Super Thursday guide: What your local councillor actually does

Plus: Links to the local elections across Greater Manchester

Dear members — Super Thursday has arrived!

Nationally, it’s a highly significant electoral moment, with two years of local and regional elections combined in one poll. The elections to the Scottish parliament could well determine the future of the union, and in England, the local and city region results will give us the first big indication of whether Keir Starmer’s refashioned Labour party is performing better in key battleground areas than it did in the December 2019 general election.

In Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham will be confident of re-election as mayor, but we will be watching closely to see how he performs compared to his party nationally, and whether he does well in some of the outlying areas of GM where the Conservatives picked up seats at the last election. If you missed our interview with Burnham, it is here, and our piece about the people challenging him for the mayoralty is here.