Today Programme
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Darren Hughes, chief executive of the Electoral Reform Society, said there was "mounting evidence" of people being turned away from polling stations because of needing identification.

There was controversy on Thursday as some voters in Swindon, Woking and Bromley were reportedly prevented from voting as they fell into areas where a trial was taking place in order to tackle voter fraud.

The Cabinet Office said the pilots were a success.

However, Mr Hughes told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "This is exactly what we are worried about: honest voters, entitled to vote, on the register, but either didn't have or forgot their ID."

He said in the five areas where the pilot is being carried out, there had not been an allegation of fraud in the past ten years, so needing ID "really is a sledgehammer to crack a nut".

Mr Hughes added: "It is honest voters missing out to tackle a problem that is just not there."

Labour must "rebuild trust" with the Jewish community, according to the MP who coordinated the party's election campaign.

Reacting to claims from an ousted councillor that the reason Labour lost Barnet was due to allegations swirling around the party, Andrew Gwynne said he saw it as his job as shadow communities secretary to improve things.

He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "We have got a job to do to rebuild trust and confidence with the Jewish community across the country.

"There are so many Jewish people that do share Labour’s values, that do want to see a progressive, left-of-centre government, supported by progressive, left-of-centre councillors at a local level.

"We have got a job to do and that means we have to tackle the issue of anti-Semitism. We have to tackle it head on."

A bit more from Jeremy Corbyn in Plymouth, where Labour took control of the council.

He said: "Across the country we made a lot of progress in a lot of places. Obviously we want to do as well as we possibly can everywhere and we will look at each result across country.

"We were defending seats last won in 2014 which was a particularly good year for Labour in local government.

"Obviously I’m disappointed at any places where we lost a bit of ground but if you look at the overall picture, Labour gained a lot of seats and votes across the whole country – and votes in places we never had before.

"We had a very effective campaign all over the country. I'm very proud of work the Labour has done in these elections and of those councils that got elected."

The chairman of the Conservative Party says Labour "took London for-granted" ahead of the local elections.

Brandon Lewis criticised figures like London Mayor Sadiq Khan for saying they would "turn London red" ahead of the vote, but failing to gain any councils - as the results stand.

He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "We have stayed very focused on working hard all over the country... focusing on local issues.

"They [Labour] were claiming that the whole of London was going to turn red and as we sit here speaking, they have not gained a single council.

"We have made gains in Hillingdon and Barnet, but we have also made gains in Dudley, in Walsall, in Pudsey... there are elections all over England, but I think the Conservatives have done well in London overnight."

The Liberal Democrats' home affairs spokesperson Sir Ed Davey said the results were "a sign of things to come".

"People are desperate for a voice that isn't a right-wing Brexit Tory voice or a left-wing Corbynista," he said.

Image source, Getty Images

The Conservative leader of Barnet Council leader said voters were more concerned about "local issues" than with accusations of anti-Semitism within Labour.

Richard Cornelius told the Press Association: "They are all basic issues. It's things like potholes, the collection of their rubbish bins and keeping the council tax low.

"Of course there is a concern about anti-Semitism in the Jewish areas, and of course there is a wider concern about it more generally.

"People are horrified, and Labour have to address that."

On a visit to Plymouth to celebrate Labour seizing control of the city's council, Jeremy Corbyn said: "Winning in Plymouth is a sign that Labour is back in this part of the country."

He said: "The mission of Labour is always to stand up for a decent society and against poverty.

"That means local government must be properly funded by central government."

The party gained three seats on the borough council, which means it now has a 24-seat majority.

There have been no big shocks, no big gasps overnight, according to BBC political correspondent Eleanor Garnier.

She says there has been no decisive shift towards either party and that overall Labour are going to be a bit disappointed and puzzled. They put a lot of effort into these local elections, she adds.

There will be a massive amount of relief for the Conservatives who expected a difficult set of results, she says, adding that so far their vote has managed to hold up.

The overnight election results will have come as a disappointment to Labour, a source of encouragement for the Conservatives, and as a relief for the Liberal Democrats, according to Prof John Curtice and his colleagues on the BBC's local elections team.

Meanwhile, the Greens found themselves trying to withstand a receding tide, with an average drop of 2 points to 7% in those wards where the party put up candidates.

Read more about how he saw the night unfold - and how big a part Brexit played - by clicking here.

Labour campaigner Owen Jones has defended Momentum after critics said the group failed to secure any wins for the party in the areas it targeted.

He said the group's #Unseat campaign had shown results, but that the party "failed badly at expectations management".

Labour's group leader in Barnet has told BBC Radio London that antisemitism played "the biggest part" in Labour's "defeat".

Barry John Rawlings said the Labour leadership was too late in taking action.

"If it had of happened a couple of years ago, Barnet would now be a Labour council," he said.

The Conservatives have taken Barnet, which had been a no overall control council.

Andrew Gwynne, the joint co-ordinator of Labour's national campaign and its shadow housing secretary, tells the Today programme it has been an election of "consolidation" for the party, though he conceded there had been some disappointing results in London. On Barnet, he said the party had a job to do to rebuild trust with the Jewish community.

Green Party co-leader Caroline Lucas tweets that the party is winning in "new places across England".

Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesman Sir Ed Davey tells the Today programme it has been a "great night" for the Liberal Democrats, who gained Richmond and won seats elsewhere. "We've been winning seats off Labour in the north, in Leave voting areas, and in the south off Tories in Remain areas," he said. "It's building a hugely important, great platform for future victories." People were desperate for a voice, he said. Analyst Sir John Curtice had previously called the results "mildly encouraging" for the Lib Dems.