Everything you need to know about council elections in Warwickshire

Polls close at 10pm, counting starts soon after and the results are expected in the early hours of Friday morning.

To see the candidates click here.

Here is all the political parties and independent candidates on why you should vote for them.

Conservatives: We have created a council to be proud of

The Conservatives said they are focusing on a strong economy.

Izzi Seccombe, Leader of Warwickshire County Council, said: “The decision of the Warwickshire Electorate on May 4 is simple.

“If you agree that an administration that supports jobs, a strong economy, skills and investment in infrastructure, is right then you need to support Conservative candidates. You will also be voting for a party that believes in helping our most vulnerable people to lead good and supported lives in their communities.

“Conservatives have invested in the economy, business support and developed a skills programme that has created apprenticeships and driven down unemployment rates to the lowest in the region.

“We have created an infrastructure fund to improve our roads.

“We now have more children in Warwickshire attending a good and outstanding school than ever, and Conservatives have linked schools with our business sector, helping to create courses that work for employers and give young people ambitions.

“Believing prevention is best we have created a partnership hub with police, social workers and health to protect our children from exploitation.

“Conservatives believe in creating services that help vulnerable people to live well, we have invested in 40 new children’s social workers.

“We have led a programme of extra-care housing to help vulnerable people to live independently with support and we want to give our looked-

after children the best chance in life.

“Conservatives have ensured the council is lean and fit for the future, financially secure and that Warwickshire is a county we can be proud of. Help us to make Warwickshire great by voting Conservative.”

Labour: Our priority is people not politics

Labour said it wants to invest in the next generation.

Leader June Tandy said: “Warwickshire County Labour Group, in the last four years, have fought against the stringent cuts imposed on the county council.

This year we forced the Conservative administration into reducing the cuts they were proposing in several areas including children’s centres, the elderly, the fire service and several more.

“We are committed to securing a better future for local people by ensuring that services for disadvantaged and vulnerable people will be addressed by restoring quality health and social care.

“We intend to invest in our next generation by supporting young people in Warwickshire from infancy to adulthood. We want to ensure our education system prepares young people for further education or training opportunities.

“To help Warwickshire thrive we need a transport and road network that allows affordable and reliable transport.

“To do this Labour are proposing to create a municipal bus company. We will also strive to ensure our roads and pavements are well maintained in the interests of road safety. One of the real ways to help residents is to address the issue of energy poverty and to do so, and to benefit every resident, we are proposing a council-run energy company that will provide cheaper rates than the private companies do currently.

“Under the Conservatives, council tax payers are paying more money for fewer services. This election is a chance for the residents of Warwickshire to send a message to those in power that change is needed. Labour are the only party who can deliver this change. Labour’s priority in Warwickshire is people, not politics.”

Liberal Democrats: Track record on delivering change

Liberal Democrats in Warwickshire are urging residents across the county to vote for a better way on Thursday May 4 and elect a county councillor who will protect the vulnerable and ensure the county council provides better services.

Over the past four years Liberal Democrats on Warwickshire County Council have achieved a lot, rejecting the speed and depth of budget cuts proposed by both Conservatives and Labour.

Working as a team your Liberal Democrat councillors in Warwickshire have:

• Secured investment of £3.8 million to give our

0-5-year children the best start in life.

• Supported over £600,000 of additional money for the period 2016 to 2018 to deliver front-line community work to help children and young people cope with mental health issues.

• Delivered over £3 million extra investment to improve road safety around schools.

• Secured additional funding to reduce cuts to vital Road Safety Education for children in our schools.

• Ensured the Fire and Rescue Arson Reduction Scheme had the funding to continue.

• Secured dedicated funding for the Library Service, avoiding Sunday closures of the main libraries in Leamington, Nuneaton and Rugby.

Commenting, Jerry Roodhouse, said: “Liberal Democrat councillors in Warwickshire have set the agenda pushing the Conservatives who run the county council to deliver better services and protect the vulnerable.

“We are a clear and distinctive voice within the county council committed to protecting our youngest and most vulnerable and committed to providing dignity and support for older citizens.

“There is a “Better way” for Warwickshire and by voting Liberal Democrats on Thursday May 4 you will ensure that you will get a councillor that will fight for it.”

Green Party: Infrastructure will be a key priority

The Green Party message is to find practical solutions to problems that resolve conflict and disagreement in communities and bring people together. Their top priorities at the county council are:

• Infrastructure for the future. Thousands of extra houses are being built around Warwick District, but the proposed transport improvements are woefully inadequate and will leave our towns at a standstill. Instead of building bigger junctions which will clog up our roads and lungs we need to make walking and cycling safe and enjoyable for short journeys so we’re not stuck in our cars for longer journeys. GP surgeries, children’s centres, libraries, schools and shops need to be within easy distances with proper transport links. We will have a strong focus on investing in and delivering the infrastructure we all want and need for the next thirty years.

• High quality care for those that need it. The county is responsible for buying in care for older people and must keep working more closely with the NHS. Yet too many carers are still not paid for travel time or treated as professionals with appropriate training. Other councils have shown you can have affordable, high quality care whilst valuing and retaining staff. We will follow their example.

• Higher housing standards. We will continue to fight for higher standards in private rented tenancies to benefit tenants and the wider community, holding the minority of irresponsible landlords to account. Houses should be homes first, not just for maximising financial returns.

• Rubbish and fly-tipping. At the moment the district councils pick up rubbish but the county council runs the tip and recycling centres. This costs the taxpayer extra and means the financial incentives aren’t there to deal with fly-tipping and rubbish.

We will strongly push for a joint waste partnership to resolve these problems and save money.

UKIP: We are the true guardians of Brexit

UKIP are the guardians of Brexit.

We support the interests of British people and we will protect the sovereignty of the United Kingdom.

Our key policies are:

• A tougher approach to immigration with a policy based on a fair ‘points-based’ system, bringing back full border controls.

• The transfer of our laws from Brussels to Westminster.

• We will fully fund our NHS. UKIP believes that the NHS must always be free at the point of need.

• We will cut out waste and inefficiency and provide the extra resources to make our NHS the envy of the world.

• We will increase spending to fund more clinicians and provide more care in the community and extra for mental health

• We will keep the NHS the National Health Service not the International Health Service by stopping health tourism.

• We will increase funding and resources for better social services and support for the disabled.

• We will make tuition in the STEM subject – Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths free for our students

• We will seek to provide more affordable housing by re-purposing empty properties and building new council houses

• We will increase the number of police officers and restore the armed forces to pre-2000 levels.

• We will support small businesses by reducing business rates and rents.

• We will change the starting point at which a citizen starts to pay tax

• We will fund our campaign pledges by redirecting money from unnecessary overseas aid, scrap the HS2 vanity project, create a bankers’ tax to fund national infrastructure projects and introduce a sales tax for multi-nationals based on their turnover.

Independent: Adrian Barton

Adrian Barton will standing as an independent candidate for the Whitnash ward.

He has lived and worked in Whitnash all of his life and has been a town councillor for 11 years.

His partner and children all work for the NHS and Adrian himself is actively involved in the work of the Rehab Hospital.

As a previous school governor, and his on-going work with the Royal British Legion, church and other local groups and events, he feels that he is in a great position to represent the people of Whitnash.

Adrian is passionate about promoting Whitnash as a town to be proud of.

Adrian believes in inclusion for all, decent local education, maintaining Whitnash’s identity and most importantly having a safe and enjoyable local neighbourhood.

Independent: Judy Falp

Judy Falp will be standing as an independent candidate in Whitnash for the Whitnash Residents Association.

She said: “As an Independent Whitnash Residents Association candidate, free from control by the national political parties, I am seeking to represent the people of Whitnash on Warwickshire County Council.

“We work in the interests of Whitnash residents with our partners to achieve the best outcomes for our town.

“With an increasing number of residents requiring services but with less money available to provide them it is important to have a strong experienced voice, and with my 21 years as a Whitnash councillor I would work to protect and improve our local services, especially care for the elderly, community facilities and libraries.”

Council elections: All the candidates in Warwick district