Tony Travers, local government expert at the London School of Economics, has said it will be "difficult for Labour to overcome" the Conservatives in Wandsworth.

Professor Travers said: "It's quite a big majority, and a council with low council tax and good services"

"For labour to win it would be a big exercise, and it would be a massive shock."

There are reports of voters unable to provide ID being turned away from polling stations in Bromley.

The London borough is one of five areas piloting the scheme to help cut down voter fraud.

A presiding officer at the polling station in Sydenham Tennis Club aid “Only a very small percentage” of voters had forgotten or were unable to provide ID.

Angela Watkins, who leads the Labour group on the council, said 13 voters had been turned away at one polling station alone.

In a tweet, external Ms Watkins said an "elderly lady confused by vote ID was turned away. Another stormed off furiously because unable to vote".

Bromely, Gosport, Swindon, Watford and Woking councils are all asking people to take different forms of ID with them to see which works best.

In the run-up to the election many people had assumed Labour would take the lead in Barnet, where the Conservatives are the largest party by just one seat. However, BBC London's political editor Tim Donovan says Labour officials did not sound optimistic as counting got under way.

"The code is that they think the row over anti-Semitism might have had an impact," he says, pointing out the large local Jewish population.

Labour sources tell the Press Association the party has a "fighting chance" in elections in the London borough of Barnet but that Westminster, Wandsworth and Kensington and Chelsea are "out of reach".

Newsnight political editor Nick Watt, in Wandsworth - one of the Conservatives' "Crown Jewels" - reports that Labour is saying privately it might just gain the council but would have to overturn a large majority.

"The word is that it's going to go down to the wire at about 2am or 3am," he adds.

BBC London looks at the facts and figures behind the 2018 council elections in the capital.

Image source, London Councils

All council seats across London's 32 boroughs are being contested.

Labour holds overall control of 21 boroughs, to the Conservative's eight councils, while the Lib Dem only run Sutton. The remaining two are in no overall control.

According to most polling it's not a question of if Labour win, but how big they win.

They are on course to take roughly half of all votes in London and could win Wandsworth,Westminster and Kensington and Chelsea from the Conservatives - or run them close. While former Tory stonghold Barnet - the home of Margaret Thatcher's old constituency - now teeters on a knife edge in no overall control.

Meanwhile, the Liberal Democrats are trying to win back the local authorities of their former heartlands whilst holding onto Sutton.

Image source, PA

The polls closed at 10pm and counting has begun.

However we don't expect results from any of London's councils until after 01:00 BST with some unlikely to be unannounced until Friday afternoon.

Sam Francis
BBC News, London

Good evening and welcome to our London local elections results live page.

We'll be here until Friday evening bringing you all the news, reaction, and of course results, from the capital's 32 boroughs.

Get in touch by email, tweet , externalor post on our Facebook page , externalwith your thoughts - or let us know how you are spending election results night.