Coronavirus restrictions at the polls

VOTERS will go to the polls for the local elections on May 6.

Elections are being held for Oxfordshire County Council, Wokingham Borough Council, Reading Borough Council and Buckinghamshire Council.

Polling stations will be open from at 7am and close at 10pm, with people being asked to respect coronavirus guidelines.

Votes will also be cast for the Police and Crime Commissioner for the Thames Valley area.

The elections for Oxfordshire were postponed last year when the pandemic hit, which means incumbent of the Henley seat, Stefan Gawrysiak, of the Henley Residents Group, has served for the last five years.

There are also candidates in Sonning Common, Goring, Watlington and Benson.

Wokingham elections include Wargrave and Charvil, which will each have one place.

Buckinghamshire accounts for the Chiltern Villages ward, including Hambleden, Fawley and Medmenham, with three seats up for grabs.

Reading’s elections include Caversham, Mapledurham, Thames and Peppard, with one councillor to be selected in each ward.

The counts for local by-elections and neighbourhood plan referendums will take place on May 7, while the count for Oxfordshire is on May 9.

Many more people are expected to submit a postal vote this year, with voters being encouraged to bring their own pens and pencils.