All 16 seats on the Council of the Isles of Scilly, a unitary authority, were up for election.

Where there were no parties contesting, three councillors were returned unopposed and no-one was standing in Bryher.

Thirteen people had been nominated for the 12 St Mary's seats.

The council says it aims to declare the result this afternoon.

John Ayres
BBC Spotlight

Labour has held on to three wards on Devon County Council in Exeter.

In Alphington & Cowick, Yvonne Atkinson Lab polled 1,955, with Conservative candidate Katherine New getting the next highest number of votes at 1,700 in a turnout of 42.22%

In Exwick & St Thomas, Rob Hannaford won 1,828 votes, with the nearest contender, Conservative Jacqueline Cross winning 916.

Pinhoe & Mincinglake also saw a Labour hold, with Tracy Adams on 1,935 to Tory John Harvey's 1,333. Turnout was 38.72%.

Tamsin Melville
Political Reporter, BBC Radio Cornwall

Results are beginning to come in at Carn Brea Leisure Centre in the Cornwall Council elections.

Eighty-seven wards are up for grabs today.

The unitary has been in no overall control since its inception in 2009.

Andrew Segal
BBC South West

Carn Brea Leisure Centre, in Pool, mid Cornwall, is one of two main locations doing the counts for Cornwall's elections.

As you can see above, the counts are being carried out in a Covid-secure way, with desks having plastic screens between them and those working wearing face masks.

Polling stations also had similar measures on Thursday after Cornwall Council’s elections team "worked closely with public health colleagues to ensure necessary arrangements" were in place to keep voters and staff safe.

Voters were encouraged to wear face coverings, bring their own pen or pencil, keep a safe distance from others and follow one-way systems, among other measures.

Mid Devon Council also tweeted it had similar measures in place to keep people safe at its counts.

Hannah Roe

Plymouth City Council shared on Twitter last night the first ballot boxes arriving at the Life Centre after polls closed.

Having been kept secure overnight, the boxes are open and the count is now in full swing with results expected later.

A third of seats on Plymouth City Council, 19 out of 57, are up for election this year.

Andrew Segal
BBC South West

Pictures of dogs at polling stations have become an election day tradition in the UK.

As the polls across Devon and Cornwall were held on Thursday, some canine companions were in on the act too.

This is Bingo, who was accompanying his owner Kate while she voted in Topsham, near Exeter.

And he wasn't alone in having to wait near the voting booths, as you can see here.

Image source, Kate from Topsham

This is a term you may have heard in the last few weeks, but what does it mean?

An uncontested election means there is only one candidate for a seat so no votes are cast.

In the Victorian era more than 50% of parliamentary seats were uncontested.

England is electing 143 councils, 13 mayors and 35 police and crime commissioners.

As councils begin to be declare results, the Conservative Party has made the first.

Northumberland, Dudley, and Nuneaton and Bedworth went from no overall control to Tory majorities, while Labour lost Harlow to the Tories.

But many contests are still undecided and further results are expected throughout the weekend.

Image source, Reuters

John Ayres
BBC Spotlight

Elections for Devon County and Exeter City councils have seen a turnout of nearly 40% in the Exeter area, officials have said.

Both councils saw 39% of voters taking part in the city-held polls, verification work has determined.

Turnout for the Police and Crime Commissioner poll in Devon was lower at 36.7%, figures revealed.

Andrew Segal
BBC South West

Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) candidate Alison Hernandez suffered a dog bite on election day.

She tweeted a picture of a bandaged finger after she was bitten on the hand while campaigning in Paignton, saying that it was her "first ever dog bite" in "over 10 years of delivering leaflets".

She was treated at Newton Abbot Hospital's Minor Injuries Unit.

In a later tweet, external, she added she was "fine" and the medical staff who treated her were "so slick".

Conservative Ms Hernandez was seeking re-election to the post she has held since 2016.

Votes in Torbay for the PCC poll were being verified on Thursday night, ahead of the count taking place on Monday, when the result is also due to be announced.

Twitter

Plymouth's local council elections saw an overall turnout of 35.93%, the unitary authority has said.

It added that votes were to be counted from 13:30.

A third of seats on Plymouth City Council, 19 out of 57, are up for election this year.

Andrew Segal
BBC South West

Vote counting has started in Cornwall, the county's council has said.

Counts began in Truro, in the city's cathedral, and at Carn Brea Leisure Centre, in Pool, at 10:00.

The county - which has the "second largest authority in the country", according to political analyst Adrian Lee - will see quite a different council after votes are tallied, as the number of seats has been reduced from 123 seats to 87.

A PCC is not a serving member of the local force but they are voted for, by the public, to hold the police forces and in some cases fire services to account.

Jacob Tomlinson explains more.

Voters headed to the polls on Thursday to elect a Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) for Devon and Cornwall.

Elections for the post are usually held every four years, but they were postponed in May 2020 due to coronavirus.

Votes are due to be counted on Monday.

Andrew Segal
BBC South West

Liberal Democrats in Torbay have narrowly beaten the Conservatives in a council by-election with just over 30 votes.

Cat Johns won Torbay Council's Clifton with Maidenway ward, in Paignton, with 1,014 votes, ahead of Tory John Fellows' 983 - a lead of 31.

The seat was being contested after the death of Lib Dem Ian Doggett, who had been a councillor for the ward for 17 years.

The result, declared at 02:15 on Friday, means Conservatives are still the largest party on the unitary authority, with 16 of its 36 seats.

However, the council is run by a Lib Dem-Independent coalition from the remaining 20 councillor posts.

Martyn Oates
BBC South West Political Editor

All the seats were up for election on Cornwall Council and Devon County Council, while in Plymouth and Exeter a third of the seats were up for grabs on the city councils.

Police and Crime Commissioner elections also took place.

The Conservatives currently have a huge majority on Devon County Council while the same is true of Labour on Exeter City Council.

Moving West things get more interesting, with Labour defending a very small majority against the Conservatives.

Cornwall Council is currently under no overall control and will emerge from this election with new ward boundaries and the number of councillors cut from 123 to 87.

Andrew Segal
BBC South West

Mid Devon Council said verification of its ballot boxes was "well under way" less than two hours after polls closed on Thursday at 22:00.

It said the verification process was to check "the number of ballot papers in each box matches the number of ballot papers issued".

After that "then we can begin the count", staff said.

Andrew Segal
BBC South West

Good morning and welcome to BBC South West's round-up for the 2021 local elections.

We'll be bringing you the latest results throughout the day on our live page here from across Cornwall, Devon and the Isles of Scilly.

Several polls were held across the counties and the islands on Thursday to elect local councillors.

Voters were also choosing a Police and Crime Commissioner for the Devon and Cornwall constabulary.

Counting is getting under way on Friday morning for the larger councils.