Colchester Borough Council remains in no overall control after the Conservatives failed to gain the seat they needed for a majority.

To make matters worse for the Conservatives, their leader Darius Laws lost his seat in Castle ward to the Green Party's Mark Goacher.

No party holds a majority on Thurrock Council, retaining the status quo.

The number of seats for each party has hardly changed with Conservatives dropping one to 22, Labour gaining one to hold 17, the Thurrock Independents remaining on nine and a one solo independent.

Doug Faulkner
BBC News Online

The Liberal Democrats have already doubled the number of seats they hold on Chelmsford City Council as they look set to make huge gains on the Conservatives.

The Lib Dems have taken 12 to the Tories' two so far.

All seats are up for grabs and before the start of play the Conservatives held 51 of the 57 total.

Image source, Chelmsford City Council

Conservative group leader Darius Laws has lost in the hotly-contested Castle Ward in Colchester to Green Mark Goacher.

Colchester MP Will Quince had been out canvassing for Mr Laws in the run-up to the election.

Mr Goacher took 1,724 votes to Mr Laws' 901.

Doug Faulkner
BBC News Online

Results are coming through from Conservative-held Southend-on-Sea Borough Council - and there is plenty of change.

Labour has made gains in St Laurence, Kursaal and Milton.

The Lib Dems have gained in Leigh, West Leigh and Eastwood Park.

Independents have gained in Shoeburyness.

Just one hold from the Conservatives so far.

Sam Read
BBC Radio Northampton politics reporter

At the Peterborough count senior Conservative councillors think they have lost anywhere between one and five seats.

The Tories have an overall majority of one at the moment.

The Conservatives have held on to Brentwood Borough Council.

The party had 25 of 37 seats at the start of play.

The Conservatives have lost control of Basildon Council after Labour and independents made in-roads into their majority.

The Tories remain the largest party but Labour now has 15 seats, six are with independents and UKIP has one.

it will now be for the Labour group to see if it can form a coalition to run the authority.

The Conservatives have retained control of Rochford District Council with several early holds and a gain in Roche North and Rural.

The party started the day with 26 of 39 seats.

The Conservatives have held on to Epping Forest District Council.

The Conservatives have held on to Castle Point.

The party held 27 of the 41 seats before the election with 17 up for grabs.

Doug Faulkner
BBC News Online

Thurrock Independent Allen Mayes has taken Tilbury Riverside from Labour.

The group, primarily made up of former UKIP councillors, started the night with nine seats.

However, independent (with a small i) Frank Massey has won East Tilbury from the Thurrock Independents, taking 984 votes to their 74.

Image source, LDRS

At the start of the night Harlow Council was the only Labour-controlled authority in Essex and the party has maintained control there.

Four of the seven wards declared so far have been won by Labour, with the Conservatives taking three.

There are a further four seats to be declared.

The Conservatives are one seat away from a majority on Colchester Borough Council that would see them wrest control from a Labour/Lib Dem/Independent coalition.

But Tory leader Darius Laws is fighting for his seat in the hotly-contested Castle ward and BBC Essex political reporter Charlotte Rose says he has some nerves about holding the seat.

Jo Thewlis
BBC Radio Norfolk political reporter

The Liberal Democrats are looking chipper at the North Norfolk count at North Walsham High School.

The party has been running the hung council since November after the Conservatives lost control following a vote of no confidence in their leader.

The Tories, meanwhile, are not looking so happy.

Labour have won five of the first seven seats declared in Basildon Borough Council's elections.

In a strong early showing the party has taken Laindon Park from the Conservatives with John Scarola elected.

Conservative Kevin Blake has won in Burstead while Independent Pauline Kettle has taken Nethermayne.

Image source, Basildon Borough Council

More work is needed to help homeless people in Norwich, despite a fall in rough sleeper numbers, local election candidates have said.

Image source, Jake Humphrey

Numbers of homeless people in Norwich have dropped from 34 to 21 between 2016 and 2018, although in 2010 the figure was recorded as four.

The number of city households living in temporary accommodation has increased from 21 to 50 in the same period.

A homelessness strategy for the city, drawn up last year, found family breakdowns led to many people sleeping on the streets.

Labour holds 31 seats on the city council, external, with five for the Green Party and three for the Liberal Democrats.

Colchester’s infrastructure is "creaking" under the pressure of housing development, according to politicians.

Once the Roman capital of Britain, the town is one of the fastest-growing areas in the region and part of plans for three "garden communities".

A third of the council's 51 seats are up for grabs.

Candidates for the borough council said housing had put pressure on health centres, schools and roads.

The Conservatives are a seat away from a majority that would overthrow the current "rainbow coalition" of Liberal Democrat, Labour and independent councillors.

Charlotte Rose
BBC Essex political reporter

Image source, PA

In Essex 14 councils are holding polls today, with a total of 359 seats up for grabs.

The Conservatives are defending 259 seats, while Labour have just 27 and other parties are defending 74 seats.

Braintree District is one of nine areas in England to be part of a voter identification pilot. The test is only going ahead after a man from Witham failed in his attempt to get the High Court to rule it unlawful.

In Colchester, the Conservatives need just one seat to take control of the council, currently run by a coalition of Liberal Democrats, Labour and Independents.

The Tories could see gains in some wards but lose their leader, who faces a tough battle against the Greens in Castle ward.

Tendring used to be the home of UKIP, which now has just five councillors remaining on the Conservative-run authority. Here the number of seats is reducing from 60 to 48, which could make it harder for the Tories to maintain control.

Andrew Sinclair
BBC Look East political correspondent

The politics of the East of England is dominated by the Conservatives.

They run 25 out of the 37 local authorities in the BBC East region and the expectation is they will continue to do so after tonight.

But how many seats will they lose?

The sitting government always expects to take a hit at local elections, but this year things have been complicated by Brexit.

The East was a largely Leave-voting area and canvassers have found real frustration on the doorsteps.

I have heard stories about Conservatives taking off their rosettes before delivering leaflets; of doors being slammed in faces, candidates sworn at and even one Tory being punched.

And it is not just the Tories. All the main parties have reported a far more fractious atmosphere among voters.

So what will that mean for polling?

Turnouts are always much lower than for general elections and it looks as if it will be very low this time.

It was about 36% for the 2018 local elections, compared to a turnout of 69% for the 2017 General Election and 72% for the EU referendum in 2016.

Anything under 30% is bad, but I am hearing it could be much lower.

It could be a good night for the smaller parties and independent candidates.

The public do not think much of our politicians at the moment and they may have shown that at the polls.