Today, Thursday 3rd May, there is a Southwark Council election. You will choose two or three councillors to serve you for four years.

Who to vote for is an important decision. Here is some useful information before voting.

When you vote, you will be given one ballot paper and told how many votes you have (three in most wards, two in a handful of smaller wards). Mark your preferred candidates. You can vote for all three (or two) candidates from one party or for a mixture of parties.

Southwark Council is currently run by Southwark Labour, with a huge majority of 48 out of 63 councillors. Labour will probably run Southwark Council again in 2018. 

This election is not for an MP, or about the Houses of Parliament in Westminster. This is to choose local councillors to work hard and speak up for you on Southwark Council.

Councils dominated by one party, no matter which party it is, provide worse value for money for taxpayers. If people here choose to elect Green Party councillors, it will ensure balance and scrutiny.

Council elections are also about choosing people who will work hard to make the area better. Green Party councillors will:

• defend and improve council homes
• work for more truly affordable, secure housing
• protect local businesses, parks and trees
• make streets safe for walking and cycling
• clean up the air we breathe.

Last time around, in the 2014 council elections, the Green Party came second in one-third of Southwark wards: Camberwell Green, Champion Hill, Faraday, Nunhead & Queen's Road, Peckham, Peckham Rye, Rye Lane and St Giles. 

You can vote if you’re on the register (and over 18). In these council elections, qualifying Commonwealth citizens and EU citizens resident in the UK can vote.

Polling stations are open from 7am to 10pm.

Find your polling station: wheredoivote.co.uk

You don’t need your polling card to vote.

Live in St Giles ward, Camberwell? Extra local info

In Camberwell's St Giles ward you have three votes.

This is the Southwark ward where Green candidates have the best chance of getting elected. You can use your vote to add to Southwark Labour's majority on the council, or you can elect three independent, hard-working Green women: Eleanor Margolies, Paula Orr and Susie Wheeldon.

At the last election in 2014, St Giles elected Labour Party councillors. The Green Party was in second place. Votes for other parties are very unlikely to decide the winner.

People in St Giles have the power to put a Green voice on to Southwark Council for the first time since 2010. If you choose to give just one vote to the Green Party, it is the "lead Green Party candidate" Eleanor Margolies who has the best chance of being elected.