Jenna Moon
Live reporter

Image source, PA Media

It's been a whirlwind couple of days for Reform UK after the party won 677 seats out of around 1,600 in local elections in pockets of England.

But while party leader Nigel Farage is setting off fireworks and basking in the post-election success, both the Labour and Conservative parties are taking time to reflect.

Both main parties suffered significant losses at the polling booths. The Tories shed 676 seats, most of which were scooped up by Reform or the Liberal Democrats. Meanwhile, Labour claimed just 99 seats - though the party has held on to three mayoralties.

Tory MP Richard Fuller told our colleagues on the Today programme this morning that "voters can sense that politicians don't have answers to their problems and are trying to send a message to the government".

As our political editor Chris Mason writes, there are lots of questions about how Labour and the Conservatives will respond.

We're closing our live coverage now, for more on this story:

• Chris Mason analysis: Fireworks for Reform as Labour and Tories write election post-mortems
• What might Reform UK do with its newly-won power?
• Henry Zeffman: Seven things we have learnt from the election results
• Local elections at-a-glance: What's happened?

Seher Asaf
Live reporter

Image source, PA Media

The local election results brought with them a flurry of reaction.

Throughout this morning, we've been hearing from party leaders, current and former MPs, political party spokespeople and analysts.

Here's a quick glance at what we've heard:

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, whose party made big gains, has called England's local election results "unprecedented".

Prime Minister Keir Starmer accuses Farage of offering "easy solutions" in the election. He reiterates his vow to "go further and faster" to make change happen and says he won't make the "same old excuses" for Labour's losses.

Tory leader Kemi Badenoch, whose party suffered losses, says results were a "bloodbath" for her party. Writing in the Telegraph she adds that the Conservatives will work to rebuild the public's trust in them.

Munira Wilson, education spokesperson for the Liberal Democrats, says she believes her party is on course to overtake the Conservatives in the next general election

Shadow treasury chief Richard Fuller warns that voters can sense politicians don't have answers to their problems. He adds that Farage has been "clear" in his desire to "destroy the Conservative Party" rather than form a pact with them.

Former Conservative leader of Derbyshire County Council, Barry Lewis - who lost his seat to Reform in the election - says he still backs Badenoch and hopes that she stays as leader.

Labour MP for York Central, Rachael Maskell, says her party "inherited a very bad hand of cards", calling the results a "chilling reminder" of why Labour needs to "go further and faster" to deliver what people want.

Roger Gough, the former Conservative leader of Kent Council, says the party needs to establish itself as one that "has serious answers to the challenges facing this country".

Henry Zeffman
Chief political correspondent

The patchwork of different election results across England has been truly fascinating, throwing up all sorts of lessons.

Here are some things we have learnt from the contests:

• These are really bad results for the Labour Party
• Labour's debate on what to do next is just beginning
• For the Conservatives, things are somehow getting worse
• For Reform, with victory comes responsibility
• It's not just Reform benefitting from the main parties' unpopularity
• Whoever is the change candidate wins
• The era of fragmentation is here...at least for now

From the collapse of main party support to the era of fragmentation - read more about Henry's seven key takeaways from the election

Image source, Reuters

We can now bring you some comments from UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who said this morning that he will "go further and faster" to make change happen.

In a post on X, Starmer reiterates the sentiment he shared during yesterday's local election results, after his party suffered significant losses.

In the post he says: "Most Prime Ministers would respond to these local elections with the same old excuses. My response is simple: I get it. We’re moving in the right direction, but people must feel the benefits of change. I will go further and faster to make that happen."

Writing in the Times this morning, Starmer said he wouldn't blame low turn out, external, or other factors, for his party's poor showing in Thursday's local elections.

Image source, PA Media

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has today called England's local election results "unprecedented".

As a reminder Farage's party gained big wins, securing 10 of the 23 councils, one of the mayoralties and the Runcorn and Helsby by-election.

In a post on X, Farage says: "In post-war Britain, no one has ever beaten both Labour and the Tories in a local election before", following the party's sweeping gains in the council and mayoral contests."

A UK parliament report on the estimated national equivalent share of the vote from 1979 to 2023 shows that the Liberal Democrats surpassed Labour by 1% by capturing 27% of the vote in 2004. The party also gained 25% of the vote in 2009, 3% higher than Labour.

Though, the results from the report appear to indicate that no party has beaten both Labour and the Conservatives at local elections., external

England's local elections saw more than 1,600 seats contested in 23 councils, as well as six mayoral elections and a parliamentary by-election in Runcorn and Helsby.

Curious about the results in your area? To find out who won you can enter your postcode.

The BBC has also compiled all the results in handy maps and graphics to help make sense of how different parties fared in different pockets of England.

Farage's fireworks spark two key questionspublished at 10:40 British Summer Time 3 May

10:40 BST 3 May

Chris Mason
Political editor

For all of the noise and the numbers following this week's elections in England, two sentences tell you much of what you need to know.

Nigel Farage arranged a fireworks display and a party.

The prime minister and the Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch have both written post-mortem articles in Saturday's newspapers.

Politicians often accuse journalists of a splash of hyperbole, but it would be a struggle to top the Tory leader's description of her party's results as a "bloodbath."

Keir Starmer's language in the Times, external isn't quite as graphic.

He repeats that "I get it" and said he wouldn't resort to the "same old excuses" used by prime ministers facing tough local elections.

Two immediate practical questions arise out of these results.

The first is how Labour and the Conservatives respond to what has happened – not least the rapid rise of Reform UK, but also the Liberal Democrats and to a lesser extent the Green Party.

The second is how Reform adjusts to the realities of power – bluntly, whether they prove to be any good at it or not.

• Read more from Chris's thoughts on yesterday's election results

Image source, PA Media

We can bring you some more reaction now, as the shadow treasury chief tells BBC Radio 4's Today programme that voters can sense politicians don't have answers to their problems.

Richard Fuller says without solutions to the public's problems "people turn away". His comments come after both the Conservative and Labour parties suffered significant losses in England's local elections.

He adds that polling prior to the election showed voters opting to vote Reform "wanted to send a message to the government. It's important we recognise that", he says.

On whether the Tories may need to look at a pact with Reform UK to get Keir Starmer out at the next general election, he said: "There won't be pacts. Nigel Farage has been very clear that he wants to destroy the Conservative Party."

Election prompts Starmer to change directionpublished at 10:05 British Summer Time 3 May

10:05 BST 3 May

Iain Watson
Political correspondent

Image source, Getty Images

"We are losing to everyone, everywhere."

That could be a quote from a Conservative, as the previous party of government struggles to rebuild trust with the electorate.

But it isn't.

It's a despairing message from a new Labour MP, elected in last year's general election landslide.

Labour had a terrible night when many of the county council seats up for grabs in Thursday's English local elections were last contested in 2021.

Yesterday's election results are even worse.

Labour should have been within shouting distance of regaining control of Durham -but their vote tumbled.

Before the result was announced, a former Labour MP texted to say - in colourful language – just how grim the political landscape was in the North East.

And where voters were determined to oust the Conservatives in Staffordshire, they turned to Reform UK not Labour to do so.

This has prompted calls for Sir Keir Starmer to change direction.

• Read more in Iain's full piece

Roger Gough, the former Conservative leader of Kent council, says the local election results are "unprecedented".

He tells BBC Radio 4's Today programme that his party went from holding 62 of 81 seats in the last election to just five, as leadership of the council passed to Reform.

"There's certainly no comparable position for that in the entire history of the council," he says.

Gough adds the Tory party need to establish itself as one that "has serious answers to the challenges facing this country".

"I think that the party as a whole clearly has a huge job to do," he adds.

Kate Whannel
Politics reporter

Image source, PA Media

Reform UK was born out of the Brexit Party – but it has broadened out from campaigning on the single issue of leaving the European Union.

Immigration

It campaigns for tough action to bring down immigration, arguing that it has got out of control and is damaging the country.

It has pledged to freeze all non-essential immigration if it wins power at the next general election.

Those with what the party calls “essential skills” - such as healthcare workers - would be allowed into the country.

Net zero

Its other main policy is scrapping net zero targets, which leader Nigel Farage says are destroying jobs and driving up household bills.

The party also wants to scrap subsidies for renewable energy, allow companies to drill for more gas and oil in the North Sea and fast-track nuclear energy.

Local spending

At a local level, Reform UK wants to follow the example set by Elon Musk in the US, where the tech billionaire has been trying to make dramatic cuts to government spending.

Farage says where Reform has power it will bring in auditors to examine council spending and get rid of waste.

He also says he wants to end a culture of working from home in local government.

Image source, Getty Images

Labour MP for York Central Rachael Maskell says the election results are a "chilling reminder" of why Labour needs to "go further and faster" to deliver what people want.

"We have inherited a very bad hand of cards, it's very difficult to navigate," she tells BBC Breakfast.

She says voters' concerns include cuts to winter fuel payments, a lack of justice for Waspi women, and an increase in child poverty.

On the cuts to winter fuel payments, she says she would "absolutely" change that policy. "That is not what a Labour government should be doing," she warns.

Barry Lewis, the former Conservative leader of Derbyshire County Council tells BBC Breakfast there's generally a lack of trust in politicians at the moment.

Lewis, who lost his seat to Reform, adds: "The battering we got last year hasn't rebuilt itself yet to a place where people feel that they can trust the Conservatives with their vote, to the extent that we could have regained control of councils yesterday."

Among the big issues raised by voters was migration, which is where Reform has managed to "fill the void", he says.

Lewis adds he still backs party leader Kemi Badenoch and hopes that she stays as leader.

"I think she has credibility. The results yesterday, in some people's eyes, naturally, impact that credibility, but I don't think it does."

Image source, PA Media

Writing in the Times, Prime Minister Keir Starmer acknowledged that voters weren't feeling the benefits of his policies.

He accused Farage of offering "easy solutions" and insisted he would not give in to "ideological zealotry".

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch writes in the Telegraph that the results were a "bloodbath" for her party.

Image source, PA Media

You can read more about how national papers have been covering the election results in our round-up story

Keir Starmer said Labour's losses were "disappointing" and that the party needs to "go further and we need to go faster on the change that people want to see".

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said she was "determined to win back" trust and that the Tories "are rebuilding with a clear strategy to renew our party and transform our country for the better".

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage said their election performance was “a truly historic landmark” which “marks the end of two party politics as we’ve know it for over a century".

Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey said the Lib Dems are “the new party of Middle England”, and that he believed Conservative and Labour voters were turning to them.

The Green Party co-leader Adrian Ramsay said "the era of two party politics is over. The threat now is Reform's divisive politics".

Image source, Getty Images

Munira Wilson, education spokesperson for the Liberal Democrats, says she believes her party is on course to overtake the Conservatives in the next general election.

It's put to her that her party didn't win any mayoral elections and came in fifth in the Runcorn and Helsby by-election.

Wilson tells BBC Radio 4's Today programme that Lib Dems have gained councillors in seven election cycles in a row.

"We beat both Labour and Conservatives in this local election. We are well placed to overtake the Conservatives in the next general election," she adds.

Asked whether the party would work with Reform UK to try to secure proportional representation, which both parties are in favour of, she says "we don't share any values" with Reform.

"But we will work with others to make sure that British public have a fairer voting system," she adds.

We've taken a quick glance at the full election results:

The biggest winners were Reform. They gained 677 seats, took control of 10 councils, won the tightly-contested Runcorn and Helsby by-election and clinched two mayoral wins.

The Liberal Democrats boosted their number of seats by 163 and took control of three councils.

Labour lost 186 seats, but they managed to hold on to control in a trio of mayoral contests - in North Tyneside, Doncaster and West of England.

Conservatives also suffered losses. They were down 676 seats and lost all 15 of the councils they previously held. A success for them was Paul Bristow winning the mayoral race in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough.

The Green Party made some gains, winning 79 seats, however it suffered disappointment in the West of England mayoral race.

Independent candidates ended the day with 89 councillors across different pockets of England.

Image source, EPA

We've been reporting on Reform's sweeping gains in England's local elections, but where did they win?

• Reform UK won the closely contested Runcorn and Helsby by-election, taking the seat from Labour to make Sarah Pochin its fifth MP
• Nigel Farage's party won 677 of around 1,600 seats, which translated to 10 of the 23 councils up for grabs
• They now have control of councils in Derbyshire, Kent, Lancashire, Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire, Staffordshire, Doncaster, North Norhamptonshire, Durham and West Northamptonshire

• Reform won its first mayoral contests in the newly-created combined authorities of Greater Lincolnshire, and Hull and East Yorkshire

A profound moment in contemporary politicspublished at 06:46 British Summer Time 3 May

06:46 BST 3 May

Chris Mason
Political editor

The demolition of the duopoly in Westminster politics has 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.

• Read more from Chris: Fireworks for Reform as Labour and Tories write election post-mortems

Matt Spivey
Live editor

It's the morning after England's local election results, which saw sweeping gains for Reform UK.

Nigel Farage's party won 677 of around 1,600 contested seats, as both Labour and the Conservatives suffered losses.

Liberal Democrats made gains, knocking the Tories into the third spot, having won control of three councils.

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer vowed to move "further and faster" in delivering change, after a series of losses in the first election since his rise to power in last summer's general election.

Tory leader Kemi Badenoch says she's "determined to win back" trust after her party lost more than 600 councillors.

As reaction continues to pour in, we'll be bringing you the key developments and analysis right here. Stay with us.