Thousands of voters across Greater Manchester will be heading out to the polling stations today as the 2026 local elections get underway.

Local elections are taking place across all 10 boroughs of Greater Manchester, as well as all 32 London boroughs and 32 metropolitan boroughs such as Birmingham, Leeds, Manchester, and Sheffield.

Polls are open from 7am until 10pm today (Thursday, May 7). People planning to vote in the local elections today must bring a form of ID with them.

Click here to get the biggest stories straight to your inbox in our Daily Newsletter

Some of the counts are taking place overnight, with results expected in the early hours of Friday morning, then others are taking place during the day on Friday.

Counting of the votes for the Scottish and Welsh parliaments will not start until Friday morning, but 46 of the 136 English local authorities are doing so overnight, with the first results expected soon after midnight.

Four councils are not counting until Saturday, three because they also have mayoral elections, and the final result is likely to be late on Saturday night.

Here’s what time results can be expected after the local elections for all 10 Greater Manchester boroughs.

Manchester

32 out of 96 seats on Manchester City Council are being contested.

Election results for Manchester are expected from 12:30pm on Friday, May 8.

Bolton

20 out of 60 seats on Bolton Metropolitan Borough Council are up for grabs.

Election results for Bolton are due from 3am on Friday, May 8.

Salford

20 out of 60 seats on Salford City Council are being contested in the 2026 local elections.

Results for Salford are expected from 3am on Friday, May 8.

Trafford

21 out of 63 seats on Trafford Metropolitan Borough Council are up for grabs.

Results for Trafford are expected from 4pm on Friday, May 8.

Bury

17 out of 51 seats on Bury Metropolitan Borough Council are being contested.

Results for Bury are expected from 4:30pm on Friday, May 8.

Wigan

25 out of 75 seats on Wigan Metropolitan Borough Council are being contested in the 2026 local elections.

Results for Wigan are due from 2:30am on Friday, May 8.

Oldham

20 out of 60 seats on Oldham Metropolitan Borough Council are up for grabs.

Results for Oldham are expected from 5am on Friday, May 8.

Rochdale

20 out of 60 seats to Rochdale Metropolitan Borough Council are up for grabs.

Results for Rochdale are expected from 2pm on Friday, May 8.

Stockport

21 out of 63 seats on Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council are up for grabs.

Results for Stockport are expected from 5am on Friday, May 8.

Tameside

19 out of 57 seats on Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council are being contested in today’s local elections.

Results for Tameside are expected from 3am on Friday, May 8.