Sophia Hartley
BBC Radio Leicester

With one ward left, the Conservatives are leading by two councillors.

Conservatives 22

Labour 20

Green 6

Independent 1

With three councillors up for grabs in Syston, it all comes down to the final count.

Sophia Hartley
BBC Radio Leicester

Campaigning can be stressful but imagine campaigning from a hospital bed and with a six-month-old baby.

Well, newly elected Green councillor, Naomi Bottomley, had to do just that to secure her victory in Sileby and Seagrave.

Ms Bottomley said: "I had some health issues which put me in the hospital for a few weeks so trying to continue the campaign from a hospital bed was interesting.

"I'm so lucky that we had a great team and a great community there to support us through everything.

"We're just so grateful that they trust us to continue hearing their voices and standing up for them on the council now."

Adam Whitty
BBC Radio Leicester

After a second recount in the pivotal Leicester Forest and Lubbesthorpe Ward, it's the Conservatives that are hugging and kissing.

They have won all three of the remaining seats in the district, and therefore hold their majority by one seat.

It was so tight, a mild sense of excitement at the closeness of it all might have broken out.

So the district now looks like this:

CON: 19 (-6 from 2019)

LD: 9 (+3)

LAB: 6 (0)

GREEN: 2 (+1)

Matt Weigold
BBC Radio Derby

James Dawson held onto a Labour seat at Erewash Borough Council receiving 551 votes.

He will represent the Awsworth Road ward with his Labour colleague Josy Hare.

They pair said the atmosphere at the count was "electrifying" as Labour won the majority of seats on the council, taking it from the Conservatives.

Mr Dawson said: "Individually for people it's fantastic - they're all happy with their individual result but overall for us to get across that finish line and make Erewash and Labour gain is a fantastic feeling."

He said the win gave hope to the people of Erewash.

"I think there were a lot of issues on the doorstep, both locally and nationally, and what we were picking up is a lot of people felt that the council is not there for them.

"It's something that's there that does things to them rather than for them," he said.

Ms Hare said she hoped to make a difference and "listen to the people".

Simon Ward
East Midlands Today Reporter

Labour Group leader Baggy Shanker has retained his seat at Derby City Council.

At the half way stage in the count, he refuses to speculate about Labour taking control by the end of today.

Simon Ward
East Midlands Today Reporter

Derby City Conservative Leader Chris Poulter has retained his seat.

He denied the party in Derby had branded itself as Local Conservatives to distance themselves from the government.

Adam Whitty
BBC Radio Leicester

Well you can see why there were so many recounts for the Enderby ward in Blaby's District Council elections in Leicestershire.

The Conservatives needed to win four of the remaining five seats, and they have lost their margin for error now.

The Liberal Democrats have won their ninth councillor, and the Tories won the second seat by five votes, meaning they need to win all of the remaining three seats in the Leicester Forest and Lubbesthorpe Ward to retain their majority.

A Tory candidate just walked past us and said "squeaky bum time" - a quote from former Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson about the tense period at the end of close matches.

It's an apt analogy.

Khush Sameja
BBC Radio Leicester reporter

There were some tense scenes here earlier as the Lib Dems demanded a recount - a decision refused by the returning officer.

The Lib Dem council leader, Samia Haq has retained her seat for Oadby Uplands with 616 votes.

Image source, LDRS

However, her colleague Victor Kaufman lost the seat that was previously held by his mother after she decided not to run.

Ms Haq admits it is a bittersweet win for her.

“It's been a tough night for us and we have lost some seats.

"I've lost some of my very hardworking colleagues. So it's mixed emotions for me at the moment," she said.

Georgia Roberts
BBC Radio Derby

Labour has gained Erewash Borough Council from the Conservatives.

The party now has a majority on this council for the first time in 20 years.

The area had been a regular shadow cabinet stop, with lots of Labour resources poured into winning this council - looks like it’s paid off.

Anna Whittaker
Local Democracy Reporting Service

Richard Jackson, leader of the Conservative group at Broxtowe Borough Council lost his seat after names were pulled out of a hat.

The Tory leader polled 834 votes, the same number as fellow Conservative Halimah Khaled in the Toton and Chilwell Meadows ward.

Image source, LDRS

Kevin Stanley
Reporter, BBC Radio Nottingham

We’re now onto the count for the district council in Mansfield.

One interesting thing is seeing just how many people turned out to vote in different areas.

For example, in the Central Ward it’s just 19.6%, but in Berry Hill it’s 41.3%. Persuading voters to the polling stations is always a challenge in local elections – and the relatively low figures in some places reflect that.

Adam Whitty
BBC Radio Leicester

I'm unsure whether to say it's all been happening, or nothing has been happening, in Enderby Leisure Centre in Leicestershire.

We've had a big delay, firstly because a candidate fainted, then because we are going for a second recount on a big result in Enderby Ward.

A few moments ago, all candidates were told to shuffle over to a table where the results were shown. The Tories were hugging each other afterwards, but a recount has been called.

The Conservatives need to win four of the remaining five seats to retain overall control of Blaby District Council.

Sophia Hartley
BBC Radio Leicester

The results for Charnwood District Council are now gathering pace as the results pour in.

Charnwood has historically been comfortably Conservative and the results still suggest there are areas where this is the case.

However, Labour and Green are making gains in areas.

Image source, Charnwood District Council

The former Conservative council leader Jonathan Morgan has lost his seat in Sileby and Seagrave.

The three seats were won by Green party candidates Geoff Lawrence, Faye Forde and Naomi Bottomley.

In Shepshed East, Labour candidate Myriam Roberts split the previous Tory stronghold.

In Loughborough Southfields, two newly elected Labour Councillors - Rhys Cory-Lowsley and Sarah Goode - have taken control of the ward.

Sophie Wheeldon
BBC Radio Nottingham

The Conservative councillor and deputy leader of Nottinghamshire County Council, Bruce Laughton, has lost his Farnsfield seat on Newark and Sherwood District Council.

It was won by Labour councillor Maurice Shakeshaft with 51% of the votes.

Image source, Newark and Sherwood District Council

The blow to the Tories comes just after the Conservative leader of Newark and Sherwood District Council, David Lloyd, lost his seat.

Meanwhile, the Liberal Democrats have won their first seat with Keith Melton taking a former Conservative seat in Trent ward.

Independents have also taken two seats from Conservative councillors in Balderton South.

Adam Whitty
BBC Radio Leicester

"It's a pretty unique situation".

So says Bob Waterton, standing next to fellow Labour councillor Shabbir Aslam - both have been elected to the Braunstone Town Ward in Blaby District, Leicestershire.

They're the only people elected unopposed in the area.

I asked them if they fancied the campaign scrap: "We were ready for a campaign", said Aslam, a councillor for 12 years. "But Braunstone Town is a Labour house. It's always Labour in this area."

"I think that we're unopposed says more about the demographics", said Mr Waterton. "But people recognise where they get good services and help from their councillors - people didn't want to stand against two good councillors.

At the time of writing, they are two of six Labour councillors in the district, with the Conservatives on 11, and the Liberal Democrats on 8 (up already from their 2019 number of 6).

Andrew Topping
Local Democracy Reporting Service

Conservative Andre Camilleri, who finished in second place in the Mansfield mayoral election, said: "I'm a little disappointed - obviously I wanted to win but I'm very pleased we came second because we've gone from fourth place [in 2019] to second, which is an achievement."

Mr Camilleri said he hoped the Conservatives would "pick up a few council candidates this afternoon but the national picture is really bad for us".

He added: "Hopefully, we can buck the trend and then we'll keep to our promises.

"Labour promise so much but deliver so little and we want to make sure they deliver more."

Image source, LDRS

Khush Sameja
BBC Radio Leicester reporter

The count is under way at the Parklands Leisure Centre in Oadby.

There are 26 seats available in 10 wards.

The current political make-up is 22 Liberal Democrats and 4 Conservatives.

The current leader Samia Haq, Liberal Democrat, took over from councillor John Boyce following his retirement in April.

Officials hope to declare the first results shortly.

Hugh Casswell
Political reporter, BBC Radio Nottingham

The Conservative leader of Newark & Sherwood District Council David Lloyd has lost his seat.

Of the six candidates in the Beacon ward, Mr Lloyd came fifth, with 694 votes.

The bottom three were all Conservatives, with the three elected candidates coming from independent groups.

He said: "I'm disappointed because I love the job that I've done.

“I love the town and representing it and the very many things we've done.

“I am proud of what we've achieved over the last five to seven years.”

Image source, NSDC

Andrew Topping
Local Democracy Reporting Service

In his victory speech, Andy Abrahams the re-elected Labour mayor for Mansfield said: "I want to thank the people of Mansfield who have put their faith in me.

"I promise we will work hard to achieve, and improve the lives of all people across the Mansfield district."

Jon Cooper
Local Democracy Reporting Service

Residents across Bolsover woke this morning to a reinforced Labour-led district council as the party secured 31 seats out of a possible 37 seats at the local elections.

Both the Conservatives and the Independents secured three seats on Bolsover District Council.

Image source, LDRS

The local elections are expected to have an impact on the national political landscape with polling predictions having suggested that the Conservatives could lose seats nationwide with concerns over inflation, the cost of living crisis and high-energy costs.

Bolsover District Council’s election included an electorate of 61,655, with 33.024 papers issued, 149 ejected papers, and a total of 34,292 votes.