Super Thursday elections – when will we know the results?

Voters across the country are heading to the polls in what has been coined ‘Super Thursday’, with all adults in England, Wales and Scotland eligible to cast at least one vote. Polls close at 10pm.

Due to the pandemic, this year’s results will come in later than usual to allow counters to abide by social distancing rules. Here is a guide to the races and when the results can be expected.

Local elections

Local elections are taking place for 143 councillors to decide who will run local services such as schools, libraries and bin collections.

Nineteen races are expected to be counted overnight with results due early on Friday. These are Colchester, Derby, Dudley, Gateshead, Harlow, Knowsley, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Northumberland, Nuneaton & Bedworth, Oldham, Redditch, Rochdale, Rochford, Southend-on-Sea, South Tyneside, Stevenage, Stockport, Sunderland and Thurrock.

The majority of the councils, 78 in all, are understood to be counting during the day on the Friday, with most results expected in the afternoon and evening. Thirty-four are expected to count on Saturday, with most results in the afternoon and evening while 10 are expected to be declared on Sunday evening.

Scottish Parliament

Voters will cast two ballots under the additional member system which will elect a combined total of 129 regional and constituency MSPs. Votes for the individual candidates in the 73 constituencies will be counted first. Around two thirds of these results are expected by Friday afternoon, and the remaining third by Saturday afternoon.

The 56 regional MSPs – split over eight regions – will then be counted. They are elected using a formula that aims to ensure that the number of seats a party gets in a region reflects its vote share. Results from the eight regional seats are expected later on Saturday night.

Welsh Parliament

Wales will elect 40 constituencies and 20 regional members. Counting is due to take place Friday daytime, with results from constituency seats expected from about 3pm, with the peak results time expected to be around 5pm. Results from the regional seats are expected later on Friday evening.

Hartlepool by-election

Hartlepool voters will elect their new MP in a crucial by-election. Results are expected to be declared at 4am Friday morning at the earliest. 

London Mayor

Londoners will also elect their next mayor using the supplementary vote system. Voters pick a first and a second preference for the job. If a candidate receives more than half of all the first choice votes then they are elected. If not, the two candidates with the most first choice votes go on to a second round, with second preferences from the eliminated candidates then taken into account.

They will also elect 25 London Assembly Members using a system similar to Scotland and Wales. Results are expected to come in late Saturday evening, but could also be delayed until Sunday lunchtime.

English mayors

Regional mayors will be elected for Cambridgeshire & Peterborough, Greater Manchester, the Liverpool City Region, Tees Valley, West Midlands Combined Authority, West of England and – for the first time – West Yorkshire.

Five local mayors will also be elected for the local authorities of Bristol, Doncaster, Liverpool, North Tyneside and Salford. 

Like the London Mayor elections, the supplementary vote system is used. 

The Doncaster and Liverpool local mayor results are expected to come in around Friday lunchtime. All other results are expected to come in around Saturday lunchtime apart from the Bristol and West of England results which are expected in the evening and West Yorkshire which is expected on Sunday.

Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) elections

PCCs will be elected across all areas of England apart from London, Greater Manchester and West Yorkshire, where these powers will be held directly by the Mayor. Thirty-nine commissioners will be elected across England and Wales using the supplementary vote system.  

Four results are expected as early as Friday afternoon; Cleveland, Staffordshire (both 2pm), Avon & Somerset and Bedfordshire (5pm).

On Saturday, 13 counts are due to take place during the day, with results from lunchtime into the evening.

Three of the four Welsh PCC counts are expected to be during the day on Sunday and 15 counts are due during the day on Monday, with results to follow in the afternoon and evening.