As it happened: West Midlands election results
Listen live to your BBC local radio station: BBC Radio Hereford and Worcester, BBC Radio Shropshire, BBC Radio WM, BBC Radio Stoke, BBC CWR
Listen live to your BBC local radio station: BBC Radio Hereford and Worcester, BBC Radio Shropshire, BBC Radio WM, BBC Radio Stoke, BBC CWR
Live Reporting
All times stated are UK
Terrible night for Labour in Redditch
James Pearson
Political reporter, BBC Radio Hereford & Worcester
It’s been a terrible night for Labour in Redditch, with the party losing all seven of the council seats it had been trying to defend.
The Conservatives have won all nine of the district council seats being contested this year, including in Church Hill ward where the Labour leader Bill Hartnett lost his seat.
The last time these seats were up for election was in 2016, before the EU referendum.
Back then Labour had control of the council; this morning it has just four councillors left.
'Sleepless nights' organising election counts in pandemic
Kevin Reide
Reporter, Midlands Today
Simone Hines, Nuneaton and Bedworth returning officer, said there had been many "sleepless nights" organising three election counts during a pandemic.
Gains for the Tories in Dudley
Rob Mayor
Political reporter, BBC Radio WM
We need more results before it's official but there is no doubt the Conservatives are well on their way to taking control of Dudley in a big win.
Tories here are excitedly chatting about possibilities elsewhere eyeballing the potential for gains in Walsall, Wolverhampton and even the rock solid Labour territory of Sandwell.
The following ward areas have all declared as a gain for the Tories from Labour:
Nuneaton and Bedworth: 'Voters want a change from Labour'
The Conservatives have taken control of Nuneaton & Bedworth Borough Council.
Tory councillor Kris Wilson said it was "humbling" to see so many people voting in support of the "Conservative message".
"They've [voters] said enough is enough of the controlling Labour group and they want a change and they want improvements in our towns."
Here's a reminder of what results are to come
Where are votes being cast?
County councils:
Metropolitan councils:
District councils:
All the seats in Shropshire Council, a unitary authority, are also up for election.
Police and crime commissioners:
West Midlands mayor
The combined authority mayor, covering the seven metropolitan boroughs, is responsible for planning and strategy for regional transport, skills training and local economic development. Click here to see the candidates.
For a reminder of all the candidates who stood in your area and information about what they would do, use our handy look-up tool.
Masks and hand sanitiser at the ready
Ben Godfrey
BBC Midlands Today
Vote verification is under way in Dudley.
We have been allowed a very brief moment to film the counting from the floor.
There are screens up separating the counting staff from candidates and staff.
I'm told the council ordered more than 30,000 masks and more than 1,600 bottles of hand sanitiser for the local election counting.
The Conservative leader Patrick Harley has told me he believes his party is heading for a large number of gains from Labour and a clear overall majority, but just two wards on Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council have declared so far.
Conservatives take control of Nuneaton and Bedworth council
Nuneaton's Conservative MP Marcus Jones expressed his joy after his party gained control of Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council from Labour.
"After 11 years in government, you’d expect the opposition, the Labour party, doing much, much better than they are tonight and it appears that their vote has absolutely collapsed," he said.
Mr Jones went on to claim that in many wards, voters had told him they had "respect" for what PM Boris Johnson has done in the pandemic and thought he had done "a really good job", whereas Labour had failed to deliver on local issues.
Tories take all contested seats in Redditch
The Conservatives won all nine of the seats being contested on Redditch Borough Council, the first council result of the night, gaining seven seats from Labour.
There was no change of control at the Worcestershire authority, with the Conservatives holding 24 seats on the new council and Labour just four, losing both their leader and deputy leader.
Welcome to the West Midlands 2021 election results
Good morning and welcome to our live coverage as we bring you all the latest election results from a bumper day across the region and England.