As was put to minister James Cleverly, a number of voters chose to spoil their ballot papers and have shared pictures on social media. Some cited their unhappiness with how Brexit is unfolding as their reason for doing so.

Andy Holmes
BBC Three Counties Radio political reporter

A third of Milton Keynes Council's councillors have been up for election, so that's 19 members fighting for seats.

Image source, Google

The Conservatives are defending 12 of those 19 seats, with Labour needing to grab eight to take full control of the council. At the moment they're the minority administration, with Lib Dem support.

Labour leader Pete Marland is fighting for his seat, but he's in good company as Tory leader Alex Walker and his deputy Catriona Morris are in the same position.

Andrew Segal
BBC South West

In Devon, all of the smaller district councils have had seats up for election, with most of them seeing the entire authority up for grabs.

District councils – all seats:

• East Devon - 60 seats, with new boundaries implemented in 2017
• Mid Devon - 42 seats
• North Devon - 42 seats, with new boundaries implemented in 2018
• South Hams - 31 seats
• Teignbridge - 47 seats, with new boundaries implemented in 2017
• Torridge - 36 seats, with new boundaries implemented in 2017
• West Devon - 31 seats

Exeter City Council has had a third of its seats being polled for - 13.

On a unitary authority level, Plymouth City Council also has a third of its seats being polled for - 19.

And staying at a unitary level, all of Torbay Council's 36 seats, with new boundaries implemented in 2018, are up for grabs.

Sky News suggests to Conservative MP and Brexit minister James Cleverly that tonight is "the Brexit backlash night", adding that many people have spoiled their ballot papers citing their dissatisfaction with the Bprocess.

Mr Cleverly says: "We had hoped, and still hope, that people go to the polls thinking about who collects their bins, who charges them council tax, who looks after those public services.

"But Brexit is the backdrop against which all those things are going to be viewed and because, particularly the Labour Party, have failed to actually help land Brexit, there will be frustration, and because we're the party of government that will be disproportionately taken out on us.

"And I wish it weren't so but we've got to be realistic about this."

Image source, Getty Images

More than 8,000 local councillors are being elected to 248 councils, with the power to decide and scrutinise policy and spending on everything from bin collections to protecting vulnerable children.

Yet as we said a couple of posts ago, turnout in local elections has been low for years. Why? Read more here.

Many political reporters and local government workers at the counts are in for the long haul tonight - and have been sharing pictures of what overnight snacks they've got.

As the night goes on we can expect to hear news not only of who people have voted for, but how many people turned up to vote at all.

In local elections in England, turnout varies depending largely on what other elections are taking place on the same day.

Sometimes turnout dips as low as the European elections turnout (around 36%) and sometimes it rises close to the level of general elections (turnout at the 2017 general election was 68.6%).

In 2018, the lowest turnouts in English local elections were in Hartlepool (24.2%), Knowsley (25.3%) and Hull (25.3%).

Even in the areas where turnout was highest, only one council - Richmond-upon-Thames - saw more than half of people cast a vote.

The Conservatives are defending the largest number of seats, with 4,906 Tory councillors up for re-election, compared with 2,113 for Labour.

The Liberal Democrats have 647 seats to defend, UKIP 176 and the Green Party 71. There are also 512 seats held by independents.

Brighton and Hove is one of the councils to watch - although its result isn't expected until 17:00 BST on Friday. It's expected to be a battle royal: the council is Labour-run but after a series of Labour defections and by-elections, the Conservatives are now the largest party. The Green Party - which used to run the council between 2011 and 2015 - is also looking to boost its presence.

In Cheshire West and Chester, the council is on a knife-edge with Labour and the Conservatives fighting to be the largest party.

Milton Keynes, Bolton, Calderdale and Blackpool may also switch hands, or the ruling party could lose its majority and surrender overall control.

Not much, really.

Most have chosen to omit the local elections from tomorrow's front pages (for the first editions at least).

The Financial Times breaks that mould.

It says the Conservatives are "braced to lose hundreds of local council seats" with voters "expected to punish the government over its failure to deliver Brexit on time".

Andy Holmes
BBC Three Counties Radio political reporter

All the seats on Central Bedfordshire, Bedford Borough and Luton Borough councils are being contested.

Image source, Google

Central Bedfordshire currently has 52 Conservative councillors, with seven others made up of Independents, Labour and Lib Dems.

In the unitary authority's 10-year history, the Tories have never had fewer than 49 councillors so it would be a national news shock if the authority didn't stay blue.

The Labour-run council in Luton has had an interesting few months. On the non-political side, it's just appointed a new chief executive, plus plans for a new stadium for the town's football club have got the green light, subject to a call-in from opposition.

There have also been some de-selections of Labour councillors. Some are not standing, one is going independent, and one now standing as a Conservative candidate.

Three candidates are standing for Best4Luton, a party started by a couple of former Luton Conservatives.

The BBC has reporters across the country to keep us up to speed with the results in their area. In Cambridgeshire, the whole of East Cambridgeshire and Fenland district councils are up for election, while a third of seats are being contested at Cambridge City Council.

Image source, Google

East Cambridgeshire has 39 councillors: 35 Conservatives, three Liberal Democrats and one independent. Fenland also has 39 councillors: 33 Conservative, three independents and three Lib Dems.

Cambridge City Council is under Labour control. Of its 42 councillors, 25 are Labour, 13 are Liberal Democrats, and there are two independents and one Green councillor, plus one vacancy.

Ever wondered what it's like being one of the people counting the votes on a night like this?

This piece - written at the time of the General Election in 2015 - goes behind the scenes and reveals what goes on at the counts.

"You do get some very strange things written on ballot papers - letters, sometimes, or people's thoughts," one teller says.

Read it in full here.

Six mayors are being elected over the next 24 hours.

Copeland is expected to declare first - at around 2:30 BST - followed by Middlesbrough at around 03:00.

The other four aren't expected until Friday afternoon, starting with Mansfield and the Metro Mayor for North of Tyne at around 13:00.

Bedford is due to declare at around 16:00 and then Leicester at 18:00.

Political correspondent Chris Mason will be joining the BBC's coverage from 04:30 BST tomorrow - but if you plan on powering through then you can follow all the latest from the counts right here all through the night.

Image source, Getty Images

Voters in 10 local authorities in England needed to either show ID or produce their polling card before they could vote on Thursday.

It was part of a trial scheme and follows an earlier pilot in five areas in 2018.

In Braintree, Broxtowe, Craven, Derby, North Kesteven, Woking and Pendle voters had to show ID before they could vote, while voters in Mid Sussex, North West Leicestershire, and Watford local authorities were required to show their polling card.

Everyone else in England was able to vote as usual, with no need to bring along a polling card or any proof of ID.

Read more about voter ID here.