Birmingham and the Black Country prepare for local elections

Voters in six council areas across Birmingham and the Black Country will go to the polls on May 7 for the biggest set of local elections in the region since 2022.

"All out" elections will see every seat contested in Birmingham, Sandwell, Walsall and Solihull and the balance of power in those areas potentially shifting.

In Wolverhampton and Dudley, voters will elect representatives for a third of seats on the councils.

Here we look at the current set up of the local authorities, the issues facing them and key dates voters will need.

Currently, Birmingham City Council, Sandwell Council and City of Wolverhampton Council have a Labour majority.

In Walsall and Solihull, the Conservatives are in charge.

No party has overall control in Dudley, the council is led by the Conservatives.

Politically, it will be a fascinating set of results to pore over.

Whilst these are elections are about bin collections, potholes and looking after vulnerable people, they are also a test of where the parties stand nationally.

It is also possible a bad set of results for Labour across the country could even cost the Prime Minister his job.

Labour's controlling majority in Birmingham, held since 2012, appears to be under serious threat amid the council's financial problems and ongoing bin strike.

Reform UK, led by Nigel Farage, is targeting a breakthrough in a city which voted for Brexit but where former iterations of the party like UKIP failed to gain a stronghold.

Reform UK is also likely to field a full list of candidates across the Black Country boroughs.

Tellingly, when the Prime Minister launched his party's local election campaign in Wolverhampton, it was the threat of Reform UK and the Green Party that he mentioned in his speech.

The Conservatives and Liberal Democrats will also be looking to take advantage of Labour's difficulties. Independent candidates, some making the wars in the Middle East a key part of their campaigns, could also have an impact.

It depends where you live.

In Birmingham where there is an all-out election, depending on the ward you live in, you will be asked to select one or two candidates.

In Walsall, Sandwell and Solihull, where there also all-out elections, voters will be asked to select three candidates.

In most other areas voters will select just one candidate.

The voting system is "first past the post", which means the candidate with the most votes wins.

In contests where two or three councillors are being selected, the candidates with the second and third highest number of votes also win a seat as applicable.

The candidate with the most votes will serve a term of four years, the second places candidate will serve two years and the third place will serve one year.

• 9 April - Close of nominations for people to stand in May's elections
• 20 April - Deadline to register to vote, which can be done online, external
• 21 April - Deadline to apply for a postal vote, which can also be done online, external
• 28 April - Deadline to apply for a proxy vote, where you can name someone to vote on your behalf. It is also the deadline to apply for a voter authority certificate if you do not have ID like a driver's licence or passport. You need to show ID at a polling station to be able to vote
• 7 May - Polling stations open at 07:00 BST and close at 22:00. If you are in the queue by 22:00, you will be able to vote - but do not forget your ID.

In Dudley, counting will begin shorty after polls close, with results expected in the early hours of Friday 8 May.

Everywhere, else is planning to count the day after voting closes, so it could be late afternoon on the 8 May before we get a proper picture of the results.

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