Whole Council & Parish Elections 7 May 2026

Whole Council & Parish Elections - Thursday 7 May 2026

Whole Council and Parish elections are taking place in Thursday 7 May 2026. Electors will have the opportunity to elect all 48 councillors across 18 wards in the borough.

Standing as a Candidate 

If you would like to stand as a candidate for the Whole Council & Parish elections, please visit standing as a candidate for further information. Candidate and Agent briefings will be held at St Helens Town Hall on Monday 16 March 2026 at 5:30pm and Tuesday 17 March 2026 at 10:30am. The nomination period begins on Wednesday 25 March 2026 and closes at 4pm on Thursday 9 April 2026.

If you wish to register an interest to stand as a candidate please email your details to elections@sthelens.gov.uk

For notices relating to the elections taking place , please visit our election notices page.

How to vote in the Elections

Poll cards will be delivered to electors from Tuesday 24 March, please check your poll card for information about your polling station or visit wheredoivote.co.uk

If you are not already registered, the deadline to register to vote at this election is Monday 20 April 2026, you can register online at gov.uk/register-to-vote or by contacting our elections team on 01744 676464.

Easy read guide on voting - My Vote My Voice

Voting at the Polling Station

To vote in person at the polling station you must show photo ID before being provided with a ballot paper.

What is Acceptable Photo ID?

A list of acceptable photo ID can be photo ID. If you do not have any acceptable photo Id you can apply for a Voter Authority Certificate (VAC) at gov.uk/apply-for-photo-id-vote-authority-certificate, the deadline to apply for a VAC is 5pm on Tuesday 28 April 2026.

Easy read guide on voter ID - My Vote My Voice

Prefer to vote by post?

You can apply for a postal vote online at Apply for a postal vote - GOV.UK, the deadline to apply for a postal vote for this election is 5pm on Tuesday 21 April 2026. Further information about voting by post can be found at voting by post

We would recommend that any elector who is going on holiday from Saturday 25 April 2026 and will not return before Thursday 7 May 2026, should make an application to appoint another person as a proxy, you can apply online at gov.uk/apply-proxy-vote. The deadline to make a proxy application is 5pm on Tuesday 28 April 2026.  The person appointed as a proxy, must be registered to vote and they will need to show their (the proxy not the elector) Photo ID before they are issued with a ballot paper.

Easy read guide on postal voting - My Vote My Voice and postal voting - My Vote My Voice

Key dates