Kathryn Stanczyszyn
Political Reporter, BBC WM

One to watch out for - a council that's changed hands three times in the past six years. 

Labour has a slim overall majority and is defending almost half of its seats this time around which could be a tall order. 

A net loss of two or more seats will see the party lose control. UKIP took a third of the votes here in 2014 (when the elections co-incided with the Europeans) and then the Conservatives vote recovered considerably last year (when they were at the same time as the General Election). 

All this means it looks like there's a significant possibility that no single party will be in charge on Friday morning. And with UKIP defending just one of their five seats, they could be the kingmakers here.

Cannock South, Cannock North and Cannock East have all been announced as Labour holds so far.

Richie Anderson
BBC WM

Anything but a Labour clean sweep would be a surprise in Sandwell. 

The party, still mourning the death of former council leader Darren Cooper in March, held 69 of the 72 seats on the council prior to Thursday, with victory margins of at least 350 votes in every seat last year. 

The Conservatives were wiped out here in 2015 and haven’t made a gain since 2008, but still contest all 24 seats. UKIP contest 11 seats, the Greens 10 and the Liberal Democrats two.

So far 17 wards have been held by Labour.

Rob Mayor
Black Country Political Reporter, BBC WM

Labour can’t lose control of Wolverhampton Council where they have held an overall majority since 2011. 

Most interest lies in the usually safe Conservative ward of Tettenhall Regis. 

Two Tory candidates have been nominated onto the ballot paper here in what has been described by the party as an admin error. 

It is difficult to see how that could have happened, and many opposing candidates believe the "error" is actually down to internal party bickering. 

If the Tory vote in this ward had been divided by two in the last two elections, they would have lost. Four years ago they would have won by a single vote.

Image source, Getty Images

Ben Godfrey
BBC Midlands Today

Not for the first time, there's a tight battle for control in Walsall between Labour and the Conservatives in a council which currently has no overall control. Labour have the most seats but the leader is the Conservative veteran Mike Bird.

Sian Grzeszczyk
Political Reporter, BBC Coventry & Warwickshire

One third of Coventry's council seats are being contested. It's currently controlled by Labour, who hold 41 seats, with the only other party, the Conservatives having 13 councillors.

The seats up for grabs include 15 currently held by Labour and three by Conservatives.

I'm at the Ricoh Arena's Jaguar Hall for tonight's count. We're expecting the first of 18 wards to declare soon.

Image source, Coventry City Council

Tom Cooke
BBC Coventry & Warwickshire

The Conservatives have claimed victory in three wards at Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council, including Arbury, Whitestone and Galley Common.

Matthew Bone
Political reporter, BBC Hereford & Worcester

The Wyre Forest is under solid Conservative control. The party has such a large majority they will still remain in charge of the council, even if they fail to win a single one of the third of seats up for election. 

While the overall control will stay the same, the fortunes of the opposition parties will be interesting. It will be a major test for whether the Health Concern party is still relevant after years of steady decline. 

It’s one of the few areas where Labour will expect to make gains and UKIP will be hoping to bounce back after a disappointing general election year. The Wyre Forest will also hold the first Kidderminster Town Council election – after the new body was approved by referendum last year.

Image source, Google

Alex Homer
BBC Local Live

Four candidates are vying for the role of police and crime commissioner for the West Midlands including Labour's David Jamieson who is running again.

Likewise Les Jones is standing again for the Conservatives. He last stood for the role after the death of the region's first commissioner Bob Jones.

For UKIP, Pete Durnell is running and Independent Andy Flynn makes up the four-way shootout.

Counting will take place later today.

We've also had some Black Country results announced.

Roger Lawrence, Labour leader of City of Wolverhampton Council, has held onto his seat. The turnout in the city has been announced as 27.94%.

In Rowley ward in Sandwell, Susan Eaves has been elected for Labour.

Results are starting to come in - Longbridge in Birmingham is a Labour hold.

So is Bede, Camphill and Kingswood, Heath and Barpool at Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council.

Sian Grzeszczyk
Political Reporter, BBC Coventry & Warwickshire

Six candidates are standing to become Warwickshire's police and crime commissioner (PCC). 

Current PCC Ron Ball, a former British Airways pilot, did not seek re-election.

This could improve the chances of the Conservative candidate, Philip Seccombe, the husband of the county's Tory council leader.

There are two Independent candidates, of whom Ben Twomey, at 22, is England's youngest would-be PCC.  

We'll find out the result on Friday as counting is due to start at 10:30 at Stoneligh Park.

Rob Mayor
Black Country Political Reporter, BBC WM

274 ballot boxes, 60 thousand ballots, 500 staff, 65 candidates, 20 seats, a handful of journalists. 

And 1,000 teabags.

Moira Rawlings
BBC Coventry & Warwickshire

The counters in Rugby have special T-shirts.

James Bovill
Staffordshire Political Reporter, BBC News

I’ll be at Keele Hall where votes will be counted in Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council, external elections. 

A third of the council’s 60 seats are up for election with Labour hoping to retain its position as the largest party. 

Labour does not have enough seats for overall control  though and, without a formal coalition in place, has had to negotiate with other parties on a vote-by-vote basis.

The Conservatives will be hoping to pick up seats to shorten their five-seat deficit from Labour and the Liberal Democrats are defending four of their five seats, after seeing their share of the vote collapse in recent years.   

Tom Cooke
BBC Coventry & Warwickshire

Some might say that when it comes to Nuneaton and Bedworth the term Labour stronghold doesn't get close.

The Borough Council was created back in 1973 and has been under Labour control for all that time bar two years when the Tories were the majority party between 2008 and 2010.

At the moment of the 34 wards at the Borough Council - Labour control 28 of them. 

The others are allocated to the Conservatives who've got three, the Greens have two councillors and there's one independent.

Tonight 18 wards are up for election – its usually 17 – but Exhall are voting for two candidates in their ward because the sitting councillor has resigned and that’s triggered a by-election.

Image source, Google

Matthew Bone
Political reporter, BBC Hereford & Worcester

The faithful city is always seen as a good indicator of where the country is politically; there hasn’t been a Worcester MP on the opposition benches since the early 1980s. 

The council is in Conservative control but the party has only a small majority. Nevertheless, the Tories will expect to hold on here because Labour are faring more poorly in national polls than they did in 2012. 

In fact, the most dangerous challenge may come from a possible Labour-Green coalition. The Greens have one councillor and are hoping to gain one more. If they have a good night, they could end up holding the balance of power.

Rob Mayor
Black Country Political Reporter, BBC WM

No party has been in overall control of Walsall Council since 2011. Labour have 27 seats, four short of a majority. 

The Conservatives have 25, but run a minority administration with support from three UKIP and two independent councillors.

The stakes are high here, as with no elections next year an outright majority should see one party in control until at least 2018. 

However the number of "safe" Labour and Conservative seats would suggest either side is likely to have to rely on support from other parties and that arrangement might not last the distance. The Lib Dems defend their two seats in four-way marginals.

James Bovill
Staffordshire Political Reporter, BBC News

All eyes will be on Staffordshire for the police and crime commissioner election results. 

The county had the lowest turnout in the country for the inaugural elections in 2012 at just over 11%.

Conservative Matthew Ellis is defending the role he won in 2012. 

He’s up against the current Labour leader of Cannock Chase District Council ,George Adamson, the Green Party’s Paul Woodhead, UKIP’s Harold Gregory and Independent candidate Natalie Devaney. 

Counting begins at 09:00 on Friday and we’re expecting a result some time after 16:00.

They're working pretty quickly in Solihull.

Rob Mayor
Black Country Political Reporter, BBC WM

Dudley could be one of the closest races in the Midlands. Labour have held an overall majority on the council since taking over from the Conservatives in 2012. 

That was the party’s strongest showing ever on Dudley’s current ward boundaries, meaning they face a tough battle to hold on.

The Conservatives are currently 13 seats short of a majority. UKIP have seven seats which are not up for re-election and are hopeful of at least four gains.

Image source, Google