People across Watford will head to the polls on Thursday as local elections get underway.

Council elections are set to return on May 5 in the town with 12 of the 36 ward seats being contested.

But the biggest seat of all up for grabs is that of the position of mayor - the elected leader of Watford who leads the council.

Ahead of polling day, the current political make-up of the council is:

Liberal Democrat - 24 (25 including mayor)

Labour - 10

Independent - 2

The Liberal Democrats hold a majority of 12 at Watford Borough Council. Two Independent councillors, who defected from the Lib Dems in 2021, are not standing for re-election.

The council is split into 12 wards, each represented by three councillors. One seat in every ward is up for election.

The wards in Watford are Callowland, Central, Holywell, Leggatts, Meriden, Nascot, Oxhey, Park, Stanborough, Tudor, Vicarage, and Woodside, and each ward is represented by three councillors.

What to look out for

In terms of seats to watch out for, some wards might be closer than others, judging by the results in the most recent 2021 election.

Although the Lib Dems won the most number of seats available in 2021, the party lost support in 11 out of the 12 wards compared to 2019.

Labour had a mixed performance, mostly losing some votes in areas they already held, although the party did win a seat off the Lib Dems in Callowland.

The Conservatives increased their support in the 2021 election in every ward they stood in both 2021 and 2019 but it was still not enough to secure any seats on the council.

At the 2021 elections, there were notable vote swings towards the Tories from the Lib Dems in the likes of Meriden and Stanborough wards, while Leggatts ward could well be another close fight between the Lib Dems and Labour. It remains to be seen whether the trend continues in 2022.

But Callowland could well be the tightest fight of all because this is the only ward in Watford with cross-party representation. The Lib Dems will be looking to hold onto the one seat they hold in the ward.

Reminder: Full list of mayor and council candidates at Watford 2022 election revealed

The biggest seat of all

Every eligible resident in Watford will have the opportunity to vote for the next mayor.

The town's current mayor is Peter Taylor, who represents the Liberal Democrat party. He won the seat following an election in 2018.

He is running again and he is being challenged for the position in the 2022 election by Labour candidate Cllr Asif Khan and Conservative candidate Binita Mehta-Parmar.