Voting begins in Wigan's local elections

Wiganers are going to the polls today with a third of Wigan Council seats up for grabs.
Wiganers go to the pollsWiganers go to the polls
Wiganers go to the polls

There are a number of intriguing races this time as opposition parties and groups look to eat into Labour’s large majority in the chamber.

Related: Why the majority of Wiganers are unlikely to vote in the local electionsLast time these 25 seats were contested in 2015 there was also a general election and the red rosette dominated, taking all but two of them.

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But the higher turn-out when council and Westminster representatives are decided on the same day tends to favour the biggest national parties, suggesting it could be a different story this time around.

Wiganers go to the pollsWiganers go to the polls
Wiganers go to the polls

Some of the most intriguing races fall in areas where the opposition already have two seats and are looking to make it a clean sweep.

Labour and the Conservatives are standing candidates in all 25 wards, with the next-biggest slate of 21 candidates being put up by Eurosceptic party Ukip.

The Liberal Democrats have 13 candidates, the Greens have six, the Independent Network has five and new party Leigh, Atherton and Tyldesley Together (LATT) has four for its electoral debut.

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Polling stations are open until 10pm. Counts will then take place in Wigan and Leigh with results being declared in the early hours of Friday morning.

See the results as they come in at wigantoday.net

Anyone unsure of how to cast their vote can find their polling station in the Elections section of Wigan Council’s website or at https://wheredoivote.co.uk/