Kelly Morgan
BBC News, Wiltshire in Chippenham

BBC Radio Wiltshire reporter Kelly Morgan says North Wiltshire will be one of the most contested areas.

Maddie Simpson
BBC News, Gloucestershire in Cirencester

In Cirencester, the count for seats in the Cotswolds is under way and many are eager to see how the piles of ballots build up.

Edward Rowe
Political reporter, BBC Gloucestershire in Cheltenham

Max Wilkinson, Cheltenham's MP has just arrived at the Cheltenham count.

The Liberal Democrat MP is talking to candidates on the election floor but has promised a chat later.

Also here is Mike Masters, who's Reform UK's Gloucestershire coordinator. He has a spring in his step.

He has just come from the Tewkesbury count and is cautiously optimistic with how things are going so far but wouldn't be drawn on the overall picture yet.

Mr Masters also said he's delighted about the West of England mayor result, especially beating the Greens, coming second, adding the party "didn't even try".

Paul Barltrop
Political Editor, West of England in Gloucester

Here at the Gloucester count there’s a real sense of a Reform breakthrough.

One Conservative told me he was amazed how many votes they’re stacking up.

A Lib Dem said they remain optimistic about becoming the largest party on the county council - but Reform have even eaten into their vote.

The first result has been declared here. The Conservatives have held Barton and Tredworth.

Esme Ashcroft
Political reporter, BBC Gloucestershire in Stroud

Verification is continuing in earnest here in Stroud, so I've taken the chance to catch up with the different parties.

Labour say it looks like the "national trends" are being reflected here - which isn't a ringing endorsement for the group.

The Greens say it's too early to tell, while Reform are very happy - saying they expect to return at least two councillors across the Stroud district.

The Conservatives say they are "feeling nervous" and elusively claim it will be "a fascinating" set of results.

Meanwhile, the Lib Dems say returning one councillor across the Stroud District and increasing their vote share would be a good result for the group.

There's no word yet on turnout figures.

Edward Rowe
Political reporter, BBC Gloucestershire in Cheltenham

Counting of the votes is now under way and we can bring the overall turnout in Cheltenham.

35.99% of people turned out to vote in the town, but it's not yet clear what the overall turnout for Gloucestershire is.

The Conservatives are defending four seats here whilst the Liberal Democrats have six and are hoping to make further gains.

But Reform UK looms large in conversation and the impact they have, even here, could be significant.

Paul Barltrop
Political Editor, West of England in Gloucester

At the Gloucester count they’ve started totting up the votes after finishing the verification.

Turnout in the city was 31.4%, which will disappoint many of the activists gathered in this big hall.

Sophie Parker
BBC News, Wiltshire in Trowbridge

Wiltshire's central area - which includes seats for Westbury, Trowbridge and Devizes - is being counted in Trowbridge.

It's still in the verification stage at the moment though.

It all happens in Trowbridge's County Hall, the HQ of Wiltshire Council.

There's a sign outside declaring it closed for the day as people are sat at trestle tables in the buildings large atrium area - which is getting pretty warm under the clear roof!

Esme Ashcroft
Political reporter, BBC Gloucestershire

BBC Radio Gloucestershire's political reporter Esme Ashcroft is at the Stroud count ready for the action.

Edward Rowe
Political reporter, BBC Gloucestershire in Cheltenham

We've got six counts taking place across Gloucestershire for the county council elections.

One of those is the Forest of Dean where I've been told Reform UK have be campaigning hard.

Currently the Forest is made up four Conservatives, two Green along with a Labour and a Liberal Democrat Councillor each.

But Reform did well in the General Election last year getting 8,000 votes in the constituency and coming third.

Reform were expecting to do well in the rural district and according to my sources that seems to be the case, with those within the party in the Forest feeling pretty positive.

Paul Barltrop
Political Editor, West of England

The West of England Combined Authority result is helping rewrite the rules of British politics.

Four parties saw their vote share fall.

Only one party, Reform, saw their fortunes go the other way.

Their candidate, Arron Banks, courted controversy throughout the campaign – generating publicity to match.

In his home patch, South Gloucestershire, he topped the poll; Labour were saved by strong support in Bristol.

The party had poured resources into the region, anxious to hold onto the mayoralty they had snatched from the Conservatives in 2021.

During the campaign it seemed the Greens might be their main rivals – so were disappointed to have come third.

And while the Lib Dems will not like coming fifth, their efforts have been more focused elsewhere.

During the campaign activists were spending much time in Wiltshire and Gloucestershire, two counties run by the Tories for decades.

They’re confident of success as both those counts get going.

Image source, PA Media

Dan O'Brien
Political reporter, BBC Wiltshire

Speaking to Laura Kuenssberg on BBC News, Dan O'Brien said potholes were the biggest issue for many locals in Wiltshire.

On the doorstep, he said locally people would talk the most about the poor condition of roads.

"Here is where we get a real example of reality versus expectation of what can be delivered.

"The Conservatives have been saying they've spent millions more on that, but we won't feel the benefit for another couple of years.

"The Lib Dems are proposing to actually go into debt, borrowing more money to fill the potholes.

"That's how big of an issue on what seems like a relatively small local subject has actually turned into here"

Esme Ashcroft
Political reporter, BBC Gloucestershire in Stroud

Here in Stroud, 11 of Gloucestershire County Council’s 55 council divisions will be declared this afternoon.

This is how the numbers stacked up ahead of the election:

Labour – 3

Conservative – 3

Green – 1

Liberal Democrat – 1

Independent – 1

We also had one vacant seat, which was held by the former Labour councillor, David Drew.

And in this election we’ve added a division to the district, bringing us to that total number of 11.

Dan O'Brien
Political reporter, BBC Wiltshire in Salisbury

Wiltshire is a very large council, there are 98 seats to get through, so expect this count process to last most of the day - at venues in Trowbridge, Chippenham, and here in Salisbury.

This is normally solidly Conservative - the question in previous elections not ‘will the Tories win?’ but rather ‘by what huge margin?’

This year though feels very different - the Lib Dems see it as their biggest ever chance to seize control, and if the Tories do remain in charge the mood in this campaign has been a feeling they’d do so by the skin of their teeth.

The big unknown factor - as it’s been all over the place - is what impact Reform UK fielding candidates in every seat will have, sounding very confident of breaking through with their first elected representatives in Wiltshire.

It’s a long way to go yet though - don’t expect the first results here for another couple of hours

Esme Ashcroft
Political reporter, BBC Gloucestershire

Verification is ongoing here in Stroud.

All 88 counters are busily verifying the votes. This is expected to take a few hours, before counting proper begins after midday.

Our first results here are predicted to roll in from roughly 2.30pm.

Verifying and counting is a tough old job, especially in the close heat of the sports hall, so each table has a pot of sweets provided to keep them going.

If you want to also keep up with coverage from BBC Local Radio, you can do on this page.

Hit the watch & listen tab and you can stream both BBC Radio Gloucestershire and BBC Radio Wiltshire live. Both will be covering the local election results.

You can also listen on BBC Sounds:

• BBC Radio Gloucestershire
• BBC Radio Wiltshire

Edward Rowe
Political reporter, BBC Gloucestershire

The black boxes full of ballots are being wheeled into Cheltenham's count right now.

Esme Ashcroft
Political reporter, BBC Gloucestershire

Elections by their very nature are funny beasts, with those who say they know what will happen generally proved wrong.

But each of the party groups have been picking up thoughts and feelings on the doorsteps.

My sense of what I’m hearing is that the Conservatives and Labour are feeling nervous and are bracing for losses.

The Lib Dems especially are feeling confident and the Greens are hoping to increase their numbers too.

The Independent candidates are also hoping for a good show, but it’s perhaps Reform UK who are capturing the spotlight at the moment.

All of the groups are waiting to see how Reform will perform and what share of the vote they will get across Gloucestershire.

Edward Rowe
Political reporter, BBC Gloucestershire

Morning from Cheltenham where people have started the process of checking the ballot papers.

We won't be expecting our first results for a few hours but a word on the political machinations.

The West of England results have showed we're getting more then a vote split, but a vote splinter, as five main parties push for votes.

If that translates here in Gloucestershire it will be a very interesting contest indeed.

The Conservatives have been in charge of the county council for two decades and will need to hold onto seats throughout Gloucestershire if they plan on holding onto power.

The Liberal Democrats meanwhile will need to gain more seats in Cheltenham at the very least if they want to get to a majority.

But the big unknown is that splintering I mentioned earlier, Reform UK and the Greens are expected to do well in certain areas of the county - whilst the Conservatives and Labour, hold their breath.

Leigh Boobyer
BBC News, West of England

They both cover lots and lots of services which have a direct day-to-day - and longer term - impact on our lives.

That means schools, roads and potholes, adult social care, mental health support, children's services, buses, on-street parking, and determining where our collected rubbish ends up.

Gloucestershire County Council, in particular, looks after Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service.

They both collect a chunk of council tax to fund these services.

It's the councillors who win today who will help make all that happen, and challenge other plans to make sure they don't.