Local Democracy Reporting Service
James Cain

At the 2015 Middlesbrough mayoral election Independent candidate Andy Preston was narrowly defeated by Labour’s Dave Budd with a winning margin of just 256 votes.

Four years on, Mr Preston stormed to victory to become Middlesbrough Mayor with 58% of the vote.

His nearest rival, Labour’s Mick Thompson, came in at 22.93%.

Following the result, Mr Thompson said: “Congratulations to Andy Preston on his victory, I wish him well in his new role.

“Under the leadership of Dave Budd, Middlesbrough has made great strides forward and Mr Preston’s job first and foremost will be to ensure [it] does not take a step backwards."

Mr Preston said: “We tried to be as positive as we could ... to stay away from underhand tactics and tried to be fair and balanced – and the public have loved it so expect to see a lot more of that.

“I’m going to be a positive mayor who works with people and tries to unite us."

Local Democracy Reporting Service
Daniel Holland

Labour lost two council seats in Newcastle and saw its share of the vote drop 10%, as community party Newcastle First made history by winning its first election.

The local campaign group pledged to "bring a new style of politics to the city" after taking a seat from the ruling Labour group in Callerton and Throckley, where anger over plans for a new opencast mine has dominated the agenda.

Ian Donaldson became their first elected councillor since the party was established in 2011.

Liberal Democrat Gareth Kane also made his return to the council, reclaiming the hotly-contested Ouseburn seat that he had lost to Labour by just 12 votes last year.

Turnout at this year’s local elections in Newcastle was 37.5% – slightly down on 2018’s 38.8%, but significantly better than some predictions early in the night had indicated.

Results so far from local elections in England and Northern Ireland suggest voters are unhappy with the two main parties in Westminster.

You can follow all the results as they come in here.

It has been a busy night - here are the top stories so far in the council and mayoral elections in the North East:

• Labour lost the mayoral race in Middlesbrough by a large margin, with independent Andy Preston winning on the first count with 59% of the vote
• Labour has held on to Sunderland Council, though its share of the vote has gone down sharply

• Sunderland Council leader Graeme Miller blamed its losses on Labour MPs supporting a fresh vote on Brexit but Bridget Phillipson, Labour MP for Houghton and Sunderland South, said it wasn't a 'simple Brexit story'
• Labour lost five seats in South Tyneside and two in Newcastle, as it held on to both councils
• Labour also held on to North Tyneside, where it lost one seat to the Conservatives

Fergus Hewison
BBC Newcastle political reporter

A row within Labour sparked by the results in Sunderland, where the party held the council but with its share of the vote falling sharply.

The council's leader blamed its losses on Labour MPs supporting a fresh vote on Brexit.

Councillor Greame Miller said: "We've seen a massive voter protest on that issue."

But Labour MP for Houghton & Sunderland South, Bridget Phillipson MP says it’s not just about Brexit.

Local Democracy Reporting Service
Chris Binding

Labour has taken a bruising at the polls after losing five seats on South Tyneside Council.

Independents were the main beneficiaries, and the Green Party won its first ever seat.

Council leader Iain Malcolm said: “I’m very disappointed that the Labour party has lost a number of seats on South Tyneside, but this seems to be mirrored across the region and country.

“I think it’s because residents are becoming extremely frustrated at the national parties' ability to deliver what they see is Brexit and the referendum result three years ago.

“Decent hard-working councillors of all political persuasions across the country have lost their seats not because they were bad councillors, but because the voters have vented their frustrations on the national parties and their inability to deliver and get some sort of Brexit deal through the House of Commons."

Fergus Hewison
BBC Newcastle political reporter

Newcastle City Council Labour leader Nick Forbes attacks his party's position on Brexit, which he says has cost votes in some places.

He says he's "never known such a lack of clarity from our national party on the biggest issue of the day".

He adds: "The Labour party really needs to take a good hard look at itself on the basis of these election results."

He says a "constant fudge" on Brexit is not "good leadership", and if no Customs Union is possible the party must back another referendum.

Labour have retained control of North Tyneside Council.

They won 17 seats, down one, with Conservatives gaining one to win three seats.

The new council is made up of 51 Labour seats, seven Conservatives and one each for Liberal Democrats and Independent.

Our reporter Flossie Mainwaring-Taylor was there for the whole night and you can see the story of the results in her tweets here., external

Local Democracy Reporting Service
Nic Marco

Labour has lost control of Hartlepool Council, and while it remains the largest party the council now has no over all control.

The party lost five seats, which went to Independents, the Independent Union, the For Britain Movement, UKIP, Local Conservatives and the Veterans’ and People’s Party.

Council leader Christopher Akers-Belcher, said he was "devastated" at the result and said it showed the "impact of a fractured party".

Independent Andy Preston will take over from the current Labour Middlesbrough mayor after winning by a huge majority.

Independent Andy Preston has won the contest to become Middlesbrough mayor by a huge majority.

He won a 59% share of the votes with 17,418, with Labour's Mick Thompson receiving 6,693, a 23% share of the vote.

The Independent candidate Peter Longstaff came third with 2,940 votes and Conservative Ken Hall came fourth with 2,382 votes.

Independent candidate Andy Preston is named Middlesbrough's third elected mayor.

Graeme Miller, the Labour leader of Sunderland Council, blames losses in his area on Labour MPs supporting a fresh vote on Brexit.

"We've seen a massive voter protest on that issue," he says.

"Hopefully the party will learn from it and will not make that mistake again.

"I lost 10 councillors tonight because the Brexit message has stepped into and over local politics."

With Labour losing its share of the vote in Sunderland, Hartlepool and South Tyneside, confidence also seems to be low in Middlesbrough.

In Newcastle where 27 seats on the council were up for election Labour won 17, Liberal Democrats eight, Independents two.

The new make up of the council is Labour 54, Lib Dem 20 and Independent four.

The Labour leader of Sunderland Council has blamed the loss of seats on the "Brexit message".

Councillor Greame Miller said: "Sunderland voted as a city to leave and having had a message from MPs saying we have to have a second referendum, people in Sunderland saying we are just not accepting that in the Labour party.

"I have lost councillors tonight because of that - the Brexit message has stepped into local politics and this is the outcome."