BBC political correspondent Peter Whittlesea is in Thanet, which UKIP sees as its stronghold as it runs the district council there. 

But he says the Conservatives are walking around the room where votes are being counted "with broad smiles on their faces" as local people say UKIP's job is done now Brexit is happening.  

He told BBC News:

BBC News Channel

Former Scottish first minister Alex Salmond says the Conservatives have "eliminated UKIP by becoming UKIP". 

He told BBC News: "One very interesting trend when you see the disappearance of UKIP from English politics, and Welsh politics for that matter, is the extent to which the Conservative party have become UKIP. 

"They have eliminated UKIP by becoming UKIP. And the sort of extreme language that Theresa May used in Downing Street the other day - I mean that could have come from Nigel Farage."  

Ah, the quaint way of settling a political tie. In Gwynedd's Hendre ward, a dead heat between Plaid Cymru's John Wynn Jones and independent Richard Medwyn Hughes meant it was the old "names in a ballot box" to pick the winner.

Mr Hughes was the one left thanking the way the slips of paper fell as his name was pulled out and he was duly elected.

Sally Cogley has been elected in Irvine Valley for the Rubbish Party, which was set up on a platform to tidy up the local area. 

Ms Cogley has been organising clear up events in the local area. 

Douglas Carswell, who quit as UKIP's only MP to become an independent, has a pithy reaction to news of Conservative gains.

Shadow home secretary Diane Abbott said there was "no question these are disappointing results" for the Labour party, but said it did not mean the general election would go the same way. 

She said lower turnouts and voting on specific local issues means the results could be very different on 8 June. 

But she argued against Stephen Kinnock's assessment that the results were "disastrous" for the party.

Ms Abbott told BBC News: 

Image source, Reuters

UKIP leader Paul Nuttall has issued a statement following the local election results,, external saying: "Our electoral success over recent years was a key driver in forcing the Conservatives to embrace our cause under a new prime minister who was campaigning for a Remain vote in the referendum a year ago."

He continues: "If the price of Britain leaving the EU is a Tory advance after taking up this patriotic cause then it is a price UKIP is prepared to pay.

"Our members will know that politics is a long game and that as well as keeping up the pressure for Brexit, UKIP is now laying down its big agendas for the future; including taking a muscular approach on social integration, campaigning to bring down immigration and arguing for a switch of resources away from foreign aid and into the NHS and other public services."

Image source, PA

UKIP has lost all its council seats declared so far in England and Wales, in what senior figures say is a "challenging" result for the party.

After results from 25 local authorities, UKIP has lost 44 councillors and made no gains.

It was wiped out in Lincolnshire, losing 13 seats, while all its nine representatives in Essex were defeated.

Former MEP and leadership contender Steven Woolfe said UKIP's influence was now "at an end".

Read more

BBC News Channel

Plaid Cymru leader Leanne Wood says "so far things are looking good" for her party, and, although results are still coming in, "it looks as though Plaid Cymru has made breakthroughs in new ground".    

Speaking from Rhondda, she says the performance in the local elections "puts us in a good position to contest the UK election".   

BBC News Channel

Conservative Sam Gyimah said his party were seeing "encouraging" results in Scotland and they expected to "move forward" there.

However, he said it would be a challenge overtaking Labour, who have four times as many councillors as the Tories in seats across the country. 

This didn't stop him from telling BBC News: 

The Welsh Greens have gained their first seat of the local elections in Powys.

The party gained its first ever seat on the council, with Emily Durrant elected to represent Llangors.

BBC News Channel

BBC East political corespondent Andrew Sinclair says it looks like we're seeing "the UKIP vote disintegrate before our eyes" in East Anglia.

Speaking from Great Yarmouth, he says UKIP have lost both their seats in what has been "one of their strongholds".

Once, the party could be "sure of a very big and strong following" in East Anglia, Andrew says.

But, he adds, there is "no sign either though of a Lib Dem revival" - not much of a surprise in Great Yarmouth but "they didn't do very well in Essex last night either".

Sharon Edwards
Political Reporter, BBC Radio Lincolnshire

This is how Lincolnshire County Council looks today versus how it looked a month ago.

Conservatives had 21 seats, but now have a total of 58 

Labour had 12 places but are now reduced to six

Liberal Democrat councillors have gone from three to one 

UKIP had nine - but now have zero

Lincolnshire Independents had seven and are down to one 

Independents had four and remain with four

Independents from Europe had three and now have zero

Image source, PA