ELECTIONS 2017: Council leaders wait on count after frenetic polling day

Community centres, pubs, school buildings, public halls and even unused private properties were turned into makeshift polling stations for the local elections.

Now all eyes turn to today’s count, with all 57 seats at Worcestershire County Council up for grabs and a seat in Bedwardine being decided at Worcester City Council due to a by-election.

Polling staff at stations around the county said activity was fairly brisk yesterday, despite some predictions of a low turnout.

Yesterday was largely being viewed as the first test of public opinion on Theresa May, ahead of the snap General Election on June 8.

At Worcester’s Guildhall, the number of people going in to vote steadily picked up during the day.

Tim Loughton, 47, said: “I’ve voted Conservative because I don’t see what other choice there is at the moment.

“Worcester is doing ok and the council seems to be the same as anywhere else, I don’t see the need to change.”

Others said they were annoyed that the local elections were being overshadowed by the General Election, saying the Westminster bun-fight and row over Brexit was diluting the importance of the council counts.

Angela Martins, 55, said: “I have always made a point of voting, and I get my two sons to do the same, I think it’s very important.

“If you don’t vote you’ve got nothing to complain about, that’s how I see it.

“In some ways the council ones are more important than electing an MP, dealing with elderly care and roads and issues like that.

“I vote Labour but I’ve changed votes before, I’ve gone Lib Dem before too.”

In the High Street some people said they were leaving it to the last minute before deciding.

Colin Workman, 70, of St Peter’s, said: “I’ll probably up going in around 9pm and doing it, I feel guilty otherwise.

“I get up the next morning and feel annoyed if I don’t make the effort.

“I don’t know who to vote for. For the last few years I’ve voted UKIP but we’re getting out the EU now, so I don’t see much point.

“I’ll look at who the council candidates are and decide when I get in.”

Polling stations opened at 7am yesterday, closing at 10pm across Worcestershire and the rest of the country.

Some of them in more rural areas of the county were said to be quiet for much of yesterday.

Katie Ghose, chief executive of the Electoral Reform Society, yesterday said many people still do not realise the powers councils have.

She said: “For the local elections, while council turnout is traditionally low, many authorities are getting more powers.

“This vote will have a huge impact on people’s daily lives - from rubbish to transport to social care.”

WHAT'S HAPPENING TODAY?

TODAY the votes will be counted at six different venues across Worcestershire including Worcester, Malvern, Wychavon, Kidderminster, Redditch and Bromsgrove.

The process will get underway from 10am, starting with the verification of the papers, meaning the actual results are not expected until this afternoon.

Each count will have the responsibility for announcing the results in their area - so for example, at Worcester's Guildhall the outcome in 10 seats will be announced, those coming under the city's geographical area.

Wychavon will count 12, Malvern will count eight and the other areas will count theirs until the results are known for all 57 seats up for grabs at Worcestershire County Council.

All the results will be fed into a central point at County Hall, giving council chiefs a full breakdown of the new-look political 'map' of the authority.

By teatime tonight we will know if the Conservatives still have overall control of the county council.

There is also a separate count taking place today for one seat at Worcester City Council, in the Bedwardine ward by-election triggered by the resignation of Tory David Wilkinson.

We will have reporters at all six counts across Worcestershire today, blogging the results live on this website.

Tomorrow's Worcester News will feature special election coverage on today's events, including the results and reaction.

BIG DAY FOR LIB DEM

A FORMER Worcestershire county councillor will find out today if she has become one of the region's most powerful politicians.

As the Worcester News reported on Tuesday Beverley Neilsen is bidding to become the first ever West Midlands Mayor.

The 57-year-old, a Lib Dem, is seen as an outsider in today's count and will find out her fate in Birmingham this afternoon.

The winner in that contest will be in control of a £36 million budget overseeing key public services like transport, roads and education across the region, all the way from Stoke-on-Trent down to the border with Worcestershire.

The managing director of John Lewis Andy Street is the Conservative candidate with Labour's Sion Simon, an MEP, also in the running alongside a Green, UKIP and Communist Party hopeful.

The winner will effectively control the West Midlands Combined Authority, a 'super council' that Worcestershire has declined to join. Elsewhere, 4,851 council seats across Briain are up for grabs today, mainly on top-tier county councils.

Five other 'metro' mayors are also being elected across the country alongside the West Midlands including in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, Greater Manchester, Liverpool, Tees Valley and the West of England.

Candidates to watch include the former shadow home secretary and Labour MP Andy Burnham- who is running in Greater Manchester.

And Steve Rotherham, the Labour MP and former aide to Jeremy Corbyn, is running in Liverpool.

The academics Colin Rallings and Michael Thrasher predict big gains for both the Conservatives and Lib Dems across the country, with Labour warned to expect big losses.

Labour is expected to lose 75 councillors in England today and more than 100 in Wales, as well as control of key local authorities in Glasgow and Cardiff.