When are Devon's elections happening, and why?

Dozens of people will be putting their names forward even if their time in the spotlight doesn’t last long

Only one of Devon’s councils is holding elections this year, and it's one that will almost certainly cease to exist soon.

But dozens of people will still be putting their names forward for places on Devon County Council, even if their time in the spotlight doesn’t last very long.

The county is in the midst of the biggest local government reorganisation for decades, and many people wonder if there is any point holding expensive elections for a council that won't be around in its current form in the next couple of years.

The government is streamlining local government, which means ending the current structure in which seven district councils - and Exeter City Council - sit under one county council.

In its place will come a smaller number of larger ‘unitary’ councils such as those currently in place in Plymouth and Torbay. To add an extra level of complication, both Plymouth and Torbay in their current forms are too small to meet the government’s desired population sizes for new unitaries, and so will have to move some way towards joining their neighbours.

Nobody yet knows what the future structure of the county will look like, and one local council leader revealed this week that no fewer than 17 different suggestions were put forward by Devon authorities during the consultation process.

Conservative-led Devon County Council had asked to postpone May's elections while it dealt with the shake-up, a move turned down by the government and described as ‘shameless’ by political opponents. The government said Devon didn't meet the criteria to delay the polls.

Sixty seats are available on the council council, all of which will be up for grabs on May Day.

Conservatives hold 38 of the seats at present. There are nine Liberal Democrats, six Labour councillors, three Independents, two Greens and two non-aligned members.

The Notice of Election, which marks the official start of the campaign, will be issued on Tuesday, and nominations for candidates must be submitted by 4pm on Wednesday 2 April.

The official statement listing all the candidates will be published the following day.

The last date for voters to register is Friday 11 April, while postal vote applications must be in by 5pm on 14 April. Proxy vote applications must be made by 5pm the following Monday.

At the last county council elections four years ago, the turnout was 41 per cent. Around 256,000 people voted, out of an electorate of 630,000. The highest turnout was 49 per cent in South Brent and Yealmpton and the lowest was 30 per cent in Newton Abbot North.