Ellis Palmer
Political reporter, BBC Lancashire

There are three big themes that are being raised with me as I wheel around the count hall.

Firstly, Labour are confident of a win here, but will it be a thumping majority that sends a clear signal that Conservative 2019 gains in the north of England? Although people are discontented with the Conservatives in Westminster, they also feel that the Labour-run local council could be doing more to improve the town.

Secondly, for Reform - could it be their best by-election result since rebranding from being the Brexit Party? Their highest share at a by-election since they changed their name is 13% in Wellingborough. Could they beat the Conservatives into second place?

What could a heavy defeat mean for the Conservative government? Firstly, what message could coming second to Reform send to the governing party's right flank? Secondly, if it's a heavy defeat to Labour, what message does this send out in Labour-facing marginals and in the so-Red Wall of Boris Johnson-era gains?

Reform UK leader Richard Tice says his party is outperforming the Conservatives in Sunderland, describing its early results there as "outstanding".

"We expect to beat Tories in majority of 25 seats [being contested yesterday] in Sunderland," he posted on X, external.

Labour won the first four seats declared to ensure it retains control of the council, having entered the elections with 47 of the 75 seats.

Image source, .

Let's get some quick reaction election expert Prof Sir John Curtice who has been crunching the early numbers from Sunderland.

First of all, he notes Sunderland in parliamentary elections is often early and adds the city has its own characteristics.

"Above all this is a very Eurosceptic part of the country," he adds. "It is also somewhere where UKIP has done well in local elections in the past.

"We have now seen Reform outpoll the Conservatives in each of the ward results we have got in for Sunderland so far."

Curtice explains Reform has put a candidate in every single ward in Sunderland and believes this could be a sign of the Conservatives having concerns about what could happen in other Eurosceptic parts of the UK.

"Perhaps a vital question is what is going to happen in the majority of wards where Reform is not present," he adds.

We have our first result of the night - from Sunderland.

Labour has held Sunderland City Council.

Image source, .

Expect the parties to spin the local election resultspublished at 00:12 British Summer Time 3 May

00:12 BST 3 May

Henry Zeffman
Chief political correspondent

As we await the first trickle of declarations tonight, the parties are already spinning which results we should pay attention to.

Practically the first words out of the mouth of Chris Heaton-Harris, the Northern Ireland secretary and the government’s first spokesman tonight, were "Tees Valley" - claiming it would be a "very bad result" for Labour if they cannot oust Ben Houchen in that mayoral contest, which does not declare until tomorrow.

Labour, who are much keener to talk about the Blackpool South by-election, say the Tees Valley mayoralty was always probably out of reach given Houchen won by almost 50 percentage points last time round.

Arguably what matters most is not whether Heaton-Harris’s argument convinces the public or the media, but whether it convinces Conservative MPs.

His goal - Rishi Sunak's goal - is to reassure Conservative MPs that there is enough hope in these results that they can turn things around before the general election.

There are 11 areas electing city and regional mayors in England - including in the capital.

Outside London, mayoral elections are taking place in "metro" areas across England.

The West Midlands, Greater Manchester, Liverpool City, South Yorkshire, West Yorkshire and Tees Valley already have mayors.

For the first time, mayors will be chosen in the East Midlands, the North East, and York and North Yorkshire.

There is also a mayoral election in Salford City.

Metro mayors set out plans to boost their local economy, and have some powers over housing and transport.

Image source, .

Green Party co-leader Carla Denyer expects the party to increase its tally of councillors - as she says it has done at the last four elections.

She is looking forward to "another record night", that would lay the foundations for the general election, where the party aims to get at least four Green MPs elected.

“We know that having a Green in the council chamber or in Parliament delivers for people, the community and the planet," she said.

Image source, PA Media

As we told you earlier, Boris Johnson was turned away from his local polling station after forgetting to bring acceptable photo ID.

He was prime minister when the new rules were introduced under the Elections Act 2022.

Chris Heaton-Harris, former chief whip under him, said: "As someone who knows Boris well, I can't say it completely surprises me... I do know that he then simply went home, got some ID, went back to the polling station and voted Conservative."

So he did ultimately make sure his voice was heard in South Oxfordshire - where voters were electing a police and crime commissioner.

Read the full story here

Image source, PA Media

Let's bring you a statement from the Electoral Commission which says "most voters" were able to cast their ballots despite the ID requirements.

A reminder - people wishing to cast their ballots in person needed to show photo ID today.

After the polls closed a spokesperson for the Electoral Commission said: "Our initial assessment of the elections is that they were well-run, and millions of voters were able to exercise their democratic rights.

"This is a testament to the efforts of electoral administrators, who work tirelessly to ensure the smooth delivery and integrity of polls."

The electoral community has been "working hard" to prepare voters for voter ID, the statement continues, and "most voters who wanted to vote were able to do so".

Dale Baxter
Reporting from Hull Guildhall

A bit of a delay is expected in the Hull City Council and Police and Crime Commissioner elections - due to an evacuation.

The verification of ballot boxes was well under way with everything fairly quiet inside Hull Guildhall.

But, then we heard a blaring alarm which sounded and we were all evacuated.

Security stayed guarding the boxes in each of the counting rooms while everyone else was evacuated outside.

The evacuation was done in an orderly fashion and all handled very calmly.

We are all now back in the warmth, the alarm has been attributed to a faulty sensor.

It should add a 40 minute or so delay to the count actually starting in Hull.

Simon Dedman
BBC Essex political reporter, in Harlow

Labour and the Conservatives are both saying it looks close in the bellwether town of Harlow.

The Conservatives currently control Harlow District Council. Dan Swords, its Conservative leader, says he feels the council could come down to a few votes.

“It’s a massive election - it feels really close but we will see how the night unfolds."

All 33 seats are up this year after the boundaries were redrawn. The political makeup of the council is 21 Conservative and 12 Labour.

The Conservatives won a majority in 2021 and have held it since.

A senior Labour source tells me it is looking close as party activists start to arrive at the count at Harlow’s Leisurezone.

Swords adds: “It’s no secret for anyone that the Conservatives are not in a great place at the moment and we have a massive job to do to support us but actually we feel, on a local basis, that is happening”.

The leader of the Liberal Democrats says his party is "very optimistic" about the local election results.

Sir Ed Davey says "across the country we’ve heard that people are absolutely fed up of the Conservatives, and across the blue wall lifelong Conservatives are switching to the Liberal Democrats".

He adds: "People want to cast a verdict on the Conservatives’ appalling record on the NHS and care.

"On the fact that they’ve allowed the water companies to pump their sewage into our rivers and the cost of living crisis.

"And people know the buck stops with the Conservatives."

Let's have a closer look at the councils which have been up for re-election today.

As a reminder:

• You will notice three different councils in the graphic below including unitary authorities in shire areas which provide all of the local services - as do metropolitan borough councils
• District councils cover a smaller area and are responsible for services including rubbish collection, recycling, housing and planning applications

Image source, .

Labour's national campaign co-ordinator Pat McFadden says the party "expects to see gains that show we’re making progress in the places we need to win the next general election".

"The most important election of the night" will be the Blackpool South by-election, prompted by the resignation of former Conservative MP Scott Benton, he adds.

He tells broadcasters that if Labour gains the seat, it will show "real progress on the way to the coming general election" because it is "the only result where Rishi Sunak and the government are really on the ballot paper".

Labour sources have told the BBC they are confident they have won the nine-way race.

Image source, PA Media

Transport Secretary Mark Harper is among the first senior Conservatives to speak since the polls closed, with the party expected to suffer losses.

He concedes the evening may be "difficult" but points to the "vaccine bounce" that Boris Johnson was experiencing the last time many of the seats up for grabs tonight were contested, which led to the party's "best set of local elections since 2008".

Speaking to broadcasters, he says he thinks that "very high base" will "make the evening difficult" but denies that this shows the Conservative Party was more popular under Boris Johnson than Rishi Sunak.

He highlights the prime minister's role in "finding the money to pay for rolling the vaccine out" when he was chancellor.

Harper is also asked about problems reported around voter ID today, and says there were "bound to be, when you have millions of people voting, a small number of issues".

A lot of elections have been taking place and the results will be coming in at different times over the coming days. So here's a rough timeline:

The first results in the many local elections are expected in the next few hours. Most are expected to be declared by the end of Friday but a few may not be known until Saturday.

The result of the Blackpool South parliamentary by-election is also due overnight.

Meanwhile, the winners of the 10 mayoral elections will be declared on Friday and Saturday.

The outcome of voting for the London Assembly will also be declared on Saturday.

Image source, PA

Chris Mason
Political editor

Image source, PA Media

Here’s a peek into my WhatsApps and scribbles in my notebook from talking to folk inside the parties tonight.

Labour are sounding very confident about winning the parliamentary by-election in Blackpool South.

The Conservatives acknowledge they expect to lose but aren’t sounding too worried about Reform UK.

A Reform source has said to me the Tory vote on the Lancashire coast was "as stable as a sandcastle at low tide".

Labour are claiming what matters most to them is Blackpool and the council races, rather than the mayoral ones.

Some sources are talking up how well they might have done on Rushmoor Borough Council, Hampshire. If they were to win it outright it would be their first ever victory there.

One Labour source suggests they expect incumbent mayors to win.

If that were to happen, it’d mean the Conservatives holding the Tees Valley and West Midlands mayoral roles.

For their part, the Tories sound optimistic about the Tees Valley and reckon the West Midlands is on a knife edge.

The Conservatives think many of their voters in rural areas haven’t bothered to turn out, but they are more hopeful elsewhere.

As for the Liberal Democrats, they sound chipper about their performance in places where they are in direct competition with the Conservatives – the key battle for them come the general election.

Image source, PA Media

Nine candidates are vying to be named the next MP for Blackpool South, succeeding former Conservative Scott Benton, who resigned from the Commons in March.

He stepped down following the imposition of a Commons ban in the wake of a lobbying scandal.

Candidates aiming to replace Benton include Labour's Chris Webb, the former deputy police and crime commissioner for Lancashire; and public relations firm boss David Jones for the Conservatives.

Andrew Cregan is standing for the Liberal Democrats, Ben Thomas for the Green Party, and charity worker Mark Butcher for Reform UK.

Also standing are independent candidate Stephen Black, Damon Sharp of the New Open Non-Political Organised Leadership party, and Kim Knight from the Alliance for Freedom and Democracy.

Howling Laud Hope from the Official Monster Raving Loony Party will complete the line-up.

Helen Catt
Political correspondent, reporting from Blackpool

The first boxes have arrived here at the count in Blackpool South.

Labour sources are sounding confident of a win.

They are keen to frame this as the most important contest happening tonight as it's for a parliamentary seat

Reform UK also think they've had a good day at the polling stations, but they're not sure if they've done enough to challenge the Conservatives.

Could the results shape a general election backdrop?published at 22:18 British Summer Time 2 May

22:18 BST 2 May

Chris Mason
Political editor

Firstly, each and every result matters for its own sake. But collectively, they will be mood makers at Westminster – with a general election now imminent.

The Conservatives expect to do badly.

So the big determinant of their mood - and whether a sufficient number of Tory MPs may conclude getting rid of Rishi Sunak is a good idea - is how badly?

In amongst the expected losses of councillors, can they point to some high profile victories – such as the mayoral contests in the Tees Valley and the West Midlands?

Wins for them here might not mean very much psephologically – in other words, what it tells us about the general election might be minimal.

But they could mean a whole lot psychologically, in persuading Conservative MPs the nuclear option of trying to blow Sunak out of the door of No10 isn’t worth it.

Let's see.

The next few days will determine who oversees the spending of millions of pounds on your behalf and on what for the coming years around England and Wales.

And shape the backdrop for the run in to the general election.