Local Elections 2022: What to watch out for in the Anglia region

Voters in many parts of the Anglia region and across the UK are taking part in the biggest test of political opinion of the year in local elections.

In the East of England it is a decision over who runs your local council but the results will be also reflection of national issues and will be closely watched at Westminster.

ITV News Anglia Political Correspondent Emma Hutchinson has been looking at what to watch out for in the region.

Across the Anglia region 423 council seats are up for grabs, voters going to the polls to elect local councillors to deal with local issues like housing, highways and rubbish collections but these results will be watched very closely in Westminster, 

Voting is taking place until 10pm on Thursday evening. The results will start coming in from the early hours of the following morning with some councils not counting until during the day on Friday. 

Local elections happen every year in the UK in some form but not every area votes every year, and in most places only one-third of the council seats are up for election.

In 2021 there were many more elections that usual because they were postponed in 2020 because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Where to watch out for in the Anglia region 

Last year was a mixed year for all the political parties in the Anglia region with the Conservatives making gains and seizing control of councils in Basildon, Harlow and Welwyn Hatfield. They will hope to maintain their overall majorities.

Labour and the Liberal Democrats also had successes in parts of the region in 2021 with Labour winning the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough mayoral contest and the Lib Dems winning in St Albans.

The Conservatives also lost their overall majority on Cambridgeshire County Council and the Greens became the biggest opposition party on Suffolk County Council.

Peterborough 

The council is currently in no overall control, where no one party has enough seats to outvote all the other parties. The Conservatives run a minority administration and would need two net gains for an overall majority.  

Labour have not had a majority in the city since 1997 but need to show they can make gains in cities like Peterborough, which would be key to being elected to government nationally. 

Harlow 

The council is currently controlled by the Conservatives who won it from Labour last year. But Conservatives could lose control if they make just four net losses. 

Colchester

Colchester is currently run by the Conservatives with the help of Independents because the Tories do not have an overall majority. They need a further three gains to take control but if opposition parties like Labour, the Liberal Democrats and Greens make gains they could work together to form an administration.

South Cambridgeshire 

South Cambridgeshire is one of the few councils where all the seats are out. Last time these were contested back in 2018 the Liberal Democrats did very well, taking control of the council from the Conservatives - and they will be looking to replicate that result this time round.

Huntingdonshire

Huntingdonshire is another council which elects all its councillors every four years. It is the only council in the Anglia region which has seen uninterrupted Conservative control since 1976.

The Tories currently have an overall majority of seven seats but it is an area which will be closely watched for signs of any seismic shift in national political fortunes.

Interactive map showing the areas which are holding elections in the ITV Anglia region

These elections are about electing local councillors to deliver local services but of course the results will be watched very closely at Westminster. 

The prime minister remains under pressure on partygate after receiving a fine last month for breaking lockdown laws at Downing Street.  

A handful of Conservative MPs have already called for a vote of no confidence in Boris Johnson. In the East of England, Waveney MP Peter Aldous has publicly said it is time for a new prime minister.  

And there are other Tory MPs in this region who have privately voiced their concerns about Johnson's premiership and may go public if the local elections produce poor results for the Conservatives. 

But every politician who has been out on the campaign trail in our region says the number one issue for voters is the cost of living crisis.  

Opposition parties say the government should do more to help people. Labour and Liberal Democrats are calling for a windfall tax on the big oil and gas companies. The prime minister has admitted more could be done to help but says a windfall tax would curb investment in energy markets. 

So the results will be a big test for the prime minister, whose position still remains perilous, but also a big test for the opposition parties, which need to show they can make significant gains at a time when the government is under fire. 

All political parties are - as always - engaged in expectation management, playing down how they hope to do.  

Polling stations are open until 10pm on Thursday 5 May 2022 and the results in the Anglia will be known by Friday afternoon

Counting of votes will take place overnight on Thursday into the early hours of Friday in Basildon, Brentwood, Colchester, Epping Forest, Harlow, Ipswich, Peterborough, Rochford, Southend, Stevenage and Thurrock.

The votes will be counted during the day on Friday with the results expected during the afternoon in Cambridge, Castle Point, Huntingdonshire, Milton Keynes, North Hertfordshire, Norwich, South Cambridgeshire, St Albans and Welwyn Hatfield.