Thursday briefing: ​Five things to look out for in today’s local and parliamentary elections

In today’s newsletter: As voters cast their ballots from Wales to Westminster, long‑established political loyalties face their toughest test in decades, with parties old and new vying to reshape the national landscape Millions of Britons head to the polls today. From the Scottish Highlands to the Isle of Wight, swathes of the country will elect local councillors and representatives in national parliaments. Officially, the mundane functioning of everyday life is on the ballot: bin collections, road maintenance and community services. But many commentators are expecting a political earthquake, where the end of a system dominated by two parties is truly crystalised for the first time, and the survival of Keir Starmer as British prime minister is called into question. For today’s First Edition, we asked the Guardian reporters who have been on the ground ahead of elections about what they are looking out for. But first, the headlines. UK politics | Nigel Farage’s income since he was elected as an MP has reached £2m on top of his parliamentary salary, analysis of the register of MPs has shown. US news | A federal judge has unsealed an alleged suicide note written by Jeffrey Epst