Deadline arrives to apply for a postal vote for May elections

People wanting to vote by post in elections taking place across the UK next month have only a few hours left to apply.

Contests are being held on May 5 in each of the four nations, with every council seat in Scotland, Wales, London and many parts of England up for grabs, along with the election of a new Northern Ireland assembly.

It is too late to register to vote, but people in England, Wales and Scotland still have a few hours to apply for a postal vote ahead of the deadline at 5pm on April 19.

The deadline in Northern Ireland has already passed.

Postal votes are available to anyone eligible to vote in the May 5 elections who knows they will not be able to get to a polling station in person.

This might be because they are away on holiday, are busy with work or because it is more convenient for them to vote by post.

An application form to apply for a postal vote can be downloaded from the Electoral Commission website.

Most of the seats up for election on May 5 were last contested in 2018, when the UK was still in the European Union, the prime minister was Theresa May, Labour was led by Jeremy Corbyn and the Liberal Democrat leader was Vince Cable.

The political landscape of the UK has undergone huge changes in the past four years.

Yet many of the issues that can decide local elections remain the same, such as when bins are collected, the state of neighbourhood parks and pavements, and access to libraries and hospitals.

This year’s elections are also likely to be a verdict on the main party leaders and their handling of such national issues as the cost of living and Covid-19.

It will be the first big electoral test for Prime Minister Boris Johnson since the “partygate” scandal.

Voters will head to the polls on May 5 in elections for:

– Every local authority in Scotland, Wales and London
– South Yorkshire’s regional mayor plus the borough councils of Barnsley and Sheffield
– 60 district councils, 31 Metropolitan boroughs and 19 unitary authorities across the rest of England
– County councils in North Yorkshire and Somerset
– All 90 seats in the Northern Ireland assembly
– Local mayors in Croydon, Hackney, Lewisham, Newham, Tower Hamlets and Watford

There is also a referendum in Bristol on whether to keep or abolish the city’s elected mayor.

The deadline to apply for a proxy vote for elections in England, Wales and Scotland – where a person can ask someone they trust to cast a vote on their behalf – is April 26.