Vote 2026: The final countdown
5/6/202621 min
On the eve of a hugely significant set of local and national elections – who has the momentum and who is staring into an electoral abyss?
Sam and Anne pore over the final voting intention polls before the elections – covering England, Scotland and Wales. Have the latest headlines for Reform and the Greens done any damage?
Meanwhile, as part of a series of leader interviews on Sky News, Sam has been speaking to the Conservatives’ Kemi Badenoch. How will she be judged at this election and what does success look like for her party?
Plus, Anne has some details from the Keir Starmer camp on how they plan to deal with aftermath of the coming days.
You can find all the candidates standing in the elections across England, Scotland and Wales here.
Sam and Anne will return for two special debrief episodes on Friday and Sunday as the votes come in across the country.
Clips
Transcript preview
First 90 secondsSpeaker 00:00
If you work in university maintenance, Grainger considers you an MVP because your playbook ensures your arena is always ready for tip-off, and Grainger is your trusted partner. Offering the products you need all in one place, from HVAC and plumbing supplies to lighting and more, and all delivered with plenty of time left on the clock so your team always gets the win. Call one eight hundred Grainger, visit grainger.com, or just stop by. Grainger, for the ones who get it done.
Anne McElvoy· Host0:28
[upbeat music] Hello, good morning and welcome. It's Wednesday, May the sixth. Parties on the left and right are coming under scrutiny in the final hours of the local election campaign. Nigel Farage is facing questions about his fishy, Kemi Badenoch's word, five million pound gift from Christopher Harbourne, and the Green's Zak Polanski stands accused of falsely claiming to have been a spokesperson for the British Red Cross and also liking social posts that highlighted Israeli influence over Labor. I'm Anne McElvoy from Politico.
Sam Coates· Host1:05
And I'm Sam Coates of Sky News. Busy day today. Um, we've got the final polling verdict ahead of the big day on Thursday, and I've been sitting down with Kemi Badenoch, who got back from the West Midlands very late last night. Um, she gave me some really quite surprising answers, so we're going through, we're gonna run through a chunk of that, uh, in a moment.
Anne McElvoy· Host1:22
Looking forward to that, and we've got news of how Keir Starmer continues to plan a save my skin campaign