Polling places open at voting begins

Today’s the day as voters, election officials and candidates get ready for the General Election.

A total of 128,780 people are eligible to vote in Renfrewshire across two constituencies — Paisley and Renfrewshire North and Paisley and Renfrewshire South.

Each area will elect one MP under the first past the post voting method.

The Paisley and Renfrewshire North constituency has 67,436 electors, of whom 13,578 have applied for postal votes.

Paisley and Renfrewshire South has an electorate of 61,344, with 13,404 postal votes.

Across the district, 61 polling places will open at 7am and close at 10pm.

The polling places include schools, community centres, churches, a bowling club, a hotel, sports pavilion, Tweedie Hall, in Linwood, and Renfrew Town Hall.

Shortly after 10pm, the focus of attention will switch to the Lagoon, where 280 staff will be working at the count.

Returning officer Sandra Black, chief executive of Renfrewshire Council, will announce the results in the early hours of Friday morning.

The candidates standing in the Paisley and Renfrewshire North constituency are John Boyd, Lib Dems; David Gardiner, Conservative; Gavin Newlands, SNP and Alison Taylor, Labour.

Standing in Paisley and Renfrewshire South are Mhairi Black, SNP; Alison Dowling, Labour; Paul Mack, Independent; Eileen McCartin, Lib Dems; Amy Thomson, Conservative.