Local elections 2016: Where is my polling station? When do the polls close? Who are the candidates?

In total 2,743 seats in 124 local elections will be contested on Thursday

The Government will also consider proving greater powers to police to deal with intimidation near polling stations (PA)

Elections will be held across the UK on Thursday. Scotland will choose a new government, all the seats in the Welsh Assembly are up for grabs, and mayors will be elected in cities such as London and Bristol. In England, 2,743 seats in 124 local elections will be contested.

Read our guides to the 2016 UK elections

He we answer some questions to make your voting a little smoother:

How can I vote?

As the deadline for postal votes and voting by proxy has already passed you’ll now have to vote in person at your local polling station.

When can I vote?

The elections take place on Thursday 5 May and polls open at 7am. Voting closes at 10pm.

Where is my polling station?

To find this out, you will need to contact your local authority directly. If you've been sent a ballot paper in the post you should be able to see the address of your polling station on the front.

Who are my candidates?

There is no official source of information on candidates, so make sure you do some research on the candidates before heading to the polling station. You can do this by checking candidate websites and party websites.

If you type in your postcode here, you'll be able to find the names of your local candidates.

Staff at the polling station will give you a ballot paper listing all the candidates you can vote for. Do not write anything else (besides the cross next to the candidate you select) or your vote may not be counted. No need to rush to a stationery shop, as a pencil will be provided.

If you make a mistake, tell one of the assistants – they’ll give you a replacement. Fold your ballot paper in half; pop it in the ballot box. You’re done!

Why are these elections important?

The Mayor of London election is arguably the highest directly elected office in the UK with a personal mandate. Whichever party wins it not only gets to run the capital but also gains a high-profile figure.

The devolved elections are important to the places they take place in because a lot of important services like health and education are devolved the Scottish, Northern Irish, and Welsh governments – they’re not run from Westminster.

The local elections are of course important to people’s local communities – they decide who runs local councils. But more importantly for national politics, they’re often seen as a barometer of opinion mid-election cycle.

Why is everyone talking about Jeremy Corbyn?

Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn (Rob Stothard/Getty Images)

The Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn is under attack by internal opponents within his own party – and a bad showing in these elections could give them an opening to try and get rid of him.

Will a bad showing by the Conservatives hurt David Cameron the same way?

Probably not – he’s stepping down anyway soon, and has less organised resistance against him in his own party who would look to exploit a defeat.

He has however personally associated himself with his party’s campaign in London which has had to deny accusations of “racism” against Labour’s Sadiq Khan.

What are the big things to watch out for?

Scottish Labour leader Kezia Dugdale (left) and First Minister Nicola Sturgeon (Getty Images)

In Scotland, the SNP are going to come first – but the battle for second place and third place between Labour and the Tories is looking very close. A third place finish for Labour in its former heartland would be humiliating and symbolic.

In Wales, the question is whether Labour can hang on as a majority government – or whether it will have to do a deal with another party to stay in power. They will likely come first there, however.

In London, taking back the mayoralty would be a big win for Labour – they’ve been out since Ken Livingstone lost in 2008.

How many seats Labour loses or gains in the local council elections will also be important – but this is harder to interpret objectively and everyone is going to be spinning the result to try and further their interests.

The Northern Ireland political system operates in a bit of a bubble so its result won’t affect the UK-wide parties in any big way.

If the SNP win will Scotland go independent?

No, but there’s a good chance the might hold another independence referendum, which they might win in future.