Polls close in local elections across the UK

Polls have closed across England, Wales and Scotland in local elections seen as a crucial mid-term test of David Cameron's coalition government.

More than 4,700 seats are up for grabs on 128 English councils, most of which were last contested in 2008.

Every seat on Scotland's 32 unitary authorities is up for election and the make-up of 21 unitary authorities in Wales will also be decided.

Referendums on whether to elect a mayor are being held in 10 English cities.

Londoners have also been voting for a new mayor - but they will have to wait until Friday evening to find out who has won that contest.

Damp weather across much of the country has fuelled fears of low turnout.

An eve-of-poll survey for the London Evening Standard suggested Conservative incumbent Boris Johnson was set for victory over Labour's Ken Livingstone, by a margin of 53% to 47%.

But retaining City Hall in London could turn out to be one of the few bright spots for Prime Minister David Cameron with voters in the rest of the country expected to deliver a mid-term kicking to the Conservatives and their Lib Dem coalition partners.

The two parties are braced to lose hundreds of the around 5,000 council seats at stake.

The first English and Welsh council results are expected shortly after midnight, with a full national picture of how the parties have done expected to emerge in the early hours.

Ed Miliband's Labour Party is riding high in national opinion polls and will be hoping for big gains - particularly as the last time these council seats were up for grabs was in 2008, when the party suffered one of the worst nights in its history.

Conservative Communities Secretary Eric Pickles has said Labour should gain 700 seats "fairly easily" this time.

But Labour have been playing down expectations, predicting 450 gains across England and Wales.

Ed Miliband may have to put the champagne on ice as many councils in Scotland - where Labour is under pressure from the SNP - do not start their count until Friday morning.

Mayoral referendums have been taking place in Birmingham, Bradford, Bristol, Coventry, Leeds, Manchester, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Nottingham, Sheffield and Wakefield.

Liverpool and Salford - where the local councils have already opted for the mayoral system - held their first mayoral elections on Thursday.

The result of the Liverpool ballot is expected about 0400 BST but counting in Salford doesn't start until later on Friday morning.

Meanwhile, Doncaster has held a vote to decide whether to abolish the town's directly elected mayor.

One authority, Anglesey, has had its elections delayed until next year after the Welsh government appointed commissioners to run it following critical reports into years of political infighting on the island.

Source & Image : BBC