23 of 23 councils. Counting complete.
Reform gains control of a string of councils in England and secures their second mayor after winning the Runcorn and Helsby by-election
Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey says they are now "the party of middle England" as the party secures control of three councils
Keir Starmer says Labour's by-election loss is "disappointing", while Nigel Farage says today "marks the end of two-party politics"
Labour narrowly holds three mayoral races in North Tyneside, the West of England, and Doncaster - but loses control of the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough mayoralty to the Conservatives
These are really bad results for the Labour party, writes the BBC's chief political correspondent in seven key takeaways
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch says she's "determined to win back" trust, as her party loses more than 600 councillors
Watch: BBC's Henry Zeffman on what comes after Reform's by-election win
Rob England
Data Journalist, BBC Verify
More than 15 of the 69 council wards in Northumberland have been declared so far, and Reform UK will be pleased with the results.
The party have mostly chipped away at the 18 Labour seats held before voters went to the polls yesterday.
Keir Starmer’s party has already lost half of its seats on the council.
Kaleigh Watterson
Reporting from Widnes
Image source, Kaleigh Watterson / BBCHowling Laud Hope (right)
Another candidate has arrived here at the Runcorn and Helsby count - and a party leader at that.
It’s Howling Laud Hope of the Monster Raving Loony Party. His puppet Archie also has his own accreditation to be here.
Damian Grammaticas
Reporting from Widnes
We’ve been told that while turnout in the Runcorn and Helsby by-election has been high there are what may prove some significant variations by area.
In particular the more affluent, more rural parts of the constituency seem to have registered some of the highest turnouts. Those are the areas that, in the past, have tended to lean more Conservative in support.
As the votes are mounting up it seems, from what we can see from a few metres away, the piles for Reform and Labour are climbing fast and look to be rivalling each other, while the other parties are, as expected, trailing far behind.
And, we’ve been told, one interesting tidbit - an unusual number of ballots have had extra comments added. Disillusioned voters sending a message or something else? Make of that what you will.
Freya Scott-Turner
Reporting from Tamworth
I’m at a secondary school in Tamworth, where one of the counts for the Staffordshire County Council elections is taking place. Five seats are being elected here, out of 62 across the council area.
The Rawlett School has hosted dozens of election counts over the years, and it's developed some quirky traditions along the way.
Bright pink wheelbarrows play a pivotal role. The polling station officers unload the full ballot boxes in the car park. They’re then wheeled into the sports hall in these stylish vehicles.
Why?
"It’s just the quickest way to get them in," says Stephen Gabriel, deputy returning officer at Tamworth Borough Council. Where the wheelbarrows came from, and why they’re bright pink, no one quite knows.
Counting has just started here, and this count uses brightly coloured clothes pegs to tally up the votes.
A bit like a board game, each party gets a colour. Counters are secured into tens with a paperclip, then a bundle of 100 votes is secured with one peg.
We're not expecting full results for Staffordshire County Council until Friday afternoon.
Kaleigh Watterson
Reporting from Widnes
We've got some candidates here at the DCBL Stadium for the Runcorn and Helsby count.
I've spotted the Conservative, Green and Liberal Democrat candidates, as well as some of those from the smaller parties and an independent, too.
We've also got Samantha Dixon, the Labour MP for Chester North and Neston, here with some of the Labour campaigners and staff.
And if you're wondering what journalists chat about - other than the count, of course - one of the big talking points has been the sauna in the ladies' toilets. A radiator appears to be upside down in there, too.
Not long now until the result, we hope...
Lucy Ashton
Reporting from Doncaster
One of the most colourful candidates at the Doncaster mayoral count is Independent Richie Vallance.
He says his white rosette is for “independence” and his black T-shirt is for “anarchy”.
Vallance, 44, hit the headlines during the campaign when a previous conviction for being the “Donny Klown" came to light.
He is one of 12 candidate standing in the mayoral election.
The results for Northumberland County Council are the fastest of the night so far, with four seats being called.
Here's how it's looking right now (and as a reminder, things are changing fast - and there's a long way to go...)
Professor Sir John Curtice
Polling expert
Turnout in Runcorn and Helsby has been confirmed at 46.3%, down 13.4 points on last year.
Of course, turnout was low in the general election in general but it looks as though this by-election has, as compared with other by-elections, managed to engage the electorate to a significant degree.
Professor Sir John Curtice
Polling expert
The Greens have recorded their first success of the night, winning a by-election in Lambeth, south London.
The party won 48% of the vote in Herne Hill and Loughborough Junction, up 10 points on 2022, while Labour with 40% were down 11 points, losing the seat.
To date we are consistently seeing marked falls in Labour support in these district council by-elections.
Sharon Edwards
Reporting from Grimsby
In the count for the Greater Lincolnshire mayor, the blue rosettes on the Conservatives at Grimsby Town Hall match the blue mood of those wearing them.
"It’s not looking good," says one. "Reform look ahead."
He also insists that Labour are losing as many, if not more, votes to Reform than the Tories.
"They’re angry with the government," he says before adding: "But also with us."
As a reminder, we're expecting a result here around 03:30 BST.
Helen Richardson
Reporting from North Shields
Official figures show turnout in North Tyneside was lower than previous mayoral contests at 31%.
A total of 48,827 verified votes have been cast to elect a new mayor. Counting is now under way.
Paul Burnell
Live reporter
While we wait for the result in Runcorn - not expected until at least 03:00 BST - a quick history lesson.
It's more than 60 years since a Labour government lost a by-election within a year of winning office in a general election.
The party lost Leyton in 1965 when Foreign Secretary Patrick Gordon Walker was parachuted into the "safe seat", following the elevation of sitting MP Reginald Sorensen to the Lords.
The plan backfired when Tory candidate Ronald Buxton won the seat, pipping Gordon Walker by just over 200 votes.
As Prof Jon Tonge from the University of Liverpool points out, the party still won in the 1966 general election - with Gordon Walker winning the seat back.
Professor Sir John Curtice
Polling expert
The first county council result of the night, in Northumberland, has been won by Reform with as much as 59% of the vote, gaining the seat from Labour (Reform also won a district council by-election in Hartlepool earlier).
This is a new ward boundary, so we do not know the change since 2021. Even so, this looks like a remarkably successful beginning for Reform tonight.
The ward is in Blyth, which of course in 2019 heralded Boris Johnson's success in that year's general election.
Reform has also won its second and third district council by-election victories.
The party has won a seat in Harlow with 31.9% of the vote, up 23.5 points on 2021. The other is in the Breckland district of Norfolk. With 47.9% of the vote, Reform did not fight this seat in 2023.
Sharon Edwards
Reporting from Grimsby
Rob Waltham, the Conservative candidate for Greater Lincolnshire mayor, was the first candidate to arrive at Grimsby Town Hall for the count.
The Conservatives hold seven of the 12 parliamentary seats in the area the mayor will cover – and almost half the council seats.
Rob Waltham is also a very well-known face in the Scunthorpe area, as leader of North Lincolnshire Council.
Yet, he has been behind Reform UK’s Andrea Jenkyns (a former Conservative MP) in some polls.
When asked how he thinks it will go he just shrugs his shoulders and says "who knows".
He admits the campaigning has been exhausting.
An update now from the North Tyneside mayoral election count.
Reform UK’s candidate, John Falkenstein, says he is “fairly confident” of victory, reports the Local Democracy Reporting Service's Austen Shakespeare.
The Lib Dem candidate, John Appleby, predicts a fall in the Labour vote this time round, reflecting a national fall in popularity - but admits it would be a “political earthquake” were the Lib Dems to triumph this evening.
Nigel Farage has reacted to Reform's victory in the first result of the night - in the district council by-election in Hartlepool.
"The sun has got his hat on," the party's leader posts on X.
Luke Walton
Reporting from Blyth
At Blyth Leisure Centre, hundreds of election staff and party activists are buckling down for a long night of counting - with the final results not expected until 07:30 BST.
Northumberland County Council is the second largest in England by area and some of its ballot boxes face a long journey to get here.
In many wards, it's likely to be a three-way battle between the Conservatives, Labour and Reform UK - so recounts could also be on the cards. In 2021, there were dead-heats in two wards leading to the drawing of straws to find a winner.
The council has been led by the Tories since 2017 but Labour made a clean sweep of Northumberland parliamentary seats in last year's general election and is hoping to win back the local authority too.
However, the strength of Reform UK has been the big talking point here - and could complicate matters.
Locally, the party is seen as a big threat to both the Conservatives and Labour, having come second to Labour in two local seats in last year's general election.
The Independents and Liberal Democrats also have pockets of strength and the Green Party won its first seats here in 2021. Expect more knife-edge results as the night unfolds.
Damian Grammaticas
Reporting from Widnes
We’ve just had an announcement that all the ballot boxes from around the constituency have now arrived at the counting centre.
We’ll be updated on the turnout in a bit.
Some more boxes have been emptied on the desks to be verified before counting can begin.
For now there’s a hush over the sports hall as the ballots are all being checked. Party workers are all lined up watching over the process closely.
It might be just the one by-election count, but there’s a lot at stake - and several hours of work ahead of the teams here.
Image source, ReutersProfessor Sir John Curtice
Polling expert
In the first result of the night, a district council by-election in Hartlepool (Throston Ward), Reform have won with 58.3% of the vote, up 42.1 points on 2024.
They take the seat from Labour who, on 31.8%, were down 30.7 points on 2024.
If this is typical of what happens in the limited number of Labour areas with elections tonight, there could be some difficult results for the party.
Professor Sir John Curtice
Polling expert
We're looking at quite substantial Conservative losses in these elections - they might lose as many as a half of the nearly thousand seats that they're trying to defend.
What is rather more difficult to work out is just how spoils will be divided.
Will Reform take enough votes off the Conservatives, and some off Labour, that they themselves win a lot of council seats? Some suggestions are that they might get as many as 400 or so.
Or will they, as happened in so many cases in the general elections, do well enough to come second, but it's Labour, the Liberal Democrats or the Green Party who end up in first place?