IT'S Election Day for the UK today – Thursday, May 6 – and residents in Cheshire West and Chester will have the chance to cast their vote too.

But today will not be a day for choosing MPs or Cheshire West and Chester Councillors, and there are a couple of important changes at your local polling station voters will need to consider.

All registered voters in the borough will have the chance to vote on who will be Cheshire's Police and Crime Commissioner for the next four years, in the third election since their creation a decade ago.

The elections were originally due to take place in May 2020, but were delayed by a year due to the Covid pandemic.

The four candidates vying for residents' votes in Cheshire are Labour's David Keane, the incumbent PCC; Conservative candidate John Dwyer, who held the post from 2012-2016; Liberal Democrat candidate Jo Conchie and Reform UK's Nick Goulding.

All voters heading to polling stations today are being urged to check three things:

  • Have you remembered your face mask? Due to Covid restrictions, face mask usage is still mandatory at polling stations, unless you have a valid exemption. Guidance from staff on social distancing will also be in place.
  • Have you remembered to bring your pen or pencil? Again, due to Covid restrictions, voters are being asked to bring their own pen or pencil to cast their vote if possible. If you forget, a limited number of pens or pencils may be available at the polling station.
  • Check your local polling station – your usual polling station may not be open, particularly if it is usually a school, and you may be asked to cast your vote elsewhere.

Other elections are also taking place today in Cheshire West and Chester, for specific areas.

There are borough council by-elections in Neston and Frodsham.

A town council election is taking place in Frodsham Waterside ward, and parish councils elections in Malpas and Moulton.

Neighbourhood Plan referendums will also be held for Clotton Hoofield, Darnhall, and Utkinton and Cotebrook.

Elections were due to take place for Barrow, Frodsham Lakes and Northwich Town Council, but they were each uncontested and the people nominated to fill their roles have done so unopposed.

Council vote counting and results will take place on Friday, May 8, with results due that evening, while the Police and Crime Commissioner election count will be held on Saturday, May 9, with a result expected that evening.