Labour won 43 of the 55 available seats, increasing their number of councillors by two.

Dr Georgina Blakeley of the Open University suggests low turn-out for the mayoral elections could be indicative of "voter fatigue - or that they simply don't know what the mayors do".

She says the mayors are intended to cultivate "the two-way relationship between Westminster and the rest of the country".

They will be "cabinet-style mayors - they won't just be able to do anything they want", she explains. 

Jonathan Bartley, co-leader of the Greens, says the party's focus on the "local element" over the years helped it secure six new council seats across the UK.

The party celebrated a breakthrough on the Isle of Wight with its first councillor elected in an area that is a target seat in the general election.

But looking ahead to the general election, Mr Bartley says it was "very disappointing" that his party's attempts to build a formal "progressive alliance" with Labour and the Liberal Democrats was not happening.

"But what is happening on the ground and is very, very interesting, is that local parties are defying their leaders... and it is great to see that in some areas."

The Conservatives have made gains in the local council elections, with Labour and UKIP losing out, as the results are declared.

Image source, Getty Images

Jeremy Corbyn has given a speech in Manchester to supporters of the city's new mayor, Andy Burnham.

He was accompanied by shadow cabinet members Rebecca Long Bailey and Andrew Gwynne - but Mr Burnham himself was absent.

The Labour leader said he had "been in touch with Andy" who was "already hard at work".

However, Kevin Schofield, editor of the PoliticsHome website, is suggesting Mr Burnham did not want to give his former rival in the 2015 Labour leadership race a "good picture" on a day when hundreds of colleagues lost their council seats.

UKIP's local government spokesman Peter Reeve maintains the party is still "leading the national agenda".

He told the BBC: "We are never happy when we are not winning seats - and today hasn't been good on that front - the reality is... the Conservative Party have painted themselves in UKIP colours, flying a UKIP flag, and the danger is they won't fulfil the promises and pledges they have now made...

"UKIP will have a resurgence when Theresa May's promises start to unravel."

Plaid Cymru Assembly Member Rhun Ap Iorweth describes his party's showing as "pretty solid and pretty good".

He points out 33 gains is within four seats of a record high and "we hope to take that momentum on in four weeks' time". 

He says they'll seek to show Theresa May is pursuing "a bad Brexit for Wales".

BBC News Channel

Prof Matthew Goodwin from the University of Kent says: "UKIP have skyrocketed and now they've crash-landed into a muddy field."

It's a problem for Labour, he continues, who "used to be worried about the rise of UKIP but now they're worried about the collapse of UKIP".

"Their aim now is to stay on the pitch - they think Theresa May will backslide on Brexit and that will perhaps give them a way back in." 

What do the local election results mean for the outcome of June's general election?

Image source, Getty Images/BBC

With powers over transport, planning and skills, six new combined authority mayors have been chosen.

The Tories win 43 of 57 seats - seven more than in 2013 - and gain all three UKIP seats.

Image source, AFP

Dr Omar Khan, director of race equality think tank the Runnymede Trust, said: "The results in the West Midlands mayoral election, where 30% of the population is BME, suggest there may have been a breakthrough for the Conservatives with ethnic minority voters.

"Labour does appear to have still done better with ethnic minority votes: winning the four areas (Birmingham, Wolverhampton, Sandwell and Coventry) with larger BME populations, but losing those three areas with lower BME populations (Walsall, Dudley and Solihull). 

"Whether or not the Conservatives can build on this trend of greater ethnic minority voting will determine whether the Labour party maintains its urban strongholds in the June general election."

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Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn issued a statement saying: "The results were mixed. We lost seats but we are closing the gap on the Conservatives. 

"I am disappointed at every Labour defeat in the local elections. Too many fantastic councillors, who work tirelessly for their communities, lost their seats.

“We have five weeks to win the general election so we can fundamentally transform Britain for the many not the few.

“We know this is no small task - it is a challenge on an historic scale. But we, the whole Labour movement and the British people, can't afford not to seize our moment. 

“The British people have been held back for too long. Labour will put more money in people's pockets with a £10 real living wage, look after our pensioners by protecting the triple lock on state pensions and give everybody the care and dignity they deserve by properly funding our NHS and social care system. 

“I urge everyone to vote Labour because things can, and will, change."

Miles Davis
BBC News Online

The Conservative victory in Cornwall is "a strong endorsement for Theresa May" according to Lelant and Carbis Bay councillor Linda Taylor.

She said success for 46 Tory candidates out of 122 seats being contested was also an endorsement for the Cornish Conservative candidates in the General Election.

She added: "We are the largest party and it will be up to the leadership of the Conservative group to sit down and make their decisions about the way forward."

Tamsin Melville
Political Reporter, BBC Radio Cornwall

The surge that had been hoped for by Liberal Democrat supporters did not materialise on the day.

The Liberal Democrats, who have been in charge of the authority in coalition with the Independents, took 37 seats compared to 46 for the Conservatives.

Adam Paynter, leader of the Liberal Democrats, said: "It will be up to the Conservatives to form the administration."

What to conclude? The SNP have clearly won the local elections in Scotland - but the Tories have also made big gains.

With all the results declared in Wales: 

Image source, Getty Images

The party will now attempt to form either a coalition or minority administration in the city for the first time.