VOTERS across the UK will flock to the polls on Thursday for this year’s round of elections.

Thousands of seats are to be contested.

Locals up and down the country will decide who they want to make important decisions on their behalf.

Voters will be choosing a mixture of councillors, local and regional mayors.

We have looked at what the turnout was like across south east London and Dartford when voters last headed to the polls in 2018.

The figures by, Electoral Commision Data, show Bromley had the highest turnout of voters in south east London in 2018.

The lowest turnout was in Bexley where 174,188 people were eligible to vote and 64,705 voters returned valid ballot papers.

Postal votes can be rejected if a paper has not been marked properly or has been spoiled.

The last local election in Dartford was in 2019.

The average ballot box turnout in London in 2018 was 39 per cent.

Bexley:

In Bexley, 174,188 people were eligible to vote, with 64,705 of them returning valid ballot papers – equating to a valid voter turnout of 37.1 per cent.

Around 19,200 postal votes were included in the count, while 549 votes were rejected.

Including votes rejected at the count, the ballot box turnout was 37.5 per cent, which was lower than the London average.

Bromley:

In Bromley, 240,249 people were eligible to vote, with 95,986 of them returning valid ballot papers – equating to a valid voter turnout of 40 per cent.

Around 25,800 postal votes were included in the count, while 238 votes were rejected.

Including votes rejected at the count, the ballot box turnout was 40.1 per cent, which was higher than the London average.

Lewisham:

In Lewisham, 199,555 people were eligible to vote, with 74,197 of them returning valid ballot papers – equating to a valid voter turnout of 37.2 per cent.

Around 15,600 postal votes were included in the count, while 331 votes were rejected.

Including votes rejected at the count, the ballot box turnout was 37.3 per cent, which was lower than the London average.

Voters will also be able to choose who they would like to be Mayor of Lewisham.

Greenwich:

In Greenwich, 187,475 people in the area were eligible to vote, with 67,758 of them returning valid ballot papers – equating to a valid voter turnout of 36.1 per cent.

Around 16,900 postal votes were included in the count, while 197 votes were rejected.

Including votes rejected at the count, the ballot box turnout was 36.2 per cent, which was lower than the London average.

Dartford:

At the last local council elections in 2019, 79,393 people in the area were eligible to vote, with 23,573 of them returning valid ballot papers.

This equates to a valid voter turnout of 29.7 per cent.

Around 6,800 postal votes were included in the count, while 213 votes were rejected.

Including votes rejected at the count, the ballot box turnout in Dartford that year was 30 per cent.

This means the turnout was lower compared to the turnout in England with 32.8 per cent.

Dartford residents did not vote for ward councillors in 2021.

They were called on to elect members to Kent County Council where the turnout was 29.8 per cent.

National issues such as the surging cost of living, Ukraine and partygate will be on voters' minds this year – but residents across Great Britain still want councils to focus on improving local roads and housing, according to a poll.

A survey carried out by Ipsos ahead of the May 5 elections found 50 per cent of Britons thought improving the condition of roads and pavements should be a top priority for councils.

That figure rose to 60 per cent in Wales and 63 per cent in Scotland, while in London only a third of people thought roads were a priority.

Second on the list was providing affordable, decent housing, with 39 per cent of voters telling Ipsos this area was most in need of improvement.

Gideon Skinner, head of political research at Ipsos, said: “Although most people are pretty happy with where they live, they still want to see improvements, particularly on roads, housing, high streets and the local cost of living – all of which are regular bugbears for residents.

“And these can all vary by where you live, for example, crime is a particular issue in London, while in the rest of the South East, traffic congestion is a bigger priority.”

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