Voters are going to the polls to elect 17 representatives to Reading Borough Council today.
Contests are taking place across all 16 wards of the council, with voters in the Caversham Heights ward electing two councillors.
But what happened last time?
The last council election took place in May 2024, just a month prior to the general election campaign that year.
The Labour Party was riding high, just prior to taking power.
The result in 2024 was relatively static, with just two changes of party.
Liam Challenger, the incumbent Labour councillor for Katesgrove, stood down, clearing the way for a challenge between Green Party candidate Kaisa Nikulina and Labour contender Navjit Kaur Gill.
Ultimately, Ms Nikulina was elected with 1,045 votes to Ms Gill’s 861 votes, making that a Green gain from Labour.
Daya Pal Singh, a former Labour councillor, was able to defeat incumbent Conservative councillor Simon Robinson in Emmer Green.
Mr Singh was elected with 1,148 votes, with Mr Robinson coming in second with 1,035.
Labour has been gaining in the Caversham area since the all-out elections in 2022, when Sue Kitchingham gained one seat from the Conservatives in Caversham Heights.
Sam Juthani followed that up in 2023, beating the incumbent Conservative councillor Paul Carnell, who attempted to regain his seat in 2024 but was beaten by Labour candidate Jenny McGrother.
A vacancy has been created as Mr Juthani has retired from the council prior to
That is why voters in Caversham Heights ward will be selecting two councillors to represent them.
That local election took place in the last weeks of the Conservative government from 2010 to 2024.
Since then, the Labour government has had a difficult tenure, with the Harehills riot in Leeds, the summer riots of that year and controversy over winter fuel payments.
The Green Party became the main opposition on the council in 2022, when they won seven seats, beating the Conservatives into third place.
Labour has been in control of the council since 2012. While briefly being out of power in 2008 to 2012, they have been in control for 24 of the last 28 years.
The party currently has 31 councillors, and need 25 to maintain their majority.
The Green Party has eight councillors, the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats have three each, with one Reform UK councillor and councillor Sarah Hacker (Independent, Battle) who is not contesting this election.
In-person voting continues until 10pm today (Thursday, May 7).
You will need valid photo ID to vote. Acceptable forms are listed on the Electoral Commission website.
Also, you can find your polling station by typing your postcode into the Where Can I Vote website.
