Local elections will be taking place in Newcastle-under-Lyme and across England on 7 May.

Here is everything you need to know about next month's elections.

What elections are taking place? 

Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council will be holding an all-out election on Thursday 7 May, with all 44 seats on the council being contested.

The borough is divided into 21 wards, each represented by one, two or three councillors, meaning you may get one, two or three votes depending on where you live.

Staffordshire has a two-tier system of local government, with a county council and eight districts and boroughs. Newcastle Borough Council is responsible for services such as bin collections, leisure, licensing and most planning decisions. Depending on where you live in Newcastle, you may also have the opportunity to vote in parish and town council elections.

Elsewhere in Staffordshire, Tamworth Borough Council and Cannock Chase District Council will also be holding elections on 7 May, with a third of the seats on those authorities being contested.

In the Staffordshire Moorlands, a number of parish council by-elections are taking place on 7 May. But no elections are being held in Stoke-on-Trent.

What is special about these elections? 

It is likely that these will be the last scheduled local elections in Newcastle before Staffordshire undergoes local government reorganisation (LGR).

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All 10 principle authorities in Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire, including Newcastle Borough Council, are set to be abolished and replaced with new unitary authorities.

On the current timetable, these new councils could be up and running by 2028. If that is the case, borough councillors elected in May will only serve half of their four-year term.

The form the new unitary authorities will take has yet to be determined. Newcastle Borough Council has proposed a model which would see one unitary for Newcastle with three others covering the rest of Staffordshire.

Another option could see Newcastle merged with Stoke-on-Trent and the Staffordshire Moorlands in a North Staffordshire unitary.

Weren't these elections going to be cancelled? 

In December, the government gave councils undergoing LGR the opportunity to ask for elections to be postponed if they had concerns over capacity issues.

While Tamworth and Cannock Chase councils asked for their elections to be postponed, which the government agreed to, Newcastle's leaders insisted theirs would go ahead as planned.

But following a legal challenge from Reform UK, and after taking legal advice, the government subsequently reversed its decision and announced that all the elections would go ahead in May.

Who won in Newcastle last time? 

The Conservatives have been in charge at the borough council since 2017, and have had an overall majority since 2021.

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At the last all-out elections in Newcastle in 2022, the Tories retained their majority, winning 25 seats, with the opposition Labour group winning 19.

Heading into the May elections, the Conservatives currently have 26 councillors, while Labour have 17, with one seat vacant.

In last year's county council elections, Reform UK won eight out of the nine seats in Newcastle, as they stormed to a landslide victory in Staffordshire.

Who can I vote for in Newcastle? 

The Conservatives, Labour and Reform UK are fielding candidates for all 44 seats in Newcastle.

Depending on which ward you live in, you may also have the opportunity to vote for the Greens, Lib Dems, Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition or independent candidates.

A total of 165 candidates will be standing in Newcastle.

How do I vote? 

Polling day will be on Thursday, 7 May. Polling stations will be open from 7am to 10pm.

To vote at a polling station you will need to show photo ID. Acceptable forms of ID include a passport, driving licence or an older person's bus pass. You can only vote at the polling station named on your poll card.

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You can also register for a postal vote, or a proxy vote, allowing someone else to vote on your behalf.

What dates do I need to know? 

In order to vote in the May elections, you must be registered to vote by 11.59pm on Monday, 20 April. You can register online here.

The deadline for applying for a postal vote is 5pm on Tuesday, 21 April. The deadline for applying for a proxy vote is 5pm on Tuesday, 28 April.

When will we know the election results? 

The borough council election count will take place overnight at Keele University, following the close of poll at 10pm.

The full results should be known by around 4am on the Friday.