PEOPLE in Exeter will go to the polls early in May to cast their votes in a series of elections that almost didn’t happen.

Only a late government U-turn signalled the go-ahead for the elections for 13 city council seats which will take place on Thursday, May 7.

The council’s Labour administration had initially asked the government to postpone the elections, saying it would save the authority a quarter of a million pounds and free up officers to prepare for the forthcoming local government reorganisation.

Some argued that there was little point electing members of a “zombie” council which would cease to exist in two years anyway.

But opponents said Labour was “running scared”, having done badly the last time the city went to the polls for the county council elections last year. They also said it was undemocratic to call off the elections this year, and Reform UK mounted a nationwide legal challenge.

The government originally agreed to dozens of elections across the country being called off, but has since changed its mind to say they should go ahead after all.

The May elections will see a third of Exeter City Council’s 39 seats up for grabs. The authority works on a cycle which sees a third of its members elected each year, with a “fallow” year every fourth year.

The current make-up of the council is that Labour hold 22 seats, with the combined opposition parties and independents holding the other 17. A bad night at the count for Labour – on a par with its wipeout in last year’s county elections – could see it losing its overall control of the city.

Eight of the 13 seats are currently held by Labour councillors, five of them “portfolio holders” at the heart of the council. They also include the ward of deputy leader Laura Wright (St Thomas).

Two of the seats are currently held by Green councillors and one each by the Liberal Democrats, Conservatives and Reform UK.

The council’s Labour leader Phil Bialyk, whose Exwick seat is not one of those up for grabs, believes people will continue to support the administration on the strength of its track record on delivering for the city.

He said he hoped people would make their decisions based on the local picture and not on national politics.

Polling stations will be open from 7am to 10pm on May 7. Voters attending in person must bring an accepted form of photographic ID. Residents must be registered in order to vote, with a deadline of April 20 to do so.

The deadline to apply for a postal vote or postal-proxy vote is 5pm on Tuesday, April 21, and the deadline to apply to vote by proxy is 5pm on Tuesday, April 28.

The Exeter councillors whose seats will be up for grabs are Cllrs Marina Asvashin (Priory), James Cookson (Topsham), Bob Foale (Alphington), Paul Knott (Exwick), Matthew Vizard (Newton and St Leonards), Laura Wright (St Thomas), Josie Parkhouse (Pennsylvania) and Duncan Wood (Pinhoe).

The others are Cllrs Tess Read (Green, St Davids), Catherine Rees (Green, Heavitree), Kevin Mitchell (Lib Dem, Duryard and St James), Peter Holland (Con, St Loyes) and Tony Payne (Reform UK, Mincinglake and Whipton)