Thank you for joining us today, you can keep up-to-date on the latest election results for your area by going here on the BBC website.

Coventry's first ever Green Party councillor said he was "honoured and humbled" by the victory.

Stephen Gray took the ward of Holbrook and said he hoped he’d live up to the responsibility of being elected.

Asked what’s the first thing he’ll do in the role, Mr Gray said he has a “big long list of issues” in the ward that people have asked him to help with.

The council's Labour leader George Duggins said it was “a night of mixed emotions”.

“We have lost Holbrook for the first time in many years. Clearly [we] have work to do to ensure we get the confidence back of the people in Holbrook.”

BBC Midlands Today

The Green Party has been toasting its success in Worcester as the Conservative Party lost control of the authority.

After this year's poll, the Greens now have six councillors and, with the Tories no longer having a majority, look to hold the balance of power.

Leader Louis Stephen (pictured) said the results have been a "big improvement" for his party.

"The results have been very convincing as well. We have not just squeaked results, we have actually got excellent results," he said.

While for the Tories, their local association chairman, Chris Rimell, called it a night of "mixed fortunes".

"Some wards, their votes held up reasonably well, in Gorse Hill we have increased our majority, but clearly overall to lose seats to both the Greens and Labour, to lose three seats can only be characterised as disappointing," he said.

Dudley Council's Conservative leader said keeping control of the authority was "a pretty successful night for the party".

Patrick Harley, who saw his party lose two seats but remain in charge, said he was pleased to see the Tories competing strongly with Labour.

"Twelve years into a Tory government, fairly unpopular at the moment and we are snapping at their heels in some of their strongest seats," he said.

When asked what Labour could do going forward, councillor Qadar Zada called for “more of the same".

"We’ve got to continue listening to people, we’ve got to continue fighting their agenda and putting their efforts in front of the council."

Tom Edwards
Reporter, BBC Hereford & Worcester

The Conservative leader of Redditch Borough Council said his party's poor performance is because "we are victims of the national picture".

Matthew Dormer told the BBC that, despite keeping control, their loss of three councillors, including their deputy leader, is down to national issues.

"People are not happy. They have voted and in a way which punishes us as a controlling party. It is tough, very tough," he said.

Deputy leader Gemma Monaco said losing her seat left her "devastated" and "the national picture is not good and we have been punished as a consequence".

For those of you just joining us this morning, this is what has happened overnight in our local council elections:

• Worcester was the big story as the Conservatives lost control and the borough now has a hung city council
• Elsewhere, the Tories kept control of Dudley, Nuneaton and Bedworth, Redditch and Tamworth
• While for Labour, they increased their majority on Sandwell and held Coventry and Wolverhampton
• One significant win was for the Green Party which gained their first ever seat in Coventry

More councils will be announcing their results on Friday - Birmingham, Cannock Chase, Newcastle-under-Lyme, Rugby, Solihull and Walsall

Tamworth's Conservative MP Christopher Pincher has described his party's performance in the town's elections as "a good, solid result".

The Tories kept control of the borough council but lost one councillor to an independent.

But Mr Pincher said he felt their results looked better than their main opponents.

"If you contrast that with the Labour Party which I think has come third in at least a couple of the contests, a party which just a few years ago was running Tamworth, coming third is a pretty bad result for them I would say."

However the chair of Tamworth's Labour Party, Chris Bain, tweeted he believed "the tide is truly turning" for them.

"This is just the beginning of the Labour resurgence," he added.

James Pearson
Political reporter, BBC Radio Hereford & Worcester

The Conservatives suffered a bad night in Worcester.

They have lost control of the city council which they had held with a slim majority after an exceptional night last May. However they remain the largest party.

The Tories lost three seats, two to the Greens in St Peter’s Parish Ward and Battenhall and one to Labour in Nunnery.

Image source, Worcester City Council

But it could have been worse.

Labour came within 23 votes of taking the normally safe Tory seat of Bedwardine.

Conservative Leader Marc Bayliss didn’t hang around. He left the Guildhall before the counting had even started, saying the people had given their verdict on the government, blaming Partygate as an issue that had turned away voters.

As for the future of the city council? The Greens now hold the balance of power.

They will decide as a group this weekend whether to back Mr Bayliss as leader and resume power-sharing or to reach a new coalition, possibly with Labour and the Liberal Democrats.

Tom Edwards
Reporter, BBC Hereford & Worcester

It was a bitter night for the Conservatives in Redditch as they lost some senior political figures on the council, including their deputy leader.

Mathematically it was impossible for the Tories to lose overall control of Redditch Borough Council as they went into the count holding 23 of the 29 seats and only a third of them were up for grabs.

But they suffered some great losses overnight with their deputy leader Gemma Monaco being defeated by Labour in Batchley & Brockhill and Councillor Mike Rouse - a cabinet member who won his seat in Church Hill by one vote in 2018 - also being booted out by just 65 votes.

Labour now have seven councillors in Redditch after winning key seats in Abbey, Church Hill and Batchley & Brockhill.

The Conservatives still control the council as they have 20 councillors of the 29.

Joan Cummins
Midlands Today reporter

Sandwell Council is getting better and improving, according to the authority's Labour leader after her party increased its majority.

With 24 of the authority's 72 seats contested, Labour held 18 and gained two more.

The boost came despite government-appointed commissioners being brought in to implement change at the authority after a review of mismanagement and accountability.

Council leader Kerrie Carmichael said: "We are here and we are improving and that is what we are all about. We are not making out that we are the best, we still know that we have got a way to go but we are doing it."

Dudley Council remains in the hands of the Conservative Party but they have seen their majority cut by Labour.

Defending 15 seats, the Tories lost two to the Labour Party but held 13 to give them an overall total of 46.

The Conservatives took control of the council in 2021 for the first time in a decade.

The final result at the City of Wolverhampton Council leaves the political make-up of the authority unchanged with Labour still in control.

Image source, City of Wolverhampton Council

The party began the election with 44 councillors and end with the same number as the Tories failed to make any gains.

The Conservatives total remains as 16.

James Pearson
Political reporter, BBC Radio Hereford & Worcester

The biggest news of the night so far is that the Conservative Party has lost control of Worcester City Council.

The Tories saw their total number of councillors slip to 15 as they suffered three losses.

The gains were equally shared among Labour, the Greens and the Liberal Democrats.

Earlier in the night, the Tory leader, Marc Bayliss, admitted he was expecting poor results and said the people had "given their verdict on the government".

Simon Gilbert
Political Reporter, BBC Radio CWR

Another result here in the West Midlands - Coventry City Council remains in Labour's control and they have kept their majority as the Tories lost a councillor to the Green Party.

The win for the Greens, as Stephen Gray took the Holbrook ward, gave the party their first ever seat in the city.

Labour remain the largest party with 39 councillors, 25 ahead of the Conservatives as their total fell to 14.

Sandwell Council remains securely in the Labour Party's hands and they have strengthened their majority.

Labour held 18 of the seats up for grabs at this year's poll and gained two more.

The Tories made one gain and held one, leaving them with a total of 10 councillors against Labour's 61, with one Sandwell Together Councillor.

Councillors who are elected today in Wolverhampton are going to have the unusual situation of only serving one year and then defending their seat in 2023.

Image source, City of Wolverhampton Council

This is because, the city council says, external, a new pattern for wards in the city has been drawn up by the Local Government Boundary Commission and will be brought in next year.

At that point, all 60 councillors will be up for election in May 2023 on the new ward boundaries.

After that election, the cycle would return to a third of seats being contested at future polls.

The Conservative Party have kept control of Tamworth Borough Council but have seen their majority reduced.

A third of the authority's 30 seats were being contested this year and the Tories held seven.

But they lost one to an Independent. Labour held their two seats.

The leader of Dudley Council said he is "overjoyed" to have kept his seat.

The Conservative Party took control of the authority last year for the first time in a decade and, at the start of the night, Patrick Harley said he would count "neutral position at the end of the night" as "a very successful campaign".

He put his win down to remaining focused on "bread and butter issues".

Tom Edwards
Reporter, BBC Hereford & Worcester

The Conservatives may have kept control of Redditch Council but they have had a bloody nose in this election from Labour.

While the Tories have a majority of 11, they lost three seats to Labour including deputy leader Gemma Monaco’s seat in Batchley and ex-deputy leader Mike Rouse's Church Hill seat.

Megan Jones
BBC Radio WM

There have been waves of activity at the Tipton Sports Academy as ballot boxes were dropped off and counting began for Sandwell Council.

Image source, Sandwell Council

While it is mathematically impossible for Labour to lose control of this authority, they have an unassailable majority, plenty of local and national issues may have played on the minds of voters.

The council has had six leaders in as many years and, earlier this year, government officials were brought in after an audit found evidence of poor behaviour and a lack of trust across the organisation.

How much this and national issues like the rising cost of living have been key issues for voters, we will find out as the night goes on.