Helen Grant, Conservative MP for Maidstone and the Weald in Kent, said she had expected the local elections to be “very difficult”.

“The last time we went to the polls we were on a vaccine bounce, so the bar was very, very high,” she said. “But really, it is too early to tell. We’re going to have to just wait and see.

“Sprits are high and I’m very proud of our candidates and all they’ve done.”

Image source, Getty Images

Labour has retained control of Worthing Borough Council.

Of the 13 seats being contested, Labour candidates were elected in nine, Conservative candidates in three and Greens in one.

The results mean that the council is now made up of 26 Labour members, nine Conservatives and two Greens.

No party has won an outright majority on Hastings Borough Council, so the local authority remains under no overall control.

Image source, Getty Images

We've just heard there has been a 37.1% turn out in the Tunbridge Wells Borough Council vote.

A total of 39 seats are being contested, with the authority previously having 48 members. It is also a council with no party in overall control.

The turn out was first announced as 45% but has since been revised.

A total of 15 of Adur District Council’s 29 seats were contested in West Sussex.

The authority went into the election under the control of the Conservatives with 16 seats, ahead of Labour on nine and the Greens and Shoreham Beach Residents' Association with two each.

The new make up in Adur is 17 Labour seats, eight for Conservatives and two for Greens and Shoreham Beach Residents' Association respectively.

Fiona Irving
BBC South East in Redhill

Local democracy in action - it’s certainly not glamorous. In a cold, windowless sports hall, hundreds of people are counting ballot papers.

Here in this Redhill leisure centre, votes are being counted for the Surrey Police and Crime Commissioner election and a third of the Reigate and Banstead Borough Council seats.

There’s a gentle hubbub as candidates pace up and down. On the floor, the white, black and blue court markings suggest competitions of a different kind.

But like the sports team that usually inhabit this space, for all the candidates here, victory is not certain.

In the council elections, there are 16 seats up for grabs.

The Conservatives no longer have control here – one of their councillors quit in March. Will today see them further loosen their grip on power here? The Greens and Residents Association pose their biggest threat.

But unlike some of the sports played on this counting floor, the pace of action is slow.

Labour has won control of Adur District Council from the Conservatives in West Sussex.

Claudia Sermbezis
Reporter, BBC South East, in Hastings

First count is back in Hastings - it’s Hollington ward and it’s an upset.

Maya Evans has lost her seat to Danuta Kean.

Ms Evans was deputy leader when it was a Labour-led council. She then quit the party and became an independent.

Now the people of Hollington have backed Labour by voting in Danuta Kean. It was close - 395 to 351.

Ms Evans is the only person who quit Labour and became an independent candidate to have her seat contested today.

Claudia Sermbezis
Reporter, BBC South East, in Hastings

Image source, BBC/Claudia Sermbezis

Counting is still taking place in Hastings and it’s an interesting picture to watch.

Last December, the leader and deputy of Hastings Borough Council resigned from the Labour Party and set up an independent group. Eventually, a total of eight Labour councillors quit.

Only one of those eight is up for election - Councillor Maya Evans in Hollington. But Hastings Independents are fielding lots of candidates, so how will they fare against Labour?

Will Labour do well despite the resignations? Or will the independents capture the public’s imagination?

And what of The Green Party? They currently lead the council in coalition with the former Labour councillors who quit, but will they have a strong performance?

The current Green leader, Julia Hilton, is up for re-election in Old Hastings Ward. When she first took up the role she described herself as a "solution everyone can live with" until these May elections.

Half of the 32 seats are up for grabs.

Ian Palmer
Reporter, BBC South East, in Tandridge

Image source, BBC/Ian Palmer

Counting for the 43 wards in Tandridge has begun.

The atmosphere here is muted, with candidates unsure of what's to follow.

Members of the Residents Alliance, which is the largest group on the council, are hoping to add to their 18 strong unit. But having spoken to a number of them, I wouldn't say they're overly confident.

They're saying possible rather than probable.

Who will be the winners and losers in Tandridge? Will it remain in no overall control? The Residents Alliance say that outcome would not be a disaster.

Charlie Rose
Reporter, BBC South East, in Tunbridge Wells

Image source, BBC/Charlie Rose

The Assembly Hall Theatre in Tunbridge Wells is no stranger to drama, and the feeling of suspense here seems almost palpable with the prospect of the Liberal Democrats gaining control of the borough council.

Tunbridge Wells has been under no overall control since the Conservatives lost their majority in a shock result in 2021. The council is currently run by a Lib-Dem-led coalition, after they took over as the largest party in 2022.

Independents have also played a key role in recent elections, mostly in the form of the Tunbridge Wells Alliance opposing the controversial Calvary Gardens development project.

This year, each of the authority’s 39 seats is up for grabs, nine fewer than last time after boundary changes cut the number from 20 to 14.

Housing development and local traffic are among the issues getting under the skin of voters.

One rumour whispered to me is about turnout, which apparently has risen from 33% last year to more than 40%. The true figure will be revealed this afternoon.

The Liberal Democrats are feeling confident here today in what is traditionally a so-called ‘true-blue’ Conservative area. If the Lib Dems taste victory, they’ll take a bow on stage, having written their own dramatic script.

Image source, Getty Images

In the past few minutes we've heard there has been a 31% turn out in the Crawley Borough Council vote.

In Crawley, Labour currently hold 20 of the 36 seats and the Conservatives the remaining 16.

This time around, 12 seats are being contested.

Peter Whittlesea
BBC South East in Crawley

Image source, BBC/Peter Whittlesea

In Crawley, results have historically been tight. So the atmosphere at the count has the air of a local football derby - candidates and supporters desperate for their team to win.

With ballot boxes everywhere, the verifying is under way in the sports hall at the K2 leisure centre.

But the overnight losses nationally for the Tories have been substantial, so Crawley Conservatives know they have a mountain to climb to hang on to the seven seats they hold in this council which are up for election.

This council elects by thirds so there are 12 seats up for grabs today. Six of those would usually bounce between Labour and Conservatives like an Olympic table tennis final.

But Labour claims this contest won’t be as close as normal. And by the time results are declared between 3pm and 4pm, it will be game, set and match for the reds.

Labour has held Worthing Borough Council in West Sussex.

Jack Fiehn
Political Reporter, Surrey

With results due from six borough and district council elections in Surrey, the main question is what will happen to the Conservatives?

In the (not very distant) past, the party has been a dominant force, but has been losing ground to other parties and groups.

They currently run just two councils - Runnymede and Reigate and Banstead - and even those are minority administrations.

The Liberal Democrats will be looking to continue their recent success at Woking and Mole Valley, while at Elmbridge, they are hoping to have a majority of councillors for the first time.

Independents and Resident Association groups are also traditionally strong in Surrey.

For example, they have been running Tandridge as a minority. With the whole council up for election, there is a possibility that they could take overall control.

Meanwhile the Greens, who are the second largest party at Reigate and Banstead, will want to continue to make progress. Labour has also made several gains at different councils in the last few years.

Image source, Getty Images

Here are our estimates of when each South East council will declare its results:

Crawley – 2.30pm

Hastings – 4pm

Tunbridge Wells – 4.30pm

Woking – 4.30pm

Tandridge – 5pm

Adur – 5pm

Maidstone – 5.30pm

Runnymede – 5.30pm

Reigate and Banstead – 6.30pm

Elmbridge – 7pm

Mole Valley – 7pm

Image source, Getty Images

The 280 seats being contested in 12 councils across Kent, Sussex and Surrey are part of a much larger picture across England and Wales.

More than 2,660 seats in 107 local authorities are up for grabs, with Labour and the Conservatives both defending just under 1,000 each, the Liberal Democrats just over 400 and the Green Party just over 100.

With all our councils counting votes during the day on Friday, we can expect results to start coming in from 2pm onwards.

Hello and welcome to our live coverage from BBC South East.

Throughout the day, we will be bringing you the latest results, reaction and analysis following local elections in Kent, Sussex and Surrey.

In the meantime, if you want to contact us, you can do so via email, Facebook, external, X, external