BBC info on the 2007 elections

Just in case you hadn't noticed, there are local government elections on May 3rd. The BBC have conveniently provided a guide to what's happening and where.

What elections are there this year?

Seats on the Scottish Parliament and local councils, the Welsh Assembly and most local authorities in England outside London are all up for grabs.

What's happening in Scotland?

This May sees the four-yearly elections for the Scottish Parliament, which runs the devolved Scottish government. Seats on all 32 unitary councils will be up for election as well.

Scottish elections in-depth

What powers does the Scottish Parliament have?

It can pass laws on education, criminal justice, the NHS, business, agriculture, local government, social housing, transport and tourism and some other areas. It also has the power to vary the basic rate of income tax, set by Westminster to cover the whole UK, by up to 3%. Westminster retains control of areas like foreign policy, immigration, defence, social security, employment and national security.

Who controls the Scottish Parliament?

It is controlled by a Labour/Liberal Democrat coalition. Labour has 50 seats, the Scottish Nationalist Party has 25, the Lib Dems and Conservatives both have 17, the Scottish Greens have seven, the Scottish Socialists have 4, Solidarity - the Socialist party set up by Tommy Sheridan - has two, the Scottish Senior Citizens Unity Party has one and there are five independents and one presiding officer. There are also 32 local unitary authorities, which run local government services. From May 2007 they will be elected using the Single Transferable Vote.

How are MSPs elected?

MSPs are elected for four-year terms, by the "top up" system - a type of proportional representation. There are 129 MSPs at Holyrood. 73 are constituency MSPs, 56 are regional "top-up" members. Voters have two votes - one for a candidate in a constituency, and the second for a party - from this vote the "top-up" members are picked.

What is happening in Wales?

This May sees the four-yearly elections for the Welsh Assembly. This runs the devolved government of Wales.

Welsh elections in-depth

What powers does the Welsh Assembly have?

It can pass secondary legislation in some areas - meaning it can modify Acts of Parliament using Assembly Orders - but not make new Acts itself. It can modify the details of Acts in areas including: agriculture, the environment, roads and transport, housing, social services, health, tourism and social services. It does not have tax-raising powers but has some powers over government charges for services - like NHS prescriptions, charges for nursing homes and university tuition.

Isn't it getting more powers after the elections?

Yes. Under the Government of Wales Act 2006 - it will be able to make Assembly Measures - effectively passing laws, but only over those areas where it already has responsibility. These will also be subject to a Westminster veto - the Houses of Commons and Lords will have to vote in favour of allowing the assembly to legislate in those areas. The idea is to bypass the legislative "log jam" at Westminster, where laws prepared by the Welsh Assembly have to compete for time with bills prepared in Whitehall. The Act also allows for the possibility of a referendum, to grant full law-making powers to the Welsh Assembly.

Who controls the Welsh Assembly?

Labour is the ruling party and the First Secretary is Rhodri Morgan. There are 60 members of the Assembly (AMs), based in Cardiff, each elected for four years. Labour has 29 seats, Plaid Cymru has 12, the Conservatives have 12, the Liberal Democrats have 6 seats and the last was won by an independent, John Marek. The assembly is quite unusual as the executive (the government) and the parliamentary (legislative) branches are not legally separate - but integrated as a corporate body. The Government of Wales Act aims to change this.

How are AMs elected?

There are 40 AMs representing individual constituencies through the "first past the post" system, and five more regions elect another 20 from regional lists - a type of proportional representation. Currently AMs delegate their executive powers to the First Minister, who is elected by the whole assembly. He gives responsibility for certain functions to the cabinet - made up of eight ministers.

What elections are there in England?

In England 32.8 million people will be able to vote - with seats being contested in 312 local authorities. In some councils one third of seats will be up for election, in others, the whole council will be elected. There are also mayoral elections in Bedford, Mansfield and Middlesbrough. It is the biggest election in the local cycle in England, with about 10,500 council seats are up for grabs. This is because councils which are electing all their members have coincided with those electing one-third of councillors. This year half of the seats are in just three regions - eastern, south and south-west.

What powers do local councils have?

They vary between the different types of authorities. But powers can include setting council tax and business rates, as well as charges for things like parking tickets, overseeing street-cleaning, maintaining roads and parks, running libraries and schools, refuse collection, housing and social services, trading standards and environmental health - from fly tipping to noise pollution - and they grant planning permission for buildings.

When are the elections?

The elections will be held on Thursday 3 May 2007. Polls open at 7am and close at 10pm.

When will the results be known?

At least half of English local authorities will not start counting the ballots until Friday. In Wales counts are expected to take place overnight. In Scotland the first results are expected at about 12.30am

Guide: England's local elections

What is happening in England?

On 3 May there will be about 10,500 council seats contested across 312 local authorities. Half of those seats are in just three regions - eastern, southern and the south-western.

Who is being elected?

Across all 36 Metropolitan boroughs, one-third of council seats will be contested. In 25 unitary authorities the whole council will go to the polls, while in another 20 only a third of seats are up for election. Of district councils, 153 will elect the entire council, another 78 will elect a third.

Metropolitan boroughs going to the polls

Barnsley, Birmingham, Bolton, Bradford, Bury, Calderdale, Coventry, Doncaster, Dudley, Gateshead, Kirklees, Knowsley, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle upon Tyne, North Tyneside, Oldham, Rochdale, Rotherham, Salford, Sandwell, Sefton, Sheffield, Solihull, South Tyneside, St Helens, Stockport, Sunderland, Tameside, Trafford, Wakefield, Walsall, Wigan, Wirral and Wolverhampton.

Unitary authorities electing all council seats

Bath & N.E. Somerset, Blackpool, Bournemouth, Bracknell Forest, Brighton & Hove, Darlington, East Riding of Yorkshire, Herefordshire, Leicester, Luton, Medway, Middlesbrough, North Lincolnshire, North Somerset, Nottingham, Poole, Redcar & Cleveland, Rutland, South Gloucestershire, Stockton-on-Tees, Telford & Wrekin, Torbay, West Berkshire, Windsor & Maidenhead and York.

Unitary authorities electing a third of seats

Blackburn with Darwen, Bristol, Derby, Halton, Hartlepool, Kingston-upon-Hull, Milton Keynes, North East Lincolnshire, Peterborough, Plymouth, Portsmouth, Reading, Slough, Southampton, Southend-on-Sea, Stoke-on-Trent, Swindon, Thurrock, Warrington and Wokingham.

District councils electing all seats

Allerdale, Alnwick, Arun, Ashfield, Ashford, Aylesbury Vale, Babergh, Berwick-upon-Tweed, Blaby, Blyth Valley, Bolsover, Boston, Braintree, Breckland, Bridgnorth, Broadland, Bromsgrove, Broxtowe, Canterbury, Caradon, Carrick, Castle Morpeth, Charnwood, Chelmsford, Chesterfield, Chester-le-Street, Chichester, Chiltern, Christchurch, Copeland, Corby, Cotswold, Dacorum, Dartford, Derbyshire Dales, Derwentside, Dover, Durham, Easington, Eastbourne, East Cambridgeshire, East Devon, East Dorset, East Hampshire, East Hertfordshire, East Lindsey, East Northamptonshire, East Staffordshire, Eden, Epsom & Ewell, Erewash, Fenland, Forest Heath, Forest of Dean, Fylde, Gedling, Gravesham, Guildford, Hambleton, Harborough, High Peak, Hinckley & Bosworth, Horsham, Kennet, Kerrier, Kettering, King's Lynn & West Norfolk, Lancaster, Lewes, Lichfield, Lincoln, Maldon, Malvern Hills, Mansfield, Melton, Mendip, Mid Bedfordshire, Mid Devon, Mid Suffolk, Mid Sussex, New Forest, Newark & Sherwood, North Cornwall, North Devon, North Dorset, North East Derbyshire, North Hertforshire, North Kesteven, North Norfolk, North Shropshire, North Warwickshire, North West Leicestershire, North Wiltshire, Northampton, Oadby & Wigston, Oswestry, Restormel, Ribble Valley, Richmondshire, Rother, Rushcliffe, Ryedale, Salisbury, Scarborough, Sedgefield, Sedgemoor, Selby, Sevenoaks, Shepway, South Bucks, South Derbyshire, South Hams, South Holland, South Kesteven, South Norfolk, South Northamptonshire, South Oxfordshire, South Ribble, South Shropshire, South Somerset, South Staffordshire, Spelthorne, St Edmundsbury, Stafford, Staffordshire Moorlands, Suffolk Coastal, Surrey Heath, Taunton Deane, Teesdale, Teignbridge, Tendring, Test Valley, Tewkesbury, Thanet, Tonbridge & Malling, Torridge, Tynedale, Uttlesford, Vale of White Horse, Vale Royal, Wansbeck, Warwick, Waverley, Wealden, Wear Valley, Wellingborough, West Devon, West Dorset, West Somerset, West Wiltshire, Wychavon, Wycombe and Wyre.

District councils electing a third of seats

Amber Valley, Barrow-in-Furness, Basildon, Basingstoke & Deane, Bassetlaw, Bedford, Brentwood, Broxbourne, Burnley, Cambridge, Cannock Chase, Carlisle, Castle Point, Cherwell, Chester, Chorley, Colchester, Congleton, Craven, Crawley, Crewe & Nantwich, Daventry, Eastleigh, Ellesmere Port & Neston, Elmbridge, Epping Forest, Exeter, Gloucester, Great Yarmouth, Harlow, Harrogate, Hart, Havant, Hertsmere, Huntingdonshire, Hyndburn, Ipswich, Macclesfield, Maidstone, Mole Valley, Newcastle-under-Lyme, Norwich, Pendle, Penwith, Preston, Purbeck, Redditch, Reigate & Banstead, Rochford, Rossendale, Rugby, Runnymede, Rushmoor, Shrewsbury & Atcham, South Bedfordshire, South Cambs, South Lakeland, St Albans, Stevenage, Stratford-on-Avon, Stroud, Swale, Tamworth, Tandridge, Three Rivers, Tunbridge Wells, Watford, Waveney, Welwyn Hatfield, West Lancashire, West Lindsey, West Oxfordshire, Weymouth & Portland, Winchester, Woking, Worcester, Worthing and Wyre Forest.

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