Explainer: Why we should be keeping an eye on the UK election

In England voting has closed in one of the largest council elections in years. There are around 5,000 council seats up for grabs, and over 25,000 people contesting them. There are also parliamentary elections in Scotland and Wales. But the thing that makes this election special - it's the first real test of the 'Green Wave' vs the rise of 'Reform UK' narrative A bad result will also put more pressure on Kier Starmer's Labour government which has seen a significant decline in popularity Jesse is joined now by Marcus Ganley who's been following the action. Marcus is a public law specialist with firm Franks Ogilvie but was previously a ministerial adviser to the Clark government and held senior roles in Australian federal politics. [picture id="4JOZK7Y_AFP__20260507__B23M3YP__v1__HighRes__BritainPoliticsVote_jpg" crop="16x10" layout="full"]