Local elections 2026: Oxfordshire polling stations open

Seats are up for grabs on Oxford City Council, Cherwell District Council and West Oxfordshire District Council in the county today, Thursday, May 7.

Across England, Scotland and Wales, more than 5,000 council seats hang in the balance today in the largest set of contests since the 2024 general election.

READ MORE: Oxfordshire elections – what is needed to vote confirmed

Polling stations are open from 7am until 10pm, and voters will need to take ID to be able to vote.

Voters go to the polls today, May 7 in Scotland, Wales and many parts of England

Voters do not need to take poll cards with them to vote, but should have received them according to the local authorities with seats up for grabs.

Oxford City Council has 48 councillors in total and two in each of the city’s 24 wards.

Half of the city council’s seats, one councillor per ward, are elected every two years and serve four year terms. Today, 24 council seats are contested.

READ MORE: Oxford City Council election – List of candidates revealed | Oxford Mail

The count is expected to take place overnight for the city, and will decide the political makeup of the council in what is expected to be its last ever election ahead of local government reorganisation.

Candidates for the city are standing for all parties, including Labour, Liberal Democrats and Conservatives, Greens, Independent Oxford Alliance and Reform UK.

The full list, broken down by ward, is available on the Oxford City Council website.

Polling Station (Peter Byrne/PA) (Image: Peter Byrne/PA)

In Cherwell District Council, a third of seats are up for grabs on the council which has been under no overall control since 2023, but is currently led by the Liberal Democrats.

READ MORE: What’s at stake at the 2026 local elections in Cherwell?

Eighteen seats are being contested across 16 wards, with two councillors to be elected in both Banbury Calthorpe & Easington and Bicester West.

In total, 95 candidates are standing: 18 each from the Green Party, Conservative Party, Liberal Democrats and Reform UK, 13 from Labour, eight from the Independent Party, and one each from the Animal Welfare Party and the Social Democratic Party.

The count is expected to take place tomorrow, Friday, May 8, with results coming in during the afternoon.

Similarly, West Oxfordshire District Council is currently run by a Liberal Democrat minority.

READ MORE: Local elections 2026 – what’s at stake in West Oxfordshire?

Of its 49 councillors, 16 are up for election in this cycle, a third of the council.

A total of 102 candidates are standing, representing parties across the political spectrum, to contest 21 seats currently held by the Liberal Democrats, four by Conservatives, two by Labour, one Green and one Reform.

Across the county, Labour under Keir Starmer’s premiership are expected to suffer a sweeping downturn, with major seat gains for candidates outside the main parties, including Reform and Greens.