Paul Barltrop
Political Editor, West of England

Going to the polls during a pandemic was always going to be a challenge.

But it may be what this election did to local democracy rather than to the nation’s health that it is remembered for.

In three decades of covering elections, I have never seen it so subdued. Uncertainty over whether they would happen did not help.

Then there was an initial bar on parties going leafleting, which sparked complaints, including from Lib Dems in Gloucestershire and Greens in Bristol.

But, the biggest problem was generating interest in local issues.

Normal political point-scoring just did not seem right in the midst of the Covid crisis. And without face-to-face hustings, much of the heat went out of the election.

Instead, it is the global health pandemic, and the success of the national vaccine programme, that was dominant in the news, and in people’s minds, as they voted in these local elections.

Andrew Dymock from Bath says extreme material he had was either planted or for his academic studies.

Latest from Banes on the Avon and Somerset PCC with Mark Shalford getting the first win here.

A 28-year-old is remanded in custody to appear at Swindon Crown Court on 11 June.

Hayley Mortimer
BBC Gloucestershire politics reporter

Counting is about to get underway at Oxstalls Tennis Centre in Gloucester for the city wards in the Gloucestershire County Council election.

Candidates and their agents, dressed in party colours and adorned with rosettes are eagerly waiting outside to be let in so they can watch the count and hear the results.

But it is much quieter than usual.

Counters are spread out around the sports hall behind plastic screens to maintain social distancing.

Capacity is also limited due to coronavirus, so there are no political activists circling the room trying to get a steer of how the votes are looking.

I’ve spoken to some Liberal Democrats who are quietly confident that they’ll take a couple of seats from the Conservatives, which may mean the Tories lose overall control of the council.

Some Conservatives look worried but say the party may gain seats elsewhere.

Charlotte Callen
BBC West home affairs correspondent

In a Covid-secure sports hall at the University of Bath training village, the votes are quietly being counted for the new Avon and Somerset police and crime commissioner.

We are only allowed as far as a mat inside the door of the sports hall and have taken Covid tests before we arrived.

Turnout this year is slightly up, at just more than 30% compared with 26% back in 2016.

There has only ever been one PCC for Avon and Somerset, the Independent Sue Mountstevens, who has worked alongside three chief constables during her two terms in office.

She’s standing down so whoever wins, will be a new person in the role.

The chief constable has also said he is standing down in the summer so, one of the first jobs for the new PCC will be appointing a new chief.

The force has been in the international headlines with the protests that turned violent a few weeks ago and the toppling of slave trader Edward Colston's statue.

The new PCC will have to deal with the fallout from these issues over the coming months and years too.

More services for London and the south of England are added to the latest timetables.

A prostitution ring is uncovered when police stop a car suspected of being driven without insurance.

Paul Barltrop
Political Editor, West of England

It is a bumper local election – but it could be confusing.

Voters in Bristol took their pick from dozens of candidates on four different ballot papers. They were choosing local councillors, a mayor for the city, a mayor for the West of England and a police and crime commissioner.

While Labour currently hold sway in Bristol, elsewhere the Conservatives are dominant. They expect to keep control of Wiltshire Council; there will be more focus on Swindon where their majority is smaller.

In Gloucestershire they hope to keep their solid control of the County Council. There are tighter contests in two districts where no one presently has a majority, Gloucester City and Stroud, while the Liberal Democrats hope to hold onto Cheltenham.

There are PCC contests for all police force areas, meaning everyone in the West has a chance to vote. Whether they do, and what shapes their vote in a time of pandemic, is hard to predict.

Residents across the West voted for the new Police and Crime Commissioners (PCC) this year.

As the ballots are being counted let's have another look at who the candidates are.

Wiltshire:

• Jonathon Seed (Cons)
• Junab Ali (Lab)
• Liz Webster (Lib Dem)
• Mike Rees (Independent)
• Brig Oubridge (Green Party)
• Julian Malins (Reform UK)

Avon and Somerset:

• Cleo Lake (Green)
• Kerry Barker (Lab)
• Mark Shelford (Cons)
• Heather Shearer (Lib Dems)
• John Smith (Independent)

Gloucestershire:

• Martin Surl - (Independent)
• Chris Nelson - (Cons)
• Simon O'Rourke - (Labour)
• Christopher Coleman - (Liberal Democrats)
• Adrian Stratton - (Independent)

For the police and crime commissioner elections, Bristol has had the highest turnout at 40.71% with 139,098 verified ballots.

Sedgemoor District Council had the lowest turnout at 19.79% with 18,506 verified ballot papers.

Go to http://www.avonpccelection.org.uk , externalto see the turnout for the rest of Avon and Somerset.