Kathryn Stanczyszyn
Political Reporter, BBC Radio WM

As more results come in, it's starting to look like the Conservatives will win the West Midlands Mayor election.

As we said earlier, Labour led in the Birmingham count and they're ahead in Sandwell too - but only by around 5,000 votes.

And that should be a strong Labour area.

Andy Street has won the Wolverhampton and Walsall races by 2,795 votes and 15,123 votes respectively.

So it's going to be close, but this could still be decided on the first ballot preferences.

Image source, Getty Images

Labour's Steve Rotheram, who was elected as the area's first metro mayor in 2017, retains his post.

We've got the results in for the Birmingham count in the West Midlands Mayor elections - and Labour are in the lead.

Their candidate, Liam Byrne, leads the Conservative Andy Street by 102,276 votes to 84,817.

But that's just one of the counts going on, and results elsewhere could turn that on its head.

Image source, Labour Party

We've had the turnout figures in for the West Midlands Mayor and West Midands Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) elections - and they're both up on last time.

The mayoral turnout was 31.2%, up from 26.7% in 2017.

And the PCC turnout was very similar - 31.02%, up from 27.7% in 2016.

The Conservative party has taken the majority on Worcester City Council.

The party went into this election with a total of 15 seats, which it increased by three, giving it control of the council by one seat.

Meanwhile the Labour party added to its disappointment from across the West Midlands by losing four seats.

Elizabeth Glinka
Political Editor, BBC Midlands

It's a very tight race for the West Midlands mayor, but there's still a possibility that Conservative incumbent Andy Street will win on first preferences.

He started the race by seeking to put distance between himself and central government, but as the Conservative's popularity became clear, he began to emphasise his access to No 10.

For Labour, not getting into a second round would be a huge blow. Liam Byrne, a former cabinet minister, was thought to be a strong candidate. But Labour's support is centred in metropolitan Birmingham, which unlike the Black Country and the rest of the region, didn't have council elections alongside the mayoral vote this week, which isn't going to boost their turnout.

We should get a result this afternoon.

The incumbent West Midlands Mayor has arrived at Birmingham's count.

The election looks set to be decided on voters' first preferences, with the potential for a result at 14:00.

The region's mayor represents around 2.8 million people across seven local council areas - constituent members of the West Midlands Combined Authority - Birmingham, Coventry, Dudley, Sandwell, Solihull, Walsall and Wolverhampton.

The first results are coming in from Rugby Borough Council.

In Coton and Boughton Ward its a Conservative hold, while in Benn Ward there's a Labour hold.

The council is currently Tory led and there are 15 seats up for election.

We're expecting the full results for the council later today.

Kathryn Stanczyszyn
Political Reporter, BBC Radio WM

So when will we get a result in the West Midlands mayoral election?

There was speculation that yesterday’s blue sweep could mean a very good day for the Conservative candidate Andy Street and he could possibly even win it from first preference votes.

Fellow-Conservative Ben Adams won the Staffordshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner vote without the need to look at second preference votes yesterday.

But it was very close in the mayoral vote last time around.

Some counting has already been done in Shropshire and we had the first 13 results late last night.

There were seven Conservatives elected, four Labour candidates and two Greens.

Yesterday there was talk a couple of senior Conservatives, including council leader Peter Nutting, could be at risk.

We'll find out if those rumours were true when we get the results from the count at Shrewsbury Sports Village.

Image source, Google

In Memoriam art installation remembers Covid-19 victims and NHS pandemic heroes.

About £40,000 has been donated to the museum after windows were broken and artefacts smashed.

Conservative group leader Matt Dormer says the party has seen some "really convincing" results.

Mr Adams takes over from fellow Conservative Matthew Ellis, who had held the role since 2012.

Michael Burgess completes his maiden Warwickshire century but Worcestershire fight back with the bat on day two at Edgbaston.

Services were unable to moo-ve after cows trotted along railway lines.

Sophie Calvert
Political Reporter, BBC Radio Stoke

Conservative Ben Adams has been elected Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner (PFCC) in Staffordshire.

He gained 56% of the vote as the party retained the post.

PFCCs are elected representatives who work to ensure police forces and fire services are running effectively.

Initially established as Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs), they replaced police authorities in 2012 and were intended to bring a public voice to policing.

The government said they were not there to run local police forces but to hold them to account and respond to the needs of the public.

In Staffordshire, the PCC also took over responsibility for the fire service in 2018.

Matthew Ellis, elected last time around, announced he would step down and fellow Tory Ben Adams takes over.

The overall number of the Army's tanks will be cut from 227 as the Challenger 2 tanks are replaced.

A High Court judge backs a council policy that stallholders said would threaten their livelihoods.

The Tories take control of Dudley Council and also take their first seats in Sandwell for six years.