Local elections 2021 in Devon: what you need to know

Devon goes to the polls tomorrow for the first time since December 2019.

Elections are being held for Devon County Council and the Police and Crime Commissioner, along with the delayed 2020 local elections in Exeter and Plymouth, by-elections in East Devon, South Hams, Mid Devon, Torbay and Exeter, Neighbourhood Plan referendums, and for various vacant parish and town council seats – including three in Sidmouth.

The entirety of the 60-strong county council will be up for re-election, with 56 'single-member' Electoral Divisions and 2 'two-member' Divisions'.

The current composition of the council consists of 41 Conservatives, 6 Labour, 6 Liberal Democrats, 4 Independents, 1 Green Party, 1 East Devon Alliance and 1 North Devon Liberal.

All elected councillors will serve their usual four-year term upon their election.

You can see a full list of all the councillors standing for election here.

Voting at a polling station

Polling stations will open at 7am on Thursday, May 6, and close at 10pm. If there's a queue at your polling station, you'll still be able to vote as long as you joined the queue before 10pm.

Covid precautions will be in place at polling stations. These include:

• A face covering– you will need to wear one when you go in to the polling station, unless you are exempt.
• Hand sanitiser– this will be available at the entrance/exit of polling stations. Make sure that you use it before and after you cast your vote.
• Your own pen or pencil– it is advisable to bring your own, but if you forget, there will be clean pencils available.
• Social distancing measures will be in place and will be well signposted. It might mean that you have to queue so please factor this into your plans and leave extra time.

In certain circumstances, where you have an emergency that means you can't vote in person, you can apply for an emergency proxy.

This must be something that you weren't aware of before the normal proxy vote deadline, such as a medical emergency, being away for work, and being told to self-isolate as a result of either contracting Covid-19 or being in contract with someone who has.

These applications can be made up to 5pm on polling day and your proxy will then cast the vote that you would have made for you.

What other elections are taking place?

The new Devon and Cornwall Police and Crime Commissioner will be elected, with candidates from the Conservatives, Labour, Liberal Democrats and Green Party standing.

The elected PCC would normally serve a four year term, but will instead only serve a three year term to ensure the return to the usual electoral cycle.

Read more about the four candidates here.

District councils: A by-election will take place in the Whimple & Rockbeare ward of East Devon District Council. Thirteen seats on Exeter City Council are up for grabs, following the postponement of last May's elections. The new councillors will serve only three years to return to the normal four-year electoral cycle. Three by-elections will take place for seats on Mid Devon District Council in the Castle, Taw and Westexe wards. One by-election will take place for a seat on South Hams District Council, and another for a seat on Torbay Council.

Voters in two wards of Sidmouth Town Council will be voting for new representatives. There are two vacancies in Sidmouth South and one in Salcombe Regis.

The candidates are:

Sidmouth Salcombe Regis

Sheila Kerridge

Richard Furlow (Independent)

Sidmouth South

Nick Diprose

Hilary Nelson (Independent)

Rachel Perram (Independent)

Bob Weeks

There was a vacancy in the Sidmouth East ward, but the seat is uncontested as Steven Kendall-Torry was the only candidate and will be duly elected to the town council.

There's a vacancy on Newton Poppleford Parish Council but no candidates have put themselves forward.

Residents of Newton Poppleford will also be voting on whether to accept its Neighbourhood Plan. A summary of the plan can be seen here.