Image source, PA

Speaking after he was escorted out of the venue for heckling Theresa May's speech, Conservative Party member and former county councillor Stuart Davies says he called on the prime minister to resign because of Brexit.

He says: "I am furious at what she has done to our party. To put it bluntly she is telling lies: 'We will be out by 29 March'.

"If she's given a choice she always picks the wrong choice and that's what she's done all the way through.

"She doesn't listen to people. I knew this was my opportunity to get my views across and I think I share the views of a lot of people who are party members. I did what I did because I know it was the right thing to do."

Professor Sir John Curtice
Polling expert

Finally, although UKIP look as though they may not perform as well as the party did in 2015, when it won 13% of the vote in the general election, it is still scoring more strongly than it did in 2018.

A further key feature of this election appears to be a tendency for voters to swing away from whichever party was strong locally.

So far both the Conservatives and the Labour Party have been losing votes most heavily in those wards where they were strongest prior to today.

Meanwhile, independent candidates have made gains of nearly 240 seats where they appeared capable of mounting a strong challenge locally.

It may be that one of the consequences of the Brexit impasse is to say: "A plague on all incumbents."

Turnout is averaging just one to two points below what it was in 2018 and 2016, so one thing that the Brexit impasse has not done is to drive voters away from the polls in significant numbers.

In England so far, the Tories have lost more than 500 seats and 19 councils.

Mrs May told party members at the Welsh Conservative Conference that the results had delivered a "simple message" to "get on a deliver Brexit".

Professor Sir John Curtice
Polling expert

Conversely there have been some remarkably good figures for the Greens, who on average are running at 12% of the vote in the wards that they are fighting, up five points on their performance in last year's local elections.

So far, the Greens have made net gains of 60 seats.

Meanwhile, the Lib Dems are also advancing, with their vote up on average not only by eight points as compared with 2015, but also by three points as compared with last year - performances that are good enough to enable the party to make net gains of 340 seats.

The party has advanced very strongly in Conservative held wards, where it was previously in second place.

However, there is only limited evidence of the party doing better in places where Remain polled strongly in 2016.

Professor Sir John Curtice
Polling expert

Meanwhile, although the results for the Conservatives so far are perhaps not as bad as they might have feared, their vote is down by six points compared with 2015.

As a result, the party is now also suffering a net loss of over 500 seats, though the party seems unlikely on the figures so far to suffer the very heavy losses that some anticipated.

The Conservatives are also down by seven points on average, as compared with last year's local election results.

Although the party gained control of North East Lincolnshire, West Suffolk and Walsall, they lost control of 20 councils including Peterborough, where a by-election is due next month.

Mrs May has concluded her speech, saying: "We are doing something that no other government has ever had to do - and it's not easy.

"To secure our country's future, we must succeed.

"If we pull together, we can succeed and if we put the country first, we will succeed."

Professor Sir John Curtice
Polling expert

It looks as though the key message from the voters to the Conservatives and Labour is "a plague on both of your houses", as both of them find themselves losing both votes and seats on an extensive basis.

Even though the Labour Party is defending a relatively poor result in 2015, the party is not doing even as well as it did then.

So far the party has made a net loss of just over 70 seats, while its vote is down on average by one point compared with 2015, in a collection of wards where the BBC has been collecting the detailed results, and by seven points as compared with last year's local election results.

The party lost control of Bolsolver, Wirral, Hartlepool, Cannock Chase and Burnley, with only the capture of Trafford in compensation.

The PM has called for unity from the party to defeat Labour and deliver Brexit.

She says: "It's our party's duty not only to deliver Brexit for our country, but to deliver our country from the disaster of a Labour government."

"To do that we need to stand together united as a party - to deliver Brexit, to defeat Labour and to build a better future for the next generation."