Published: 04:20 pm, 23 April 2026
Laura Kuenssberg and Sophie Raworth, along with BBC political editor Chris Mason, will be joined by a host of well-known BBC broadcasters for the network news results coverage of the most significant set of elections since the 2024 general election.
With the new era of multi-party politics upon us, ‘Mega May’ – the three sets of elections in Wales, Scotland and England on Thursday 7 May – could see a redrawing of Britain’s political map.
BBC News is uniquely placed to bring audiences news from every piece of the political jigsaw, with reporters across Britain, and dedicated coverage for Wales and Scotland.
Results Coverage
On Thursday night, Laura Kuenssberg will be joined in the BBC’s London studio by Reeta Chakrabarti, who’ll be crunching the numbers as the polls close and results come in.
It wouldn’t be an election programme without renowned psephologist and audience favourite Sir John Curtice, who’ll be analysing all the key results and telling us how the new political landscape is shaping up.
On radio, Radio 4 and 5 Live will join forces for an overnight results programme presented by Nick Robinson and Rachel Burden.
On Friday morning, Sophie Raworth will lead our coverage with Vicki Young at her side, picking up after a special election edition of Breakfast live from Salford on BBC One.
Clive Myrie will be in Cardiff to cover the Senedd elections as Wales counts its votes. Labour has been in power since the start of devolution, and a new voting system adds to the unpredictability of the results.
From Edinburgh, Kirsty Wark will front network coverage of the Scottish Parliament elections, where the SNP has been in power for nearly 20 years.
In the evening, Laura Kuenssberg will rejoin Sophie for an elections special at 7pm, ahead of a Question Time special, and an extended Newsnight election special hosted by Matt Chorley on 8 May.
Correspondents and regional political editors will be at the key counts for the English council elections.
John McAndrew, Director, Live and Daily News, says: “Millions of people across the UK are eligible to vote in these elections; they matter. We will make sure that we concentrate on the important issues throughout the campaign, and engage, explain and analyse. And across Thursday night and Friday we will deliver full and comprehensive results, analysis and reaction. It promises to be one of the most exciting and dramatic days in the political year.”
In the run-up to election day…
BBC News will be giving audiences the information they need to make their choice in the polling booth.
As well as comprehensive coverage on the BBC News website, audiences can also access interactive manifesto guides, and find out about candidates and results in their area using a postcode search tool. There will be explainers on parties’ plans, and ‘what this means for you’ content across our digital output.
We’ll ask audiences what matters most to them – with Your Voice correspondent Colletta Smith reporting on the issues identified.
For each of the elections, BBC Verify will be closely fact-checking and scrutinising the claims and statements made by the political parties in their campaigns and debates, and in the manifesto pledges made by the Welsh and Scottish political parties.
Newscast is publishing weekly Electioncast podcasts in the build-up and special episodes when the results are in.
Fiona Bruce will host Question Time election specials for each set of elections and the results. These will be shown live on BBC One – a Scottish election special from Aberdeen (23 April); and an English local elections special, from Maidenhead (30 April). These follow the Senedd special from Cardiff.
As the election debate intensifies, Victoria Derbyshire will take Newsnight out across the UK, putting voters’ voices at the heart of the flagship programme. Newsnight will broadcast from BBC studios in Cardiff and Glasgow.
On 28 April, the BBC News Channel will broadcast the Senedd Election Leaders’ Debate from BBC Wales. This follows BBC Scotland’s Leaders’ Debate on 12 April which was shown live on the BBC News Channel.
The key campaign events from each of the elections will be streamed on iPlayer and on the Live and Latest News pages on the homepage, in addition to YouTube formats.
Read more about planned election coverage in Wales, Scotland and across BBC Local channels below:
Read more about our approach in this blog by Jonathan Munro, Interim CEO, BBC News, and Rhuanedd Richards, Interim Director, Nations: How the BBC is covering May’s elections
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