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Civic elections

Election calendar

A dated list of UK civic polls that touch Watchtower’s geography: English and Welsh local elections, England’s metro / strategic mayors, the Senedd, police and crime commissioners, and the UK general election. Polling days come from the Commons Library, Electoral Commission, GOV.UK, legislation, or Open Council Data already on council rows — never guessed. Snapshot 14 Sept 2026.

Next dated poll

6 May 2027

English local elections (ordinary Thursday)

UK general election

Not yet set

No polling day announced — latest possible is 15 August 2029 if this Parliament runs full term

Dated events

30

24 upcoming · 19 recent past · 2 unset

Mayoral contests

30

Linked to /mayors where the authority exists in Watchtower

Not yet set

These contests have no announced polling day in the sources used for this snapshot. Watchtower does not invent one.

PCC

Police and Crime Commissioner elections

England and Wales

Not confirmedNo announced polling day

PCC elections have run on a four-year cycle (last ordinary poll 2 May 2024). The Electoral Commission has not published a date-specific 2028 timetable. Commons Library CDP-2026-0042 records a government commitment to scrap Police and Crime Commissioners at the end of current terms in 2028. Watchtower therefore does not invent a 2028 polling day.

Source: House of Commons Library — Police and Crime Commissioner Elections 2024 (CBP-10030). As of 25 Jul 2024.

Also: Electoral Commission — PCC election timetable (non-date-specific; date-specific timetable published ahead of scheduled polls) · House of Commons Library — Short guide to government support for fire and rescue services (CDP-2026-0042)

UK general

UK general election

United Kingdom

Not yet setNo announced polling day

No polling day has been announced. The Prime Minister may request a dissolution at any time. If Parliament is not dissolved earlier, it dissolves automatically on 9 July 2029 (fifth anniversary of first meeting, 9 July 2024). Commons Library CDP-2024-0177: the last possible polling day is then 15 August 2029 (25 working days later). That is a latest-possible date, not a scheduled polling day — Watchtower does not treat it as the next general election date.

Source: House of Commons Library — E-petition debate: Call a general election (CDP-2024-0177). As of 6 Dec 2024.

Also: Dissolution and Calling of Parliament Act 2022, section 4 · House of Commons Library — General Election 2024: results and analysis (CBP-10009)

Upcoming

31 Mar 2027

English localDate flagged

Watchtower England councils — next local poll

England

31 Mar 2027

Open Council Data records 2027-03-31 as the next election for 1 England primary row(s). That is not the statutory first-Thursday-in-May ordinary local-election day, so Watchtower does not treat it as a confirmed ordinary polling day without a matching official notice.

Not an ordinary first-Thursday-in-May date. Shown because it is in the councillor file — not because a polling day was invented.

1 Watchtower council

Source: Open Council Data UK — councillor file next-election dates (2026 vintage). As of 1 May 2026.

6 May 2027

English local

English local elections (ordinary Thursday)

England (not all councils)

6 May 2027

Statutory ordinary day of election is the first Thursday in May (RPA 1983 s.37; Commons Library CBP-10466). That Thursday in 2027 is 6 May. GOV.UK’s England timetable lists 2027 as an election year for many districts, unitaries and metropolitan boroughs (by thirds or all-out, depending on the council). Commons Library CBP-10494: new unitary councils from local-government reorganisation are expected to hold first elections in May 2027 and vest on 1 April 2028 — some existing rows may be replaced. Watchtower does not invent a list of every English contest; the Open Council Data cluster below is the CTYUA / London borough subset in this snapshot.

36 Watchtower councils

Source: Representation of the People Act 1983, section 37 (ordinary day of election). As of 8 Feb 1983.

Also: House of Commons Library — Flexible voting pilots (CBP-10466) · GOV.UK — Local authority, combined authority, and county combined authority election cycles in England · House of Commons Library — Local government reorganisation 2026 (CBP-10494) · Open Council Data UK — councillor file next-election dates (2026 vintage)

Welsh local

Welsh principal-area local elections

Wales (all 22 principal areas)

6 May 2027

Electoral Commission Returning Officer guidance for Wales refers to the next scheduled local polls on 6 May 2027. Open Council Data records that date on all 22 Watchtower Welsh principal-area rows. Last all-out Welsh locals were 2022.

22 Watchtower councils

Source: Electoral Commission — Local elections in Wales (guidance for Returning Officers). As of 14 Sept 2026.

Also: Open Council Data UK — councillor file next-election dates (2026 vintage)

4 May 2028

English local

Watchtower England councils — next local poll

England

4 May 2028

Open Council Data next-election date for 4 Watchtower England primary row(s). The date is the ordinary first Thursday in May. GOV.UK’s England timetable explains which classes of authority elect in that year; shire districts are not Watchtower primary rows and are omitted here.

4 Watchtower councils

Source: Open Council Data UK — councillor file next-election dates (2026 vintage). As of 1 May 2026.

Also: GOV.UK — Local authority, combined authority, and county combined authority election cycles in England · Representation of the People Act 1983, section 37 (ordinary day of election)

2028

21 Mar 2029

English localDate flagged

Watchtower England councils — next local poll

England

21 Mar 2029

Open Council Data records 2029-03-21 as the next election for 1 England primary row(s). That is not the statutory first-Thursday-in-May ordinary local-election day, so Watchtower does not treat it as a confirmed ordinary polling day without a matching official notice.

Not an ordinary first-Thursday-in-May date. Shown because it is in the councillor file — not because a polling day was invented.

1 Watchtower council

Source: Open Council Data UK — councillor file next-election dates (2026 vintage). As of 1 May 2026.

3 May 2029

English local

Watchtower England councils — next local poll

England

3 May 2029

Open Council Data next-election date for 26 Watchtower England primary row(s). The date is the ordinary first Thursday in May. GOV.UK’s England timetable explains which classes of authority elect in that year; shire districts are not Watchtower primary rows and are omitted here.

26 Watchtower councils

Source: Open Council Data UK — councillor file next-election dates (2026 vintage). As of 1 May 2026.

Also: GOV.UK — Local authority, combined authority, and county combined authority election cycles in England · Representation of the People Act 1983, section 37 (ordinary day of election)

2029

2 May 2030

English local

Watchtower England councils — next local poll

England

2 May 2030

Open Council Data next-election date for 84 Watchtower England primary row(s). The date is the ordinary first Thursday in May. GOV.UK’s England timetable explains which classes of authority elect in that year; shire districts are not Watchtower primary rows and are omitted here.

84 Watchtower councils

Source: Open Council Data UK — councillor file next-election dates (2026 vintage). As of 1 May 2026.

Also: GOV.UK — Local authority, combined authority, and county combined authority election cycles in England · Representation of the People Act 1983, section 37 (ordinary day of election)

Senedd

Senedd Cymru / Welsh Parliament election

Wales

2 May 2030

Government of Wales Act 2006 s.3, as amended by the Senedd Cymru (Members and Elections) Act 2024: an ordinary Senedd general election is held on the first Thursday in May in the fourth calendar year after the previous ordinary election, unless moved by order. The previous ordinary poll was 7 May 2026, so that Thursday is 2 May 2030. An extraordinary election or a Welsh Ministers’ order could still change the day.

Source: Government of Wales Act 2006, section 3 (ordinary general elections). As of 8 May 2026.

Also: Senedd Cymru (Members and Elections) Act 2024, section 3 (four-year ordinary cycle) · House of Commons Library — Senedd Cymru / Welsh Parliament elections 2026 (CBP-10838)

Recent past

30 Jul 2026

7 May 2026

English local

English local elections

England (ordinary local-election Thursday)

7 May 2026

Ordinary local-election Thursday (first Thursday in May). Commons Library CBP-10466 treats Thursday 7 May 2026 as polling day for the English local elections that hosted flexible-voting pilots. GOV.UK lists 2026 as a London-borough and metropolitan-thirds year. Not every English council polled.

Source: House of Commons Library — Flexible voting pilots (CBP-10466). As of 29 Jan 2026.

Also: Representation of the People Act 1983, section 37 (ordinary day of election) · GOV.UK — Local authority, combined authority, and county combined authority election cycles in England

1 May 2025

4 Jul 2024

2 May 2024

Coverage and unknowns

This calendar is a snapshot, not a live Electoral Commission feed. Local-government reorganisation can still change who actually polls in 2027.

In this snapshot

  • UK parliamentary general elections (last dated poll; next unset until announced).
  • English local elections on Watchtower CTYUA / London borough rows, plus GOV.UK cycle years.
  • Welsh principal-area local elections (all 22).
  • England metro / strategic mayoral elections from the mayors snapshot, linked to /mayors.
  • Senedd Cymru ordinary general elections (last 7 May 2026; next ordinary Thursday 2 May 2030).
  • Police and Crime Commissioner elections as a last dated poll plus an honest unknown for 2028.

Out of scope

  • Scotland and Northern Ireland councils, Holyrood and Stormont (Watchtower geography is England/Wales councils plus UK Parliament).
  • Shire district contests that are not Watchtower primary rows.
  • Parish / town / community council polls.
  • Unscheduled parliamentary or local by-elections (except the sourced Greater Manchester mayoral by-election already in the mayors snapshot).
  • Local-authority executive mayors and ceremonial civic mayors.

Unknowns (not invented)

  • Next UK general election polling day. Not announced. Latest possible polling day if this Parliament runs full term: 15 August 2029 (Commons Library CDP-2024-0177). That is not treated as the scheduled date.
  • Most 2028 and 2029 combined-authority mayoral polling days. GOV.UK factsheets and the England timetable give the year (2028 or 2029) but not the Thursday. Only London (4 May 2028, GLRO paper) and the Cheshire and Warrington / Cumbria first elections (6 May 2027, SI) have a sourced day in the mayors snapshot.
  • Next PCC polling day. Electoral Commission has not published a date-specific 2028 timetable. Government has committed to ending the PCC office at the end of current terms in 2028. No 2028 polling day is listed.
  • English local-government reorganisation. Commons Library CBP-10494: new unitaries are expected to hold first elections in May 2027. Some existing county/district rows may not be the bodies that actually poll. Open Council Data dates on current CTYUA rows can therefore change.
  • Devolution Priority Programme inaugural mayors. Greater Essex, Hampshire and the Solent, Norfolk and Suffolk, and Sussex and Brighton inaugural mayoral contests were postponed to May 2028. They are not sitting mayoral authorities in Watchtower, and no mayor names or exact polling days are invented.
  • Devon and Torbay: next mayoral election unavailable. No scheduled first mayoral election is recorded in the sources used for this snapshot.
  • Lancashire: next mayoral election unavailable. No first mayoral election date is recorded in the sources used for this snapshot.
  • Herefordshire, County of: no next local-election date. Open Council Data councillor file has no Next Election value for this Watchtower row. The date is left unavailable rather than guessed.

Methodology: Sources — election calendar.

Source: Curated Watchtower elections snapshot. As of 14 Sept 2026.