Millions of voters are heading to the polls to decide who they want to run their councils as local elections take place across the UK today. More than 4,000 councillors across 146 councils in England are standing for election, and the results will be trickling in from the early hours of Friday morning.
While the main parties will be fairly confident about which authorities they can keep hold of - councils in some areas will be hotly contested, and all eyes will be on those key battlegrounds as the votes are counted.
Local elections decide who will be responsible for local public services such as bin collections, education and housing and planning. But they can also be a good indication of how much support the main local parties have nationwide.
