Test for May as England votes in local elections

World
Europe

‍Millions of people in towns and cities across England were voting Thursday in what is seen as a litmus test for Prime Minister Theresa May since she lost her parliamentary majority last year.

May's Conservative party is braced for defeats in London, where all 32 local councils are up for grabs and which is a traditional stronghold of the main opposition Labour Party.

A polling station to vote in local elections in London, May 3, 2018. /VCG Photo

But elections are taking place across England, including in cities such as Manchester, Leeds and Newcastle, with a total of more than 4,300 seats being contested.

The elections in 150 council areas could see the political governance in a number of key areas, including several London boroughs, change hands.

May and her husband Philip were among the early voters to cast their votes at a Westminster polling station in London.

Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May and her husband Philip arrive to vote in local government elections in London, May 3, 2018. /VCG Photo

Political commentators are predicting that the Labour Party, under its leader Jeremy Corbyn, will gain seats from the Conservatives in London boroughs.

The Daily Telegraph said these could include the flagship City of Westminster council.

Labour is already in control of 21 London boroughs, with some pollsters predicting the Conservatives could lose as many as 100 seats across the British capital.

In a number of towns where pilot schemes are taking place for the first time, voters are only being allowed to vote if they produce photo ID cards, such as driving licenses or passports.

Opposition Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn arrives at a polling station to vote in local elections in London, May 3, 2018. /VCG Photo

The trial, introduced by the government, could pave the way for voter IDs being extended across the country for future elections, but the scheme has been heavily criticized.

Elections expert Stuart Wilks-Heeg, a visiting research fellow at the University of Manchester, described the trial as "a solution in search of a problem."

In British elections, voters are traditionally not asked to produce any form of identification, with very few instances of election fraud.

EU citizens are able to vote, unlike in general elections, and some campaigners have been pressing Brexit as an issue.

However, questions of local tax rates, bin collection and the state of the roads also dominate many campaigns, making analysts wary of drawing too many national lessons from the results.

Liberal Democrats campaign literature is pictured prior to being distributed to local residents ahead of local elections, in Prestwich, Greater Manchester, northern England, May 3, 2018. /VCG Photo

Polls opened at 7:00 a.m. (0600 GMT) and close at 10:00 p.m. and although some results will come in overnight, the full picture will not be clear until Friday.

Source(s): AFP ,Xinhua News Agency