Voters across England, Scotland and Wales head to poll booth today in local authority elections, while electors in London, Liverpool and Salford vote to elect their mayors.

Elections will be held to 131 English local authorities, 32 Scottish local authorities and 21 of the 22 Welsh councils, with Anglesey omitted due to it being run by a group of commissioners after being placed in “special measures”.

At the same time, Ken Livingstone and Boris Johnson will fight in London for the capital’s mayor position. But, Siobhan Benita (Independent), Carlos Cortiglia (British National Party), Jenny Jones (Green), Brian Paddick (Liberal Democrats) and Lawrence Webb (UKIP) are also contesting.

Referendums will also be held in 10 English cities, including Birmingham, Bradford, Bristol, Coventry, Leeds, Manchester, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Nottingham, Sheffield and Wakefield, on whether or not to introduce directly elected mayors. Meanwhile, Doncaster is arranging its own vote to determine whether to give up its elected mayor and go back to having a council leader and a cabinet of councillors.

Of over 5,000 seats at stake on 181 local councils across England, Scotland and Wales, Conservatives and Liberal Democrats are poised to lose hundreds. However, the Conservative Party can hope for a good result in London, where Boris Johnson is expected to retain City Hall.

As the Government has been struggling due to difficulties, Labour seems to have an advantage if the recent opinion polls are considered. Polling stations across the country will open at 0700 BST and close at 2200 BST, with the first council results expected to come in on Friday.

Related: Boris ahead of Ken in London mayoral race