Labour have held on to their majority in the Barrow Borough Council, external local elections. They needed 19 seats for a majority and now have 27.

The Conservatives won the remaining nine of the 36 seats available. Find your local council results here.

The Copeland Borough Council, external election results in Cumbria are in and Labour has held on to its majority. The new council is now made up of:

• Labour: 29 seats

• Conservatives: 17 seats

• Independents: Five seats

Labour needed 26 seats to stay in control. Find your local council results here.

Former South Shields MP David Miliband tweets, external: Heart goes out to great colleagues who lost seats, Labour teams who worked so hard and of course to Ed.

Deep and honest thinking required to rebuild progressive politics

In another dramatic change to the political landscape, the number of women in the UK Parliament has risen by about a third.

With results in all 650 seats declared, about 29% of MPs are women - up from 23% before the election. This represents the largest increase since 1997.

And the North East is continuing to lead the way in electing female MPs,

Labour has held on to a majority council in Hartlepool.

Labour have 22 councillors, the independents have six, the Conservatives three and UKIP two. The number of seats required for a majority was 17.

Find out more about the elections on the council's website., external

Rory Stewart saw his Conservative majority in Penrith and the Border rise by 8,653 to 19,894, 59.7% of the votes.

Labour's Lee Rushworth came second with 14.4% and UKIP's John Stanyer third with 12.2%, a rise of 9.4% from 2010.

Liberal Democrat Neil Hughes had his share slashed from 28.5% to 8.5%.

Mark Denten
Political Correspondent, BBC North East & Cumbria

While the Conservatives significantly gained Berwick and held Stockton South and Carlisle, in the North East and Cumbria 615,000 people voted Labour, with 388,000 putting their cross next to the Tories.

And now 15 of the region's MPs are female, with four newly-elected ones in Berwick, Redcar, York Central and Workington.

Allerdale Borough Council remains with no overall control as no party got the 29 seats needed for a majority.

Labour have 28 seats, the Conservatives 17, independents six, UKIP three and two others.

There's a full breakdown of each ward on the council's website, external.

David MacMillan
BBC Tees

And here's my crib sheet of many colours as we await that crucial Skelton ward at Redcar and Cleveland Council, where we have a second recount...

David MacMillan
BBC Tees

Current scores in Redcar are Labour 27, others 29. Target is 30, with three seats to declare.

I believe the popular phrase is "squeaky bum time"...

Middlesbrough mayoral candidates now being shown the disputed/spoilt ballots from the first round.

Labour has taken overall control of Stockton Council after the local elections last night. The political makeup is now, external:

• Labour: 32 seats

• Conservative: 13 seats

• Independents: 10 seats

• Liberal Democrats: One seat

The Conservatives have gained Eden Borough Council from no overall control.

Conservatives have 21 councillors, needing only 20 for a majority. The Lib Dems have seven councillors, with Independents having 10.

For more information visit the Eden District Council website, external.

Newcastle City Council leader Nick Forbes tweets, external: Labour mustn't rush rush into a leadership contest - we need time to debate and agree our vision for the whole of the UK first

Myles Ashby
BBC Radio Cumbria

In Allerdale in Cumbria, one polling station ran out of local election ballot papers. The council says replacements were sent to Victoria Hall in Cockermouth as soon as it was made aware of the problem.

It's apologised for any inconvenience, but doesn't know yet how many voters were affected.

The council says it won't need to rerun the election, but it's urging anyone who says they were refused the right to vote to get in touch with the returning officer.

Nigel Ford: Pleased the British public came to it's senses and avoided some kind of Labour minority government under pinned by the SNP. No doubt leading to another election within 12 months. The Labour Party had two big problems Ed Balls and Ed Miliband who were both linked with the over spending previous Labour government and a poor economic record.

This is a chance for change in the party, may be with the right brother, may be with Yvette Cooper hopefully not influenced by her husband.

I do feel for Nick Clegg and the Lib Dems. Think they did a decent job and could not afford to keep the tuition fee pledge due to lack of funds and the deficit, thanks to Labour.

The Shields Gazette

A bookie makes ex-South Shields MP David Miliband 12/1 to be Labour leader, external.

Image source, Shields Gazette

Carlisle City Council elections were held in 18 of the city's 22 wards. The Conservatives gained one seat from the Lib Dems. Here's the full make up of the authority after last night's polls:

• Labour - 29 seats

• Conservative - 20 seats

• Liberal Democrats - One seat

• Independent - Two seats

Check the full results here, external.

Sue Hayman saw her Labour majority rise by just 111 votes to 4,686 in Workington to become Cumbria's first female MP.

Both Ms Hayman and second-placed Conservative Rozila Kana saw their share drop by around 3% while UKIP's Mark Jenkinson saw a 17.1% increase to 19.6%.

Liberal Democrat Phill Roberts saw his share drop from 13.5% to 4.4%.

There were 20 seats up for grabs on North Tyneside Council last night.

Labour secured 18, with the Conservatives taking two. Get the full results here, external.