Thomas Magill
BBC London

Barnet was one of Labour's key targets across this campaign and they have given everything to it here in north London.

As it stands we are just waiting on one more ward to declare.

At the moment Labour has 38 seats and the Conservatives have 21 - so it is a massive swing to Labour who now have a majority here of 17 seats.

Labour will be here in power for the first time and they have acknowledged that it is going to have its challenges.

But, given they have been accepted there is a real confidence amongst these guys.

The mayor of London has hailed Labour's win in Wandsworth - where his party has snatched control from the Conservatives.

Sadiq Khan said people there had voted to spite Boris Johnson - adding that the prime minister had been a "vote-winner for Labour".

In the capital, Labour have also taken control of Westminster and Barnet councils.

Lewis Goodall
Newsnight policy editor

All the headlines so far have been about Wandsworth - the flagship Tory council since 1978, which has gone to Labour.

But the final result for Westminster - also swapping from Conservative to Labour - is in some ways more extraordinary.

We have known that Wandsworth was trending Labour over a long period. They won all of the three parliamentary seats, including Putney - its sole victory in the 2019 general election - so we knew it was on the cards.

But Westminster was at the upper end of the Labour Party's ambition overnight.

It is the first time it has had a non-Conservative majority since the borough's creation in 1964.

This is the home of the Houses of Parliament, Buckingham Palace, Mayfair, Park Lane, Marble Arch - all places you don't necessarily associate with the socialist people's republic.

But Labour now controls Westminster.

Speaking of the Marble Arch Mound ... the Tory councillor responsible for the ballooning costs of the project has been re-elected in his Westminster Council Little Venice ward.

Cllr Melvyn Caplan stepped down in August after total costs nearly doubled to £6m, up from a forecast of £3.3m.

Local Democracy Reporting Service

The Conservatives have lost Westminster City Council for the first time in its 58-year history.

Labour had promised to build more homes and freeze council tax in Westminster.

Voters appear to have been ultimately swayed by the Partygate scandal inside Number 10, the cost of living crisis and, locally, the £6m Marble Arch Mound fiasco.

Across the borough, a total of 162 candidates battled it out for 54 seats across 18 wards .

Westminster City Council had been held by the Tories since it was first formed in 1964 and the authority currently has the lowest council tax in the country at just £866 per year.

According to Labour, Westminster residents were furious on doorsteps about the Marble Arch Mound tourist attraction which ended up costing three times its budget and other voters felt they could not trust the Tories after Prime Minister Boris Johnson was fined for breaking Covid rules at the height of the pandemic.

Other issues voters considered as they headed to the polls including the amount of rubbish and noise generated by partygoers.

Previously the Conservatives had over twice as many councillors (41) as Labour (19).

But this time around, the number of wards in the borough has decreased from 20 to 18, and the total number of councillors decreased from 60 to 54.

Two pictures from separate counts showing a range of emotions.

First, the joy of Labour supporters in Westminster as they take hold of the council for the first time ever.

Below, a Conservative Party supporter pauses for a moment reflecting on the Tories defeat in Wandsworth Council.

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

Labour has taken control of Westminster City Council in London for the first time since its creation in 1964.

Tim Donovan
BBC London, Political Editor

Sam Francis
BBC News, London

Good morning.

If you're just joining our coverage now here's what you've missed overnight:

• Wandsworth - Labour has won the flagship Conservative council of Wandsworth for the first time in nearly 50 years
• Barnet - Labour has won the north London council from the Tories for the first time since the local authority was created
• Westminster - Sources suggest the Conservatives may have lost the central London council for the first time ever

Conservative MP for Wimbledon Stephen Hammond says Partygate was a big influence on voting.

He says his local area saw a high turnout as "angry Tories" voted against his party.

"That ought to be a clarion bell ringing in Downing Street to make sure we are concentrating on the cost of living," he says.

He also wants his leader to bring "talents back into the government".

"Any government that doesn't have people like Greg Clark and Jeremy Hunt clearly isn't using all the talents available to it."

Asked about Boris Johnson's future, he says: "I think he has to prove his integrity to the country."

The Conservative leader of Barnet Council Daniel Thomas says his party has lost control of the council

He blames his defeat on "a perfect storm of the cost of living crisis, 12 years of a Conservative government and redrawn boundaries".

"This is a warning shot from Conservative supporters - a fair number just stayed at home."

He says the issue of Partygate only came up "very occasionally" and that he doesn't believe there has been "a huge conversion" to Labour.