Andrew Humphrey
Live reporter

We're going to bring our live coverage of the English local elections to a close now, thanks for being with us through the day.

There's still a few councils left to declare, but they won't change the broad picture of the day, which is one the Conservatives would rather forget.

If you want to read more, take a look at our latest story here.

This page was written by Sarah Folwer, James FitzGerald, Anna Boyd, Catherine McGowan, Emaan Warraich, Becky Morton, Jasmine Andersson, Emily McGarvey, Thomas Mackintosh and me.

It has just gone 20:45 and we now know the majority of councils have declared - 226 out of 230 to be precise.

Currently, only four are left to declare including Redcar and Cleveland which will continue counting votes on Tuesday.

Let's have a look at the latest key points from today's results we know so far:

• Conservatives have been licking their wounds today at huge election losses - the party has lost over 1,000 council seats and 46 councils across England

• Labour have made significant gains, seizing control of 21 councils adding Thanet, Dover, Bracknell Forest, Swindon, Plymouth, Medway and Stoke-on-Trent
• The Liberal Democrats have enjoyed one of its best ever elections, gaining 12 councils, including the former Conservative strongholds of Windsor and Maidenhead, West Berkshire as well as Stratford-on-Avon, Horsham and Surrey Heath

• The Greens have won their first ever outright majority on a council in Mid Suffolk

The Conservatives lose Mid Sussex - and the council now has no overall party majority.

We're getting the final few results in now - and Labour have taken control of Amber Valley in Derbyshire from the Conservatives.

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The Lib Dems add another council to their tally - this time in Guildford. It previously had no overall party majority.

Waverley in Surrey stays the same with no party able to achieve an overall majority.

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A local wrestler is part of a group of Independents to win control of Boston Borough Council.

Dale Broughton said he was really pleased and "over the moon" at the result.

"Now the hard work starts," he added.

The council had been run as a minority by the Tories, who lost 10 councillors in the Lincolnshire town.

Here's a closer look at the break down of councillors voted in for Brighton & Hove - which Labour took from a minority Green administration. Interestingly, Brighton is the city with the only Green MP - Caroline Lucas - but this time the party has lost out to Labour.

Reality Check

People working inside polling stations had a legal duty to record how many people they refused to give a ballot paper to and why.

Anyone who left after being told by the greeters outside some polling stations that they needed ID will not have been counted.

Some returning officers have already announced how many people were turned away and how many came back. They are not necessarily announcing the reasons why they were turned away.

The returning officer in Lincoln said that 57 people were turned away for not having the correct ID, but 25 later returned with some.

The Electoral Commission, an independent body that oversees elections, is collating all this information. An initial report, to be published in the coming weeks, will include the proportion of people turned away from polling stations.

When we get those figures, we will get separate data for polling stations depending on whether there were greeters outside.

Missed today's local election coverage?

It was a tough night for the Conservative Party, as Labour and the Lib Dems made gains at their expense.

Meanwhile the Greens took control of their first council.

Here's a selection of some the most important moments from the last 24 hours.

No change at Southampton Council.

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The Conservatives have lost East Hampshire Council, but no party has been able to gain an overall majority.

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Labour holds onto Trafford Borough Council in Greater Mancheter.

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Why have the Greens done so well in rural Tory areas?published at 19:42 British Summer Time 5 May 2023

19:42 BST 5 May 2023

Helen Catt
Political correspondent

For years the Greens have been suggesting they're on the verge of a breakthrough - this year they've really done it.

Gains have been, in some places, nothing short of spectacular.

Concerns about housing development in rural areas certainly seems to have been a driver.

The Greens have also professionalised in recent years and suggest an effective campaigning operation and councillors who are seen to get things done have played a big part, particularly in smaller communities.

When I spoke to some people planning to vote Green in Mid Suffolk, there was also genuine enthusiasm for both the party and for environmental issues in general.

At first glance, the wide differences between Green and Conservative policies might make it seem unlikely they'll keep hold of Tory switchers at a general election.

Molly Scott Cato, who's on the party's governing body, is optimistic though and believes these results show the Greens can position themselves as the alternative in areas which would never consider voting Labour and where the Lib Dems are weaker.

The result in Brighton and Hove is an indicator of why facing the Tories may become increasingly important to the Greens

Despite running the council as a minority administration, and boasting the country's only Green MP, they've lost out to Labour, who won majority control.

Their leader lost his seat.

For now though, the Greens will be celebrating taking seats from both parties to make record gains.

There is no change at Cheshire East Council with no party being able to achieve an overall majority.

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1,000 loss milestone shows a worse election than predictedpublished at 19:31 British Summer Time 5 May 2023

19:31 BST 5 May 2023

Helen Catt
Political correspondent

The figure of 1,000 potential losses for the Conservatives originally came from independent election experts Rallings and Thrasher.

The Conservatives were very quick to mention it, though, when polls closed last night.

Generally, parties tend to pick a figure which they don’t think they’ll actually hit, so that it looks better when they don’t lose quite as many.

It suggests this has been a much worse set of elections for the Tories than even they had anticipated.

Labour is calling it “a clear rejection of a prime minister who never had a mandate to begin with”.

Amid the last flurry of results, some news to bring you which means the council elections will now not officially finish until Tuesday.

This is because Redcar and Cleveland Council has stopped counting with just two results to come.

The council tweeted: "Following a second recount, candidates in the Longbeck Ward have agreed for a third recount to take place on Tuesday 9 May at Redcar and Cleveland House beginning at 10am."

The Liberal Democrats have gained control of Horsham Council in Sussex, seizing power from the Conservatives.

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Another gain for Labour, this time South Derbyshire Council.

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The Derbyshire Dales Council has no overall control so sees no change.

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