Devon voters go to the polls

A third of Plymouth City Council seats are up for grabs

Plymouth residents will go to the polls today to decide a third of the seats on the city council.

There are elections in 19 of the 20 wards and 107 polling stations will be open for people to vote.

The election for the Devon, Cornwall and Isles of Scilly police and crime commissioner will also take place at the same time.

Polling stations are open from 7am to 10pm after which all the ballot boxes will be taken to Plymouth Life Centre where the votes will be counted and results of the Plymouth City Council elections announced in the early hours of Friday morning.

Elections will take place in Budshead, Compton, Devonport, Efford and Lipson, Eggbuckland, Ham, Honicknowle, Moor View, Peverell, Plympton Chaddlewood, Plympton Erle, Plympton St Mary, Plymstock Dunstone, Plymstock Radford, Southway, St Budeaux, St Peter and the Waterfront, Stoke and Sutton and Mount Gould.

Some 192,183 people are eligible to vote in Plymouth, 31,905 of which have registered to vote by post and 233 by proxy.

Voters in all polls will need to take photo ID to the polling stations. This could include a passport; photographic driving licence; a blue badge or a senior bus pass. Young people’s travel passes are not valid. Original documents are required, not copies or scanned images.

Plymouth City Council is currently controlled by the Labour party which has 33 of the 57 seats.

The Conservatives have 15 seats, there are seven Independents and two Green party councillors.

Labour and the Conservatives have candidates in all 19 seats as do the Green Party and the Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition.

The Liberal Democrats have 18 candidates standing in all but the Honicknowle ward and Reform UK have 17 candidates, with no representation in the Stoke and Eggbuckland wards.

Seven are standing as Independents.

Labour will need to win just two of the seats available to retain overall control of the council.

The authority holds elections by thirds, meaning a third of the seats are contested each year for three years followed by a “fallow” year where no election is held.

The police and crime commissioner election is a three horse race between incumbent Alison Hernandez for the Conservative party, Daniel Steel for the Labour party and Steve Lodge for the Liberal Democrats.

Vote counting will begin at the Life Centre at 11am on Friday and the winner will be announced in the afternoon.