The ultimate guide to Nottingham local elections: everything you need to know before you vote

Throughout the county, dozens of city, borough, district and parish councils, and a mayoral seat, will all be contested, with several councils potentially in different hands by the time the counting is done.

This will be the first set of elections held under new rules mandating voter ID. Voters must already have registered to vote, and on the day will need to provide either a UK, European Economic Area (EEA) or Commonwealth Passport; a UK or EEA driver’s licence, concessionary travel passes such as an older person’s bus pass or Oyster card. Voters will be able to use expired IDs but only if they are still recognisable from the photo.

To find out which elections are being held in your ward - in some cases, there may be more than one - simply enter your postcode on the Electoral Commission’s elections page. Listed alongside each election will be the location of your nearest polling station.

In Nottinghamshire, the biggest single election by seats is for Nottingham City Council. Labour has enjoyed total dominance over the council for decades and expects to keep control of Loxley House.

But this time it will be facing a tougher ride from voters following a string of bad news stories since the elections of 2019, not least over its handling of the city’s finances. The small Tory opposition on the council has made this its main attack line in a manifesto lambasting the “financially incompetent, secretive and dogmatic Labour-controlled City Council”.

At the same time, all seven of the county’s borough and district councils are up for election. These elections will be much more fiercely contested due to the more multicoloured nature of voter loyalties and council control outside the city.

There will also be one mayoral election, in Mansfield, which will see candidates from various parties competing to beat the incumbent Labour mayor off his seat.

Nottinghamshire County Council, which operates on a different electoral cycle, is not being contested this year. But one county division - Kirkby South, in Ashfield - is up for grabs following the resignation of the seat’s current holder, Ashfield Independents Councillor Daniel Williamson.

Here’s a roundup of all the elections taking place in Nottinghamshire on May 4th. This includes links to the dedicated local elections pages of every borough and district with more local information including the many parishes being contested within each council.

To find out which seats your home address falls in, and where your local polling station is, you can do a postcode search on the website of the Electoral Commission.

NOTTINGHAM CITY COUNCIL

A total of 55 seats will be contested across 20 City Council wards, which are represented by either two or three councillors depending on their population. Of the 20 wards on the council, 18 are currently Labour held. The Conservatives control one ward - Clifton West - while neighbouring Clifton East is represented by the Nottingham Independents.

For an overview of the elections taking place in Nottingham, with all the information about the candidates standing in each ward and how and where to vote, visit the council’s local election page.

The 20 wards up for election:

• Aspley Ward
• Basford Ward
• Castle Ward
• Bulwell Ward
• Bulwell Forest Ward
• Berridge Ward
• Bestwood Ward
• Bilborough Ward
• Meadows Ward
• Clifton East Ward
• Clifton West Ward
• Dales Ward
• Hyson Green and Arboretum
• Lenton and Wollaton East Ward
• Leen Valley Ward
• Mapperley Ward
• Radford Ward
• Sherwood Ward
• St Ann's Ward
• Wollaton West Ward

DISTRICT AND BOROUGH ELECTIONS

Nottinghamshire County is divided into seven secondary tier borough or district authorities, all of which are up for election next week. Each of these councils contains smaller local parishes which will also be contested. The boroughs and districts reflect the more diverse range of voter loyalties you find outside of Nottingham City and include some races that could go to the wire. Some may even be in new hands by Friday.

Two key battles to watch out for will be in Mansfield District Council and Broxtowe Borough Council. No party is currently in overall control of either council. Newark and Sherwood District Council and Rushcliffe Borough are both currently held by the Conservative Party, while Labour controls Bassetlaw and Gedling. The Ashfield Independents meanwhile will be defending Ashfield District Council.

For information about each of the councils being contested next week, including all of the candidates running in each ward and parish, how to vote, what you need to know about voter ID, and where to find your local polling station, please click the following links to the relevant page on each council’s website:

• ASHFIELD DISTRICT COUNCIL
• BASSETLAW DISTRICT COUNCIL
• BROXTOWE BOROUGH COUNCIL
• GEDLING BOROUGH COUNCIL
• MANSFIELD DISTRICT COUNCIL
• NEWARK AND SHERWOOD DISTRICT COUNCIL
• RUSHCLIFFE BOROUGH COUNCIL

MANSFIELD MAYORAL ELECTION

There is only one mayoral election taking place in Nottinghamshire this time around, but it is likely to be a gripping contest.

The seat is currently held by Labour’s Andy Abrahams, who won the mayoral race in 2019. But Abrahams will be very conscious that Labour only holds a very slim lead on the district council, where no one party has overall control, and of the fact that in 2017 Mansfield returned its first Tory MP.

If you live in Mansfield you will find a separate ballot for the mayoral election, which is being held alongside the District Council race. For more information about how to vote, where your local polling station will be, and what you need to know about voter ID, we recommend you visit the council’s election page.

Five candidates are contesting the mayoral seat. They are:

• Andy Abrahams – Labour
• Mick Barton – Mansfield Independents
• Andre Camilleri – Conservative
• Karen Rachel Mary Seymour – Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition
• Julie Margaret Tasker-Love-Birks – Independent

NOTTINGHAMSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL

Full elections for Nottinghamshire County Council will not take place this year, having previously been held in 2021. That election saw a strong performance by the Conservatives who, led by Mansfield MP Ben Bradley, now enjoy formidable control over the council.

However, the resignation last month of Ashfield Independents councillor Daniel Williamson in the Kirkby South Division means there is a seat up for grabs, and that election will also be held on May 4th. The Ashfield Independents will hope to keep the seat with a replacement candidate, Rachel Madden, but they will be contesting it with Conservative and Labour candidates.

More information about that contest can be found on the County Council’s election page.