Some news now from Hertfordshire, where counting of the votes has been suspended at Dacorum Council and will resume at 11:00.

Only 13 of the 51 results had been declared when the count was suspended.

Anna Collinson
Reporting from Gillingham

Medway Council in Kent - the unitary authority covering the towns of Chatham, Rochester and Gillingham - has been ruled by the Conservatives for 20 years, but tonight it is an ambitious target for the Labour Party.

When I asked a Tory candidate how he thinks they’ve fared he whispered "badly" and pulled a face.

He did stop short of blaming the Westminster government, instead pointing to "national events" such as the cost-of-living crisis.

But will this translate into a Labour win? With recent boundary changes complicating the picture and hours of counting to go, we won't know for certain until later in the morning.

Back to Essex, where the Conservatives have held control of Braintree council.

Fifty councils have declared so far, but it's going to be a long day ahead with some 180 councils yet to announce their results before the start of the long weekend for the Coronation of King Charles III.

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It's another Lib Dem hold, this time at North Norfolk council.

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The Lincolnshire results are coming in thick and fast now, and in East Lindsey, the Conservatives have suffered another defeat.

They've lost control of the council chamber, with no party winning a majority in this election. As you can see from the graphic below the Tories are the largest party, with independents second.

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Six councils have changed hands so farpublished at 05:27 British Summer Time 5 May 2023

05:27 BST 5 May 2023

Professor Sir John Curtice
Polling expert

The initial results declared so far confirm the message of the polls that the Conservatives are in considerable electoral trouble, but that the spoils in these local elections are being secured by both Labour and the Liberal Democrats.

So far, the Conservatives have made a net loss of just over 100 seats which represents a loss of nearly one in three of the seats they are trying to defend.

As a result, we cannot rule out the possibility that the party will lose the 1,000 seats that some anticipated they might lose. So far, Labour have made a net gain of 77 seats, but the Liberal Democrats have also made a gain of 26 seats.

Control of six councils has changed so far. Labour have gained Plymouth on an above-average swing that may well reflect the controversy about cutting down trees in the city centre.

Labour have also gained Stoke-on-Trent, part of the "red wall" that Labour lost in the 2019 general election. Tamworth, Brentwood, Hertsmere and North West Leicestershire have all moved from Conservative held to no overall control.

On the evidence of our key wards, turnout is only slightly down on both 2019 and 2022, while there is no marked evidence that turnout has fallen more in places where fewer people possess a passport.

Meanwhile there is no clear evidence that the swing to Labour is lower in wards where turnout has fallen most. Between them, this evidence does not lend much weight to claims that the introduction of voter ID would depress turnout in a way that would be to Labour's disadvantage.

Some more results to bring you from Lincolnshire now, where the Conservatives have retained South Holland council.

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Labour have held on to Bolsover council in Derbyshire.

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Over to Hertfordshire now, just outside Greater London, where the Conservatives have lost control of Hertsmere council which covers an area including Elstree - best known for its film and TV studios.

The council is now hung after no party achieved a majority.

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We've just had another result from Leicestershire, where the Lib Dems have held on to control of Hinckley & Bosworth council.

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We've had a fairly steady stream of results from those councils which opted to count their ballots overnight, and with 43 councils declared there are still 187 to go.

The majority are going to count during the day on Friday - but you can use our nifty postcode look-up facility to check for yourself what the results are where you live. You can find it here.

In Bolton in Greater Manchester, there's been no change in control as no party has gained an outright majority.

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Labour are relishing taking control of Plymouth City Council after what Plymouth Moor View MP Johnny Mercer has called a "really terrible" result for the Tories.

In contrast, it's been "a stunning night for Labour in Plymouth", according to neighbouring Labour MP Luke Pollard.

"We won every single seat in our target parliamentary constituency of Plymouth Moor View, sending a signal that the Conservative MP there Johnny Mercer is toast at the next general election," he told LBC Radio's Iain Dale.

Another council retained by the Lib Dems in this election is Bath & North East Somerset.

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Labour have gained control of Stoke-on-Trent council, managing to win a majority in a key so-called "red wall" area.

As we reported a few minutes ago, this will have been a top target for the party.

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Cotswold council has also declared its results in the last few minutes, with the Lib Dems retaining control in Gloucestershire.

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In Nottinghamshire, Labour have successfully held Bassetlaw council.

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After a brief interlude, more results are coming in now. In North West Leicestershire, the Conservatives have lost control of the council chamber.

Instead, no party now holds a majority.

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One of Labour's top targets in the so-called "red wall" - places which have traditionally voted for the party but went over to the Conservatives following the Brexit referendum - is the Potteries city of Stoke-on-Trent.

It looks like the party is on course to take control of the previously hung council.

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