Hartlepool 2026 local elections: All you need to know
PA MediaHartlepool Borough Council has an election on Thursday 7 May, where a third of its council seats will be contested.
Voters will go to the polls to pick councillors to represent their ward.
Information about who is standing for the local council elections in Hartlepool will be released closer to the time.
The deadline to register to vote is Monday 20 April and can be done online.
The Labour Party runs a majority administration at Hartlepool Borough Council with the parties split as follows:
- Labour & Co-operative - 14 seats / Labour - seven seats
- Independents - seven seats
- Reform UK - five seats
- Conservatives - two seats
- Hartlepool Independent Union - one seat
How to vote
Polling stations will be open between 07:00 and 22:00 BST, and photo ID is required to vote.
The council will send out polling cards nearer the time, with details on where to vote.
Voters will need to follow the instructions on the notices in the polling booth and on the top of the ballot paper.
Representatives will help shape the direction of the local authority, which is responsible for services such as bin collections and planning applications.
An application for a postal vote must be submitted by 21 April and the deadline to submit an application to vote by proxy is 28 April.
Analysis by David Macmillan, BBC North East & Cumbria political reporter
Just 12 of Hartlepool's 36 seats are up for grabs but it could be enough to see control of the council wrestled from the Labour Party.
In elections where one third of a local authority is contested, the impact on the balance of power depends on the number of seats the leading group is defending.
Labour is trying to hold on in six wards this time around, meaning just a small number of defeats would see it lose its majority.
Reform sees itself as Labour's chief rival. The party currently has five councillors, following the addition of former Labour councillor Aaron Roy in March. It has also won the last two council by-elections.
Issues like deprivation and anti-social behaviour are a key part of Reform's campaign, attacking Labour's record during its time in charge of the local authority.
Labour, in turn, will point to new developments in Hartlepool as evidence it is delivering change in the town, such as the Northern Studios film and television complex and the recent announcement that the old Binns department store building is to become a Trades Academy for the nuclear and electrical industries.
Labour councillors can also point to lowest council tax increase in the region this year, achieved despite a high profile spat with the Labour government.
Independents have traditionally done well in Hartlepool, leading the council for a large chunk of the last 25 years, including the reign of the famous Monkey Mascot Mayor Stuart Drummond.
The Conservatives also had a brief spell in command but currently have just two seats - a long way short of the Boris-Johnson-inspired boom of 2021, when Jill Mortimer became the first Tory MP to represent the town since the current parliamentary constituency was formed in 1974.
Both the Liberal Democrats and the Green Party go into this year's election without representation at the local authority.
Hartlepool has been politically volatile since the turn of the millennium, with Labour, Independents, Conservatives and The Brexit Party enjoying spells leading the council. There is every chance this year could bring another shift in its political structure.