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Polling stations open at 7am on Thursday, May 2, with a third of seats on the local authority up for election, one in each of the area’s 12 wards.

Polls will close at 10pm with the 48 candidates finding out if they are successful when the results come through in the early hours of Friday morning.

Heading into the elections the council is made up of 17 Labour members, 12 Conservative councillors, one Hartlepool Independent Union representative and six independents.

A view of the 2023 Hartlepool Borough Council election count at the town's Mill House Leisure Centre.

It is currently led by a coalition between Conservative, Independent Union and independent councillors, as it has been since May 2019.

This is because no single party has the 19 seats required to hold an outright majority.

At last year’s local elections Labour missed out on achieving control of the local authority by just three votes in the Hart ward, meaning the Conservatives won that seat and were able to agree a new leading coalition.

Labour’s numbers on the council dropped to 17 in July after councillor Steve Wallace resigned from the party to become an independent, sitting separate to the leading administration.

Deputy council leader Paddy Brown is not seeking re-election at this year's Hartlepool Borough Council elections.

However, the party will leave with a majority if they win four of the 12 seats up for grabs on Thursday, which would mean councillor Brenda Harrison, leader of the local Labour group, would become the first ever female leader of the council.

Of the seats up for election, seven are currently held by Conservative councillors, two by Labour and three by independents.

This includes the Throston seat of independent deputy council leader councillor Paddy Brown, who is not standing for re-election after health issues last year made him “rethink life”.

If no single party has an overall majority after the elections, cross-party talks will be held over potential agreements and coalitions.

The council will then hold its annual general meeting later in May where it will be confirmed who takes up the leadership roles.

On Thursday voters in Hartlepool and across the region will also go to the polls to vote in the Tees Valley Mayor and Cleveland Police and Crime Commissioner elections.

*Follow the Mail’s election coverage throughout Friday morning at www.hartlepoolmail.co.uk

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