Asya Robins
Live reporter

Image source, EPA

It's been a dizzying day of electoral coverage as results poured in from 23 councils, six mayoral contests and one by-election across England.

The elections marked a big test for the Labour government as the first vote to take place since the general election in July 2024.

In the end, it was difficult night for both Labour and the Conservatives as Reform made sweeping wins, and the Liberal Democrats secured gains.

Reform leader Nigel Farage said his party had replaced the Tories as "the main opposition party in government" after Reform gained control of 10 councils, won two mayoral contest and gained their fifth MP in the Runcorn and Helsby by-election by the narrowest of margins.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer described the results as "disappointing" as his party clung on to the North Tyneside, West of England and Doncaster mayoral races, by very tight margins, and lost more than 180 councillors.

It was also a difficult day for the Conservatives, who lost more than 670 councillors and won just one mayoral election in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough as Tory leader Kemi Badenoch pledged to "win back" the public's trust.

However, the Liberal Democrats were left in a celebratory mood - with leader Ed Davey declaring the Lib Dems as "the new party of Middle England" - after taking control of three councils and dozens of seats.

We'll be closing our live coverage now, but you can read our write up of the day's events here - or get the full election results on our dedicated page.

There's also a selection of news and analysis below:

• Seven things we have learnt from the election results
• Reform takes Runcorn from Labour by just six votes
• Andrea Jenkyns: First Reform mayor has knack for bouncing back

And we've now got the final results for this election, in West Northamptonshire, where Reform UK have taken control.

This takes the total number of councils they have control over to ten.

The party has a total of 39 seats on the council, while the Conservatives have dropped by 31 seats to just 16.

Labour has lost nine councillors with just nine seats, while the Liberal Democrats have increased their number of seats to four.

The council has so far declared 70 of 76 seats.

We're still waiting for the results in West Northamptonshire to come through, the final one to declare of today's 23 local council election results.

Of the council's 35 wards, 30 have declared so far.

Reform UK took control in North Northamptonshire a short while ago, with a total of 35 seats on the council.

We'll bring you the results as soon as we get them.

Image source, PA Media

While we wait for the result from the last council to declare - West Northamptonshire - here's a recap of the six mayoral contests:

• Reform UK gained its first mayor, Dame Andrea Jenkyns in Greater Lincolnshire - and later its second, Luke Campbell in Hull and East Yorkshire
• Labour narrowly held three of its mayoral races, with mayors Karen Clark in North Tyneside, Helen Godwin in the West of England and Ros Jones in Doncaster elected
• They did however, lose control of the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough mayoralty to Conservative mayor Paul Bristow - the only Tory mayoral win

We've just got the results for North Northamptonshire Council, where Reform UK have taken control.

This takes the total number of councils they have control over to nine.

The party has 35 seats on the council, while the Tories have dropped by 29 seats and have 10 so far.

Labour has lost 10 councillors and have just two seats, while the Greens are up by four to have five seats.

The council has not yet finished reporting with 53 out of 66 seats declared so far.

Nearly all of the 92 seats in Buckinghamshire Council have been declared and no party has secured an overall majority.

The Conservatives, which have lost the council, have 42 councillors so far - a loss of 30 seats.

The Liberal Democrats have gained 18 - with a total of 26 councillors so far.

Independent councillors have grown to 13, while Labour has a total of five councillors, up one seat from the previous election.

Greens have also gained two councillors in the area, with a total of three so far.

Reform has gained 3 new councillors in the area.

Henry Zeffman
Chief political correspondent

Image source, PA Media

The election results are still being counted, but this patchwork of different contests across England has been truly fascinating, throwing up all sorts of lessons - here are seven things we have learnt so far:

1. These are really bad results for the Labour Party: This is Labour's first electoral test since being swept to office ten months ago - and they are a bad set of results
2. Labour's debate on what to do next is just beginning: For some Labour MPs, the original sin of this government was the decision on winter fuel - and this may be where the debate is headed
3. For the Conservatives, things are somehow getting worse: The Conservatives were reduced to their fewest MPs ever last July and that annihilation is now being visited on their local politicians
4. For Reform, with victory comes responsibility: It's hard to come up with the right superlatives for Nigel Farage's political achievement. The traditional parties will be hoping that, if Reform councils and mayors fail, the party's brand will suffer
5. It's not just Reform benefitting from the main parties' unpopularity: The Lib Dems are making solid gains across what was once traditional Tory territory
6. Whoever is the change candidate wins: If there's one thing every politician and strategist from every party seems to agree on, it is that people are crying out for things to be better
7. The era of fragmentation is here...at least for now: The two-party double act which has governed Britain for a century appears to be under massive strain

Want to know more? Read Henry's full analysis of the election so far

A result for the election at Buckinghamshire Council is imminent, our reporters at the count tell us.

We'll update you as soon as we have the result.

Liberal Democrats win control of three councils, taking dozens of seats from Conservatives:

• Oxfordshire County Council
• Cambridgeshire County Council
• Shropshire Council

Reform UK beat Conservatives and Labour in several areas, taking control of several councils:

• Derbyshire County Council
• Nottinghamshire County Council -
• Lancashire County Council

• Kent County Council

• Doncaster Council
• Staffordshire County Council
• Lincolnshire County Council
• Durham County Council

Elsewhere, many councils have no party in overall control:

• Wiltshire Council - No party has overall control but the Liberal Democrats have the most councillors, with 43 in total
• Gloucestershire County Council - The Liberal Democrats, again, have the most councillors with 31, but there is no overall control
• Hertfordshire County Council - The Liberal Democrats take 27 councillors but with all the results in, there is no overall control
• Warwickshire County Council - Conservatives lose control, but no overall majority
• Leicestershire County Council - Tories lose control, but no majority as Reform pick up 25 new councillors, while Conservatives have 15
• Cornwall Council - No overall control, with Reform UK the largest party on 28 seats and Lib Dems second with 26
• Worcestershire County Council - Conservatives lose control, but no overall majority
• Devon County Council - Again, Conservatives lose control but no party has an overall majority
• Northumberland County Council - Although Reform surges to second place, the Conservatives remain the biggest party - with no overall majority

Reform gains Doncaster Council from Labour, with 37 of the council's 55 seats declared.

Reform now has a majority at the council, with 29 councillors, while Labour loses 21 seats and has five councillors so far.

The Tories have three seats, a loss of four from the previous election.

All results have now been declared in Cornwall Council and no party has a majority - this is the same as the previous election.

Reform have gained 28 new seats in the area, with the Liberal Democrats following closely behind with 13 new seats and a total of 26 councillors.

The Green Party has also gained two seats in the area, with a total of three seats.

The Conservatives have seven councillors, losing 40 seats, while Labour lost one to have four overall.

Most of the results are in for Shropshire Council and the Lib Dems have gained an overall majority with 39 councillors - this is an increase of 24 seats for the party.

With 67 of the 74 seats declared, this is the picture so far:

• Reform have also gained 14 councillors in Shropshire - all being new seats
• The Conservatives have lost 32 seats and currently have six councillors
• The Greens have held steady with four seats
• Labour have lost four and have been left with four councillors

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch spoke earlier today in Peterborough alongside Paul Bristow, who won the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough mayoral election this afternoon.

She told Conservative councillors who have lost their seats that she is "sincerely sorry" and that while the public are "fed up" with Labour, they are not yet ready to trust the Tories.

"What I saw everywhere I campaigned was that people are fed up with the Labour government," she said.

"They were angry about winter fuel payments. They were angry about the jobs tax, but they are still not yet ready to trust us."

Badenoch added today's election results show that Prime Minister Keir Starmer is "on course to be a one-term prime minister".

"We have a big job to do to rebuild trust with the public, she says, adding that her job is to get the party back to being a credible alternative to Labour."

Elizabeth Glinka
Political editor, BBC Midlands

The Liberal Democrats believe they have done enough to take control of Shropshire Council and will win 42 seats on the authority.

Thirty-eight is required for an overall majority. Counting is ongoing and official declarations are yet to take place, so this is not confirmed as of now.

The Conservatives, who ran the council for the last 16 years, currently have just four seats.

Reform has exceeded expectations and is currently the second largest party on 13 seats.

Lucy Ashton
BBC Sheffield political reporter

We are about halfway through the Doncaster Council count and so far, Reform are well in the lead.

They have won 19 seats, compared to Labour’s four and the Conservative’s two.

Long-standing Labour councillor Phil Cole, who is married to former local Labour MP Caroline Flint, was among those who lost his seat to Reform.

Doncaster has a directly-elected Mayor though, so there will not be any discussions about no overall control or majority parties.

Labour’s Ros Jones, re-elected as mayor in the early hours, will form a cabinet and has the authority to push through most council decisions.

What did Labour promise on energy bills?published at 18:04 British Summer Time 2 May

18:04 BST 2 May

By Rupert Carey

Reform UK’s leader Nigel Farage said this afternoon that “the Labour party promised to reduce national bills by £300. Well, they've gone up £300”.

Labour’s manifesto said: “We will save families hundreds of pounds on their bills, not just in the short term, but for good.”

Before the election, the party also mentioned the £300 figure, predicting this amount could come off energy bills as a result of its green measures - but not until 2030.

In the meantime, energy bills have been going up.

The energy price cap, which limits the amount households pay for a unit of energy, is £1,849 for a typical household for the current period from 1 April to 30 June.

This is 9% higher per year, or £159 more, than the price cap set for the same period last year, which was just before the election.

Reform leader Nigel Farage says his party will be "radical, a breath of fresh air in county hall" after taking control of several local councils.

He tells BBC Look North that while they "can't wave magic wands", Reform will have a "very different approach to local government".

"There is too much wasteful expenditure, and trying to do too many things, we want to try and change that," says Farage.

"If you work from home, forget it. If you're a DEI [diversity, equity and inclusion] officer, I suggest you look for another job."

DEI is a set of principles designed to make people of various backgrounds – including socio-economic class, race, gender and physical ability – feel supported, welcomed and safe.

They have been a cause of recent controversy in US politics, where President Donald Trump - who Farage is a vocal supporter of - has aggressively sought to end them and "restore merit-based opportunity".

A profound moment in modern British politicspublished at 17:48 British Summer Time 2 May

17:48 BST 2 May

Chris Mason
Political editor

Demolishing the duopoly in British politics. It’s been talked of before.

The formation of the Social Democratic Party in 1981. The coalition government of the 2010s. The European Parliament elections in 2019, when the Conservative share of the vote was 9% to Labour’s 14%.

But around those moments, big majorities at Westminster for the Conservatives or Labour. In 2017 the big two in the Commons swept up 82.4% of the vote combined.

Perspective should triumph over breathlessness, then. But it is also true that if yesterday was a test to establish if Reform could match their opinion poll ratings with actual votes they have actually surpassed that.

This then is a profound moment in our contemporary politics whatever lies ahead, for Labour, the Conservatives and others will be obliged to respond to it.

Senior Reform figures believe the primary driving motivation behind their surge, that most powerful of human emotions: betrayal; betrayal, they argue, from both of Westminster’s big beasts.

Now, two things to observe: the perceived competence, or otherwise, of Reform in office, a catalyst, perhaps, to fuel further rise or fall and the reaction from their rivals it provokes.

And a final thought - if English politics feels splintered and noisy, remember Scotland and Wales and Northern Ireland too contribute further to the cacophony of political voices demanding our attention and endorsement.

We've seen a flurry of new council results coming in over the last few hours.

As things stand so far, only Reform has taken control of a council from another party. Here's a full breakdown by party of the results so far:

• Reform UK: They now have control of seven councils - all but one of which were Tory held - and 584 councillors. All of them are newly appointed
• Liberal Democrat: Two councils, 334 councillors - this is an increase of 136 councillors
• Conservative: 0 councils, 270 councillors - the party has lost 576 councillors

• Labour: 0 councils, 81 councillors - the party has lost 161 councillors
• Green: 0 councils, 74 councillors - this is an increase of 42 councillors

There are currently seven councils with no overall control: Devon, Hertfordshire, Leicestershire, Northumberland, Warwickshire, Wiltshire, Worcestershire

All of the results are in and, just like in Oxfordshire, the Liberal Democrats have taken control of Cambridgeshire.

The party gained 11 seats and now has 31, while the Tories lost 18 to now hold 10. Labour now holds five seats after losing four.

Reform UK and the Greens, neither of which had councillors before, have gained 10 and three respectively.

No party had overall control of the council prior to the election.