Linda Serck
BBC South

Image source, bbc

Nineteen-year-old Ellie Emberson has become the youngest female councillor ever on Reading Borough Council, winning Minster Ward for Labour.

This also makes her one of the youngest councillors in Britain.

Speaking at the overnight count she told the BBC: "The votes were coming in and we saw that we had the bigger pile, and it just kept growing and growing and growing."

She sees her age as a means to give a voice to a generation she feels is underrepresented in politics.

"Young people deserve to be represented," she said, "young people are in the community so someone has to step up and represent their thoughts and opinions.

"So I thought, 'I'll step up and do it myself'."

Image source, PA

Labour has urged ministers to scrap its plans for voters to show identification at polling stations, following a trial yesterday.

There was controversy as some voters in Swindon, Woking and Bromley were reportedly prevented from voting.

Shadow Cabinet Office minister Cat Smith said: “There was absolutely no case for introducing voter ID in the first place but after yesterday’s fiasco, it is impossible for the government to justify rolling it out.

“After completely ignoring a number of serious warning signs, the government decided to pilot discriminatory measures which denied people their right to vote.

“We cannot allow the Conservative Party to undermine our democracy, which is why Labour is calling on the government to scrap their voter ID plans as a matter of urgency.”

The Cabinet Office said the pilots were a success.

Labour's deputy leader Tom Watson tells the BBC: "We consolidated the gains we made after the general election.

"The national polls said we were neck and neck with the Conservative. We've done slightly better than that. We've won in places we were written off - places like Plymouth.

"We are quietly satisfied with the result."

Concerning the result in Barnet, Mr Watson says: "There is no doubt Jewish community has sent us a message."

Prime Minister Theresa May is speaking to activists in Wandsworth, south London, where the Conservatives have retained control of the council.

"Labour thought they could take control - this was one of their top targets and they threw everything at it, but they failed," she says.

She argues that people voted for their Conservatives because "they deliver great services for lower taxes".

However, she promises: "We won't take anything for granted."

BBC assistant political editor Norman Smith said it's "really hard to see how it comes back now" as UKIP has "lost its main purpose and lost its figurehead".

Lib Dem leader Sir Vince Cable says his party can celebrate "a great victory" in Richmond, where they gained control of the council from the Conservatives.

He told reporters: "We are doing extremely well not just here but in northern cities like Hull, Sunderland and Liverpool.

"This is the beginning of the fightback, whether it's against Labour or Conservatives.

"We are reasserting ourselves as a major national force."

Former London Mayor Ken Livingstone says the row over anti-Semitism in the Labour Party "overshadowed discussions about policy" in the run-up to the local elections.

He told Sky News that a number of cases involving allegations of anti-Semitism have been "hanging around for two years", but he believes the National Executive Committee will have cleared them up by July.

Mr Livingstone - who has been suspended from the party after accusations of anti-Semitism against him - reiterated that he would still take Labour to court if they tried to kick him out of the party.

Lib Dems secure a win in south-west London, while the Conservatives win back a majority in Barnet and Labour make gains across the capital.

In a statement, Jeremy Corbyn said Labour had achieved "a solid set of results" and consolidated the advances made at last year's general election.

"In these elections we have won seats across England in places we have never held before.

"We won Plymouth from the Tories, who lost control of Trafford, their flagship northern council. And Labour has won even more council seats than at our high water mark of 2014."

He paid tribute to the "energy, talent and enthusiasm" of Labour members and supporters.

"In a sign of how worried they are about Labour's advance, the Tories talked up our chances to unrealistic levels, especially in London."

"The results show they're right to be worried - we came within a whisker of winning Wandsworth for the first time in over 40 years."

He said Labour was now "well-placed to fight and win the next general election.

This set of election results looks remarkably similar to the outcome four years ago, says Professor Sir John Curtice.

The one exception is the collapse of UKIP vote which allowed the Conservatives to make gains, he says.

He suggests this sends "a clear signal" to the government that the strength of their electoral position depends on whether they can deliver a Brexit that appeals to Leave voters.

UKIP London Assembly member David Kurten has congratulated all those who stood for election last night, but admitted it was a "tough night" for the party.

No references to plagues, however....

Manchester Evening News

The Manchester Evening News describes Trafford as "the big shock of the night".

Reporter Helen Johnson writes, external: "Trafford council has tipped into no overall control for the first time in 15 years after Labour and the Green Party wrestled a string of seats away from the Conservatives.

"There were jubilant scenes on the count floor as Labour celebrated a ‘sea change’ to became the largest party in Trafford, with 30 seats to the Conservative’s 29. The Green Party described its result as ‘historic’.

"Trafford’s result was the biggest upset of the night for Greater Manchester, wiping out the only blue-controlled part of the council map."

Theresa May - or her social media team - is up and has started to congratulate councillors across the country via Twitter.

Will there be commiserating tweets as well?

Results in Birmingham could be interesting, says BBC reporter Kathryn Stanczyszyn.

The city is seen as a Labour heartland but last year, at the mayoral elections, the Conservative candidate prevailed, she points out.

She adds this could be the best chance the Conservative opposition has to make significant gains but a lot will depend on how much Labour has managed to mobilise its core vote.

The first results are expected at midday.

BBC reporter Phil Mackie says the story of the night in Dudley is the Conservatives taking seats from UKIP and Labour holding steady.

It is a microcosm of the West Midlands, he says.

He adds that it is surprising Labour hasn't done better given the Windrush row and resignation of Amber Rudd as home secretary.

He says one of Labour's problems may be that Jeremy Corbyn's message doesn’t play well on the doorstep in some parts of the Black Country.