Lancashire's local elections in 2026
PA MediaPeople living in seven parts of Lancashire are heading to the polls in May.
Local council elections are taking place in the Blackburn with Darwen district, Burnley, Chorley, Hyndburn, Pendle, Preston and West Lancashire.
All these councils will see a third of their seats up for grabs in what will be the last elections ever to be held at the councils.
Next year will see them all scrapped and replaced with new unitary authorities.
What elections are taking place?
The elections are to vote for seats on the local councils which are responsible for services including care for the elderly and disabled, rubbish collection and recycling, housing, education and road maintenance.
Why do they matter?
None of the councils will exist in a year's time so that had been some of the argument for not holding these elections, while others had argued they should be held.
The government made a U-turn on its plan to postpone 30 council elections last month after legal advice said not holding them could be unlawful.
Labour currently has control of five of the seven councils, and opposition parties will be looking to make gains there, while they will be looking to hold on to the seats they have.
What's the current political make-up of the councils?
Blackburn with Darwen has 51 councillors with Labour currently the controlling group.
- Labour has 29 councillors
- 4 BwD - 12
- Conservative - 9
- Independent - 1.
Burnley has 45 councillors comprising of:
- Labour - 15
- Burnley Independent Party - 10
- Conservative - 8
- Lib Dems - 7
- Green Party - 5
The council is under no overall control as a party would need 23 seats. It operates a minority-led council and the leader is from the Burnley Independent party.
Chorley is under Labour control. It has 42 councillors:
- Labour - 36
- Conservative - 4
- Reform UK - 1
- Independent - 1
Hyndburn is under Labour administration.
The council has 35 councillors:
- Labour - 21
- Conservative - 12
- Green Party - 1
Pendle is currently under no overall control and it is a shared administration between the Independents and Lib Dems, with a Lib Dem leader of the council.
The council has 33 councillors:
- Conservative - 11
- Independent Group - 10
- Liberal Democrat - 9
- Pendle's True Independents Group - 2
- Reform UK - 1
Preston is currently controlled by Labour.
The council has 48 councillors:
- Labour - 26
- Lib Dems - 14
- Conservatives - 5
- Reform - 1
- Independent - 1
- Ashton Independent - 1
Labour is currently in control of West Lancashire. The council has 45 councillors:
- Labour - 21
- Conservative - 14
- Our West Lancashire - 7
- Independent - 2
- Your Party - 1.
How do I register to vote?
The deadline to register to vote in May's council elections is Monday 20 April.
Applications for a postal vote or a postal-proxy vote have to be received by 17:00 BST on the following day.
The deadline to submit your application to vote by proxy is 17:00 on Tuesday 28 April.
How can I cast my ballot?
If you want to vote in person, your local polling station will be open from 07:00 to 22:00.
As long as you are in the queue by 22:00 you will be able to exercise your democratic right.
Will I need to take ID to vote?
Yes. Voters in England need to show photo ID to vote at a polling station.
Passports, driving licences and other official forms of ID are acceptable - you can check here for the full list.
If you do not have an accepted form of photo ID, you can apply for a free Voter Authority Certificate to vote at a polling station before the deadline at 17:00 on 28 April.
Voter Authority Certificates do not have an expiration date.
You do not need photo ID to vote by post.
