Voters across Kent are going to the polls today in the local elections.

There are some 550 seats up for grabs across all parts of the county - together with the Medway unitary council.

When these elections were last held, one of the big factors remained Brexit. Its influence on the results at a local level saw support for Conservative party slip and nationally, it lost 1,200 seats.

Labour are hoping to make gains across Kent – and results in so-called bellwether districts Dartford and Dover will be watched closely by those predicting whether the party can triumph at a general election, expected next year.

One of the major differences this time is that people will need to have some form of photo ID with them today in order to cast their vote at polling stations.

In a major change to electoral arrangements, anyone failing to meet the criteria of the additional checks will be denied a ballot paper until they can provide one of the approved documents.

The first results are set to come from Medway, with counting taking place overnight and into the early hours.

KentOnline will be running a live blog with all the results and reaction from across the county.