Polls open for Manchester local elections

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The polls are now open for Manchester's local elections, with council seats up for grabs across the region.

Labour are expected to make significant gains in the North West, and are targeting victory in Trafford, the city's last Conservative stronghold.

The Liberal Democrats will be keen to avoid a repeat of last year's drubbing in the region, which saw them fail to defend a single seat

A third of council seats will also be contested in Bolton, Bury, Manchester, Oldham, Rochdale, Salford, Stockport, Tameside, and Wigan.

Meanwhile, Salford residents are voting for their first directly-elected mayor. Candidates include the Liberal Democrat's Norman Owen, Karen Garrido of the Conservatives, Labour's Ian Stewart, the BNP's Edward O'Sullivan, and independent runner Paul Massey.

Manchester residents are also voting in a referendum about the introduction of directly elected mayor for their city.

Council seats will be counted when the polls close at 10:00pm this evening. Salford's mayoral count starts at 11:00am tomorrow.