated with life-threatening complications.
Increased breathlessness
This breathlessness could be due to blockages and reduced blood flow in the arteries.
Swollen ankles
Unusual swelling can indicate a problem with the body’s circulatory system and kidneys.
Worsening fatigue
Ongoing and worsening fatigue can indicate an underlying health issue, and it could be a sign that your heart isn’t working as effectively as it should be. If persistent fatigue is impacting you day-to-day, the best thing to do is speak with your doctor.
Ruth Goss, senior cardiac nurse at the British Heart Foundation
Overlooked signs of heart disease
Indigestion-type symptoms
Discomfort in the stomach, chest and ribs, or a burning sensation in the chest area, could all be symptoms of heart disease.
Erectile dysfunction
If it’s an ongoing issue, there could be an underlying health problem, including atherosclerosis (narrowing of the arteries), diabetes or high blood pressure.
Emotional detachment is a key life skill
Read on to find out how to embrace it, from GP Dr Radha
Healthy detachment
[Detachment] is not selfish – we can still care and empathise. We don’t avoid, we just balance and respond rather than react because we are not too invested in the outcome. This is very different from emotional numbing, which often happens after trauma.
dr Radha Modgil
When we need detachment
Toxic friendships
When you feel that an interaction brings out the worst in you, or that you are having to watch everything you say or do.
Dysfunctional families
Healthy detachment is helpful when we become overly invested in trying to control or fix someone.
Work issues
It’s helpful in situations you are not in control of and helps you leave work behind at 5pm.
How to start it
Examine your beliefs
You may have been conditioned to think that it is your responsibility to fix everything. Is this a fact or based on old patterns?
Look at the impact
Consider what negative impact your “fixing” has; it can keep situations stuck, or infantilise others from growing up.
Which problems are in your control?
Understanding what problems are ours to hold and which aren’t can help avoid emotional burnout.
How to maintain it
Firm boundaries
This means understanding your sense of self, what is yours and what is not and sticking to it.
Self-care
Recognise and look after your own energy levels, mental health and your need to live your own life.
Be objective
Try to have a factual, calm, rational attitude in moments of conflict. This includes trying to release the need to control.
I spent a week in the world’s happiest country
Here are the five ways I
brought Finnish culture back to the UK.
Sauna, sauna, sauna
A regular Finnish sauna boasts a wealth of health benefits: improved cardiovascular health, reduced blood pressure, lower risk of heart disease, stroke and dementia.
In Finnish culture, the sauna is available for everyone: it’s the great equaliser and forms a gently ritualistic part of the day.
Immerse yourself in nature
It is enshrined in Finnish law that anyone living in or visiting Finland has the freedom to roam the countryside, forage, fish, ski, or camp temporarily.
70 per cent of Finland is forest and they have an estimated 180,000 lakes, of which Lake Saimaa (the one I visited) is the largest.
It plays into the Finns’ love of solitude: having space to think. I have found myself not only treasuring the greenery I can find in London.
Eastl local and drink coffee
Finnish diet
Diets are rich in oily fish and local produce: whole grains, Arctic berries, dairy, wild mushrooms, and game like reindeer.
Coffee
The Finns are the number one coffee drinkers in the world. This is both a social ritual and a historic legacy.
I’m cherishing my coffee breaks that bit more, as well as enjoying smoked fish and pickles for lunch
Have fun
Play is embedded from early childhood, as it is seen as a fundamental pillar of development. For every 45-minute lesson, children enjoy unstructured play for 15 mins.
While adults don’t get the same level of structured play, hobbies and a clear demarcation between work and life ensure adults retain a sense of leisure. Every year in July, businesses slow down.
Do not take the good for granted
Finns actively remember not only their suffering through the war, but the fact that the peace they enjoy requires constant maintenance.
Greenwich Park (Photo: AP Photo/Joanna Chan)
Since my visit, I am actively appreciating things like London’s public transport system, or the number of parks my dog can run in. We are fools if we take it for granted.
Voters in Wales and Scotland will also go to the polls to choose new devolved parliaments. The Scottish National Party is expected to come out on top north of the border, with Reform emerging as the main opposition at Holyrood and pushing Labour into a distant third.
In Wales, Plaid Cymru is likely to be the biggest party in the new-look 96 member Senedd, with Reform coming in second ahead of the previously dominant Labour Party.
Tim Bale, professor of politics at Queen Mary University of London, said the elections “look like being an absolute bloodbath for Labour and Keir Starmer, an incredibly unpopular Prime Minister leading an incredibly unpopular Government that, fairly or unfairly, voters are blaming for pretty much everything that’s going on right now”.
In normal times, Starmer “would probably face a challenge in the wake of the huge losses of councils and councillors it’s set to face”, Bale said.
But the Middle East crisis may offer a stay of execution, with the Prime Minister emphasising the need for stability at a time of such geopolitical uncertainty.
London falling?
Labour is under pressure across the country, but its collapse could be most spectacular in the capital, where it currently holds nearly two thirds of council seats.
The party is expected to lose control of a number of London councils as younger progressive voters switch to the Greens in large numbers. Boroughs that could flip from red to green include Hackney, where the Labour currently holds 43 of 57 seats, and Lambeth, where it has 54 of 63.
Green Party posters on display in Hackney, where the party could take control of the local council from Labour (Photo: Carl Court/Getty)
A YouGov MRP poll last month suggested that Greens could take Lewisham, where Labour currently holds all but two of 54 seats. Polanski’s party is also expected to make big inroads in Southwark, Islington and Camden – Starmer’s home council – while Labour also faces pressure in inner London from pro-Gaza independents.
The Conservatives could compound Labour’s misery in the capital on an otherwise gloomy night for Badenoch’s troops. The Tories are expected to take back Barnet, where Labour currently have a 21-seat majority.
They also need a gain of just three seats to wrest back control of Westminster, which Labour won to much fanfare in 2022. The Conservatives are targeting Wandsworth, the party’s erstwhile flaship London council, which also fell to Labour four years ago, although a victory here is considered less probable.
Binned off
Outside of London, Labour also looks to be in deep trouble in Birmingham, where it holds a narrow majority.
The city council – the largest local authority in Europe, serving more than a million residents – has endured a torrid few years.
It declared itself effectively bankrupt in September 2023 and imposed swingeing budget cuts, as well as a 17.5 per cent council tax rise over two years. Bin collectors have been on strike over proposed pay cuts since March 2025, with rubbish piling up frequently in the street.
Despite currently holding 65 of 101 seats, polling suggests that Labour’s support is set to collapse, leaving it with as few as nine councillors and the authority under no overall control. The Greens, pro-Gaza independent candidates and Reform are all expected to make big advances.
Labour also faces a battering in Bradford, which it controls with 46 of 90 seats. The Greens are pouring heavy resources into the West Yorkshire city with the hope of emerging as the biggest party.
Here comes Nigel
Reform looks certain to be the biggest overall winner in England, as it was in last year’s elections.
This reflects the party’s high poll numbers, but also the fact that it is starting virtually from scratch (in 2022, Reform picked up a mere 93 votes in Billesley, Birmingham, the only ward it contested in the city).
Farage will be anxious for a second year of large gains to demonstrate he is a credible contender for Downing Street in 2029.
Hayward, the polling expert, said: “The key question for Reform is whether they will perform to last year’s level or will they fall back somewhat.”
There are signs that former Labour voters are defecting in large numbers to Farage’s party in previous fiefdoms such as Sunderland, which has been run by the party for 52 years and where it still holds two thirds of the 75 council seats.
Reform swept to power last year in neighbouring County Durham and is aiming to gain a majority this week in Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson’s home city.
Barnsley, where Labour is defending 46 of its 63 seats, and Wakefield, where it holds 48 of 63, are typical of the councils where Reform is seeking to entrench its support across the former “Red Wall”.
Labour is also going backwards in Blackburn, where its overall majority of three is highly vulnerable to advances by pro-Gaza independents and Reform.
Polls suggest a “Black Country surge” could also propel Reform into power in Walsall, where the Tories hold 29 of 60 seats.
They could also make big advances in Sandwell, a historically rock-solid Labour territory, as well as in Dudley, where there is a minority Conservative administration.
Essex County Council, which covers Farage’s parliamentary seat of Clacton, has been run by the Conservatives for 29 years. But polling suggests that Reform could sweep to power, as well as winning Thurrock unitary authority and making gains in other local councils across the county.
It is also expected to emerge as the biggest party in Suffolk, where the Tories have an overall majority of 13, and in Norfolk, where polls suggest Reform could win more than 50 of the 84 seats because collapsing Conservative support.
Reform’s hopes in London are highest in Havering, a right-leaning area which is currently run by a residents’ association. One of the borough’s MPs, Andrew Rosindell, defected to Reform from the Conservatives in January.
The party will also hope for strong showing in the outer London boroughs of Bromley, Bexley and Hillingdon, which are all under Conservative control.
Lib Dems
The Liberal Democrats are on course for further gains following a decade of advances in local government.
They are aiming to capitalise on slumping Tory popularity in the Home Counties to become the biggest party in West Sussex and East Sussex, although Reform could make strong gains in both councils.
Davey’s party will hope to become the biggest party in Newcastle-upon-Tyne as Labour continues to lose its grip on the city. The Greens are also expected to pick up seats on the council, which is currently fragmented with a number of independent groupings.
The Lib Dems need just two gains to take overall control in Stockport, its strongest area of support in Greater Manchester. The party will also want to bolster its majority of one in Kingston-upon-Hull – but its ambitions could be stymied by Reform’s appeal in pro-Brexit East Yorkshire.
Where’s are England’s elections?
32 London boroughs
Six county councils
18 unitary authorities, including the newly-created East Surrey and West Surrey
32 metropolitan districts
48 district councils
Five London boroughs and Watford will elect local authority mayors
What about outside of England?
Scottish Parliament – 129 seats (73 in constituencies, 56 from regional lists)
Welsh Senedd – 96 seats (Six from each of 16 constituencies)