The biggest set of elections since the 2024 general election will see millions of people head to the polls on Thursday.

Voters in Scotland and Wales are electing representatives to their national parliaments, while a number of local council and mayoral polls are taking place in England.

Everyone voting in person in England will need valid photo ID, such as a passport or driving licence.

Polling stations in all elections are open until 22:00 BST.

About 5,000 seats across 136 local councils are up for grabs.

There are also six mayoral contests, in Watford and five London boroughs – Croydon, Hackney, Lewisham, Newham and Tower Hamlets.

In council elections, voters generally have one vote for each available seat in an election area, known as a ward or division. Some wards have more than one representative. Your ballot paper will tell you how many votes you have.

Like MPs in general elections, local councillors are elected under the first-past-the-post system. The candidate or candidates with the most votes in each ward win and become councillors.

The political party which wins the most seats gains control of the council.

Councils are responsible for local services including care for older people and people with disabilities, rubbish collection and recycling, housing, education and road maintenance.

The Scottish Parliament election will decide who governs the country in key areas such as health and education and, as a result, the direction it takes on many issues.

All 129 Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs) are up for re-election.

There are 73 constituency MSPs and 56 regional MSPs (seven per region) in Holyrood.

Each voter has two ballot papers and casts two votes, one to elect their constituency MSP and one to elect their area's regional MSPs.

Constituency MSPs are selected directly under first past the post, with the winner being the candidate who receives the most votes.

The process to select regional MSPs uses a type of proportional representation.

Voters choose either a political party or an individual candidate from a list. Political parties are allocated regional seats according to a formula which includes the number of votes they receive in each region and the number of constituencies they win outright.

Usually the party with the most MSPs forms the Scottish government, and its leader becomes first minister.

The current Scottish Parliament was set up in 1999, when Scotland already had its own legal and education system.

Holyrood is now responsible for a much broader range of issues including health, housing, policing and prisons, as well as many aspects of transport, welfare and tax.

It can pass laws in any areas not "reserved" to the UK parliament at Westminster.

The 2026 Senedd election represents the biggest change to the parliament since powers began to be transferred to Wales in 1999. It will determine who governs Wales on many key issues.

The number of Members of the Senedd (MSs) is being expanded from 60 to 96 representatives from 16 newly devised constituencies.

Political parties can list up to eight candidates for each constituency. Independent candidates can also stand. Voters choose one party or one independent candidate.

The 96 seats will then be allocated according to the share of votes received by each party or independent candidate.

The party that wins the most seats in the Senedd election would expect to lead the government. However, no party has ever won a majority in the Welsh Parliament and the new system makes it highly unlikely that will change at this election.

Any MS can nominate any member to be first minister. If there are two or more candidates, MSs will vote to decide who they want to fill the role.

The National Assembly for Wales opened in 1999.

Renamed Senedd Cymru or Welsh Parliament in 2020, its responsibilities now include health, schools, transport and farming, as well as some tax powers.

You must be 18 to vote in the local elections in England, or 16 to vote in the Scottish Parliament and Senedd elections.

You must be either a British or Irish citizen, or a qualifying foreign national – the rules vary according to which country you are from and the type of election.

For all the elections taking place you need to be registered to vote. The deadline for registering has passed.

If you realise at the last minute that you will not be able to vote in person, you can apply for an emergency proxy vote until 1700 BST on polling day. Both you and your proxy must already have registered to vote.

You do not need ID to vote in person in the Scottish Parliament or Senedd elections on 7 May.

However, everyone voting in person in the local elections in England will need valid photo ID, such as a passport or driving licence.

You can use out-of-date ID as long as you are still recognisable.

Voters in England whose ID is lost or stolen can apply for an emergency proxy vote up until 17:00 on polling day. Your proxy will need to have the correct ID.

The timing of the counts – and the expected results – vary across the elections.

Previously, votes have been counted as soon as polls closed on Thursday.

This time, only a few local authorities will begin counting on Thursday night, with most starting on Friday morning.

The first results are expected to be announced in the early hours on Friday.

It is expected that the latest will be known by Saturday evening.

Votes will begin to be counted for Scotland's constituencies and regional lists on Friday morning.

It's likely that the shape of the new parliament will be clear by early Friday evening.

But each count is the responsibility of a local returning officer and there may be delays or recounts.

In a Holyrood election such delays could prevent the calculation of full results and it is possible that some seats may not be declared until late Friday evening or even Saturday.

Votes will begin to be counted for all 16 of Wales' constituencies on Friday morning.

It is estimated that results could then be declared from about lunchtime, continuing into the early evening.

But with some experts predicting a higher number of recounts compared to past elections, and the unknowns of a brand-new voting system and new constituencies in the mix, whether Wales' results will be done and dusted before the weekend remains to be seen.

The BBC, like other broadcasters, is not allowed to report details of campaigning or election issues while polls are open in England, Scotland and Wales.

Subjects which have been at issue during the campaign – or other controversial matters relating to the election – must not be covered until the polls close at 22:00 BST.

No opinion poll on any issue relating to politics or the election can be published while people are able to vote.

While the polls are open, it is a criminal offence to publish information about how people have voted, including "exit polls" which may predict the election result based on information from voters (although there are no reliable exit polls for these elections).

Coverage on the day is usually restricted to uncontroversial factual accounts, such as the appearance of politicians at polling stations, the mechanics of voting or the weather.

However, online sites do not have to remove archived reports, including, for instance, programmes on iPlayer. For Scotland and Wales, the lists of candidates, as well as the manifesto guides, remain available online during polling day.

From 22:00 BST, after the close of the polls, the election guidelines no longer apply – but the BBC must still report on the election, of course, with the impartiality requirements set out by both Ofcom and the BBC's own Editorial Guidelines.

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The Only Way Is Essex star Jake Hall has died in Spain at the age of 35.

The former model and fashion designer, who rose to fame on the reality TV show in 2015, died from head injuries at a villa in Majorca, according to the Sun.

A spokesperson for the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office said: "We are supporting the family of a British man who has died in Spain and are in contact with the local authorities."

The Spanish Civil Guard told BBC News it was investigating the incident, which it said "appears to be an accidental death".

The Civil Guard said the incident happened in Santa Margarita, Majorca, on Wednesday, and they are now awaiting the results of an autopsy.

Earlier this week, Hall posted family pictures and insights from his trip on Instagram, and has recently been showing his work as an artist.

He became a regular on The Only Way Is Essex after joining the cast as a friend of Vas J Morgan, and was the ex-partner of co-star Chloe Lewis.

The Only Way Is Essex paid tribute in a statement, saying: "Jake was a part of the TOWIE family for a number of years and we send our very deepest sympathies to his family and friends following today's very sad news."

Author Roxie Nafousi also paid tribute, writing on Instagram: "Jake 🙁 you were such a sweet soul, I always loved our catch ups.

"I know things weren't always easy for you but you never gave up and you really loved your little girl more than anything in the world. This is so devastating. Keep dancing up in heaven. Rest in peace."

Blue singer Anthony Costa posted: "So sad. What a lovely bloke you were mate R.I.P."

Celebrity DJ Fat Tony paid tribute to him, writing on Instagram: "Devastating news we Love you @jakehall such an awful loss to the world you beautiful man x."

Hall is survived by his eight-year-old daughter, River, with former Real Housewives of Cheshire star Missé Beqiri.

Originally from east London, Hall's family moved to Majorca when he was a child. "That's where there were happy times growing up," he said.

He launched his first fashion business in his garage in 2012 when he was 21, and his Prévu label was worn by celebrities like Stormzy and Bella Hadid.

The brand was sold to JD Sports in 2021 and acquired by Frasers Group in 2022, but went into administration in 2023.

"I went through a tough, tough experience losing that business that I had built for seven years from my own garage. I had put my heart and soul into something and, one day, it got taken away from me," he said.

He set up a new fashion brand, By Jake Hall, with the designs inspired by the Spanish island. "I get a lot of get a lot of inspiration from Majorca: the off-whites, the sand colours, the navy of the sea – it all brought back fond memories and got me out of a really dark place," he told fashion business outlet Drapers.

By Jake Hall went into liquidation last year and those business troubles, and his young daughter's encouragement, led him to explore another side of his talents as an artist.

"I was constantly waking up in the night, I couldn't sleep and then, one day, we moved to Spain and my daughter said to me, 'Daddy, let's draw.' It took me out of that zone, that dark place. My daughter took me out of that place by simply doodling and drawing."

He started creating colourful paintings, and unveiled his first sculpture in Majorca last month.

Hall also used to play non-league football for Boston United, Grays Athletic, Bromley and Billericay.

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France's interior minister has condemned violence that broke out in the Paris region after PSG's Uefa Champions League semi-final victory against Bayern Munich late on Wednesday night.

Fans took to the streets to celebrate the Paris team's qualification for the 30 May final in Budapest. However, celebrations were marred by a series of disturbances.

Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez told French radio that 127 people were arrested in the broader Paris region, including 107 in the capital itself.

Eleven people were hurt, one of them seriously, he said. Twenty-three police officers also sustained minor injuries.

Most of the festivities passed off without incident, as crowds gathered in many areas of Paris after PSG's 1-1 draw in Munich.

Recently elected Paris Mayor Emmanuel Grégoire joined the celebrations after watching the match with hundreds of people, many of them children, at his headquarters in the Hôtel de Ville.

But elsewhere in the centre of Paris dozens of bins and some cars were set alight, and tear gas was fired by police to stop people approaching the PSG stadium at the Parc des Princes.

"I condemn these excesses which are sadly becoming a common occurrence on nights when Paris Saint-Germain win," Nuñez told Europe 1 radio.

Wednesday night's violence was far less serious than the hours after PSG's victory in last season's Champions League final against Inter Milan, when hundreds of people were arrested. Two people were killed in France in related incidents.

While more than 30 people were hurt in the latest violence, a mortar firework had left one person with serious injuries, Nuñez added.

The interior minister said hundreds of people had sought to target police and loot local businesses, but he stressed that an attempt to block the Paris ringroad, the périphérique, had been thwarted.

Photographer Yann Arthus-Bertrand posted a video showing the aftermath of his outdoor exhibition in the Place de la Concorde, where all the panels on display had been left overturned and many of the pictures vandalised.

More than 5,000 police were deployed in Paris ahead of last season's final, which was also in Munich, and PSG's Parc des Princes stadium was turned into a fan zone.

However, some of the clashes a year ago took place close to the stadium.

Emmanuel Grégoire said he wanted the final to be a big celebration this year as well, although he understood the potential risks.

"We're going to work on it because obviously I want to do it safely, but I want to have a great fan zone for the final," he told French radio.

The interior minister appeared unimpressed with Grégoire's idea, which he described as "unilateral" and warned of the risk of further unrest on the night PSG play Arsenal in Budapest at the end of this month.

"No disturbances will be tolerated," he said. "There will always be a very firm response."

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