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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
National
Megan Howe

Paws at the polls: London's dogs join owners at polling stations on election day

London

It’s local election day, which can mean only one thing: the nation’s dogs are out in force for their annual photoshoot outside polling stations.

Polls opened at 7am this morning, and Londoners — accompanied by their furry friends— have already been heading out to cast their votes.

Polling stations will remain open until 10pm tonight, and anyone in the queue before then will still be able to vote.

This year, local elections are taking place across all 32 London boroughs, with 1,817 councillors up for election.

Voters in Croydon, Hackney, Lewisham, Newham and Tower Hamlets will also be choosing their directly elected mayor.

Anyone voting in person will need to bring photo ID, although it can be out of date provided the photograph still looks like you.

From Labradors and terriers to greyhounds and German Shepherds, the capital’s canine voters have been turning up in all shapes and sizes.

Here’s a selection of today’s most photogenic political pooches making their way to the polls.

Hari with his owner at the polling station in Bexley today (Supplied)
Willow with her owner out in Kingston today (Supplied)
A dog named Obi-Wan Kenobi outside the St James Church polling station in Edinburgh (PA)
Eleven dogs were spotted outside a polling station in Dulwich Village on Thursday (Anna Skipwith/PA Wire)
Two happy pooches at the polls (@chris_caulfield/@nataitken)
Heston and Reggie outside the polling stations on election day (Helen Montague/Mike Birtwistle/PA)

If you have a photograph of your dog posing outside your local polling station, email megan.howe@standarddigital.co.uk

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