Daisy Cooper, deputy leader of the Lib Dems and MP for St Albans, has just spoken to BBC Radio 4's Today programme.

She sounds upbeat, saying "our winning streak continues" and pointing to "new inroads" in Hampshire, where the Lib Dems became the largest party in Hart.

And she highlights seats in Cheadle and Hazel Grove, where she believes her party is "on course to win" from the Tories at the upcoming general election.

Asked if today's results are disappointing for the Lib Dems so far - it hasn't gained control of any new councils yet - she says the party is expecting its best results later today in some "real Conservative heartlands".

Image source, PA Media

Ellis Palmer
Reporting from Blackpool South

Mark Butcher, the defeated Reform UK candidate, was disappointed at his close third place finish.

Speaking to me after the count, he said defeating the governing Conservative Party candidate David Jones was "so close, yet so far".

"One minute it was swinging in our favour and the next minute, it swang back," he said of being pushed out of second place by 110 votes.

Image source, EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock

A disappointing night for the Conservativespublished at 06:41 British Summer Time 3 May

06:41 BST 3 May

Professor Sir John Curtice
Polling expert

So far, the results have proven to be disappointing for the Conservatives.

The most dramatic result is the Blackpool South by-election: a 26% swing from Conservative to Labour, making it the third biggest swing from Conservative to Labour in post-war by-election history.

It's also the fifth by-election in this parliament in which the swing from Conservative to Labour has been over 20%.

The Conservative performance was seemingly not helped by the fact that, at 16.9%, Reform produced their best performance yet in a by-election.

That said, they were still well short of what UKIP regularly achieved in the 2010-15 parliament.

We now have detailed figures for over 300 local council keywards, and declarations of the outcomes in over 30 councils. We are witnessing a swing from Conservative to Labour since 2021 on average of 10% so far and a more modest swing of 1% since last year.

These figures are being translated into a high rate of Conservative losses.

We've just heard that Labour has held Southampton City Council.

Image source, .

Join Newscast’s Adam Fleming and Laura Kuenssberg to discuss the results that have come in overnight with the help of the BBC’s Chris Mason.

It's streaming right now, so press the Play icon at the top of the page to watch it live.

If you are just waking up and joining our live coverage, good morning.

As well as the big victory for Labour in the Blackpool South by-election, a host of councils have declared results overnight, and two police and crime commissioners have been chosen.

You can catch up on the latest in your area with us here on our full results page.

A reminder that many more councils are yet to declare their results.

Over the next two days we will also learn the crucial metro mayor races, including in London and the West Midlands.

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Confirmation is in that Labour has lost control of Oldham council.

Fourteen of the 20 wards have now declared, and five Labour seats have now been lost to independents.

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Image source, Getty Images

Some blistering criticism from long-standing Tory commentator Tim Montgomerie who tells the BBC he believes the prime minister's time is up and the swing against Conservatives in recent by-elections has been "sustained".

"Personally I think the results are so bad," Montgomerie says. "I just don't think he is connected with the voters.

"I think he should go."

Montgomerie hints he has been told Tories are waiting to find out the mayoral results before deciding their next steps – although he adds an advantage Rishi Sunak has had is "there isn't an obvious successor".

"Unfortunately the party is still going backwards under Rishi Sunak," Montgomerie adds.

"Time is running out and I really think Rishi Sunak hasn't used the time he has had."

Thomas Mackintosh
Live reporter

Image source, PA Media

A number of notable victories for Labour in the last hour or so – let’s breakdown some of the recent key moments:

• The big development happened in Blackpool South where Labour’s Chris Webb won the parliamentary by-election from the Conservatives with 10,825 votes
• The Tories narrowly scraped second place taking 3,218 votes and Reform UK finished third with 3,101 votes
• In his victory speech Webb called on Rishi Sunak to admit he had failed and to call a general election
• Another key win for Labour came in the Cumbria Police and Crime Commissioner election which saw a 22% swing from the Conservatives
• Labour also added Redditch Borough Council to its gains chalked up overnight - building on earlier victories in Hartlepool, Thurrock and Rushmoor councils
• In rare bright spots, the Conservatives managed to hold onto Harlow Council and Fareham Council
• Despite finishing third in Blackpool South and yet to gain a single councillor Reform UK's leader Richard Tice told the BBC his party would “110% not be doing any election deals with the Tories”
• Elsewhere, the Liberal Democrats remain in minority control of Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council which remains hung
• The Lib Dems have also held onto Gosport Borough Council and Winchester City Council

No party will get a majority in Portsmouth with nine of the 14 seats now declared.

The Lib Dems are set to remain as the largest party. The Tories have lost four of the seats they were defending, with one more still to come in.

Image source, .

The Tories suffer another by-election defeat with Labour's Chris Webb being elected as the new MP for Blackpool South.

Webb won with 10,825 votes, a majority of 7,607.

You can watch the moment he was formerly elected and what he had to say in his victory speech.

It has been a tightly fought race for Harlow District Council and we have just had a result in the last few moments.

The Conservatives have managed to retain Harlow Council by one seat.

Image source, .

This heavy defeat in Blackpool South is the latest in a sorry sequence of defeats for the Tories in recent parliamentary by-elections.

The party has lost six other seats since Rishi Sunak became prime minister, with all of the defeats coming in the last 10 months.

• Kingswood - 15 Feb 2024 - Labour gain - swing of 16.4%
• Wellingborough - 15 Feb 2024 - Labour gain - swing of 28.5%
• Tamworth - 19 Oct 2023 - Labour gain - swing of 23.9%
• Mid Bedfordshire - 19 Oct 2023 - Labour gain - swing of 20.5%
• Somerton and Frome - 20 July 2023 - Lib Dem gain - swing of 29%
• Selby and Ainsty - 20 July 2023 - Labour gain - swing of 23.7%

The Conservatives did also hold one seat in that time - Uxbridge and South Ruislip on 20 July 2023, a by-election triggered when former prime minister Boris Johnson stepped down as an MP.

Scale of Tory defeat in Blackpool significantpublished at 05:09 British Summer Time 3 May

05:09 BST 3 May

Professor Sir John Curtice
Polling expert

Blackpool South required a 5.5% swing for Labour to win it, so it was an easier target than most of the gains the party has made from the Conservatives in recent months. Its victory therefore is not surprising.

However, the result - a 26% swing from the Tories to Labour - is the third largest in a by-election since the war. Although it was slightly smaller than the 28.5% in Wellingborough earlier this year.

This is all therefore very much in line with other recent by-elections, which registered very high losses of support for the Conservatives.

At 17%, Reform's performance is easily its best performance in a parliamentary by-election yet for them, though it does not match some of the performances UKIP achieved in the 2010-15 parliament.

Helen Catt
Political correspondent, reporting from Blackpool

Image source, PA Media

Some thoughts to bring you from Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer who hails the Blackpool South by-election victory as "seismic".

"This is the one contest where voters had the chance to send a message to Rishi Sunak’s Conservatives directly, and that message is an overwhelming vote for change," he says.

“The swing towards the Labour Party in Blackpool South is truly historic and shows that we are firmly back in the service of working people.

“I am so proud of the positive campaign we ran. To those who have put their trust in us in Blackpool, and those considering giving Labour their vote, we are ready to serve your interests.

“Our new Labour MP Chris Webb has shown that after years of neglect with the Tories, there is a better alternative.

We are continuing to digest the numbers from Blackpool South.

The Conservatives, who of course held the seat previously, have seen their vote share tumble by 32%.

Labour won 59% of the vote, a rise of 20% on the 2019 General Election, while Reform's share rose by nearly 11%.

This means the swing from the Tories to Labour was 26.3%.

Image source, PA Media

We have some remarks from the new Blackpool South MP Chris Webb who says: "Blackpool has had enough of this failed government".

Webb thanks the people who have voted for him, his wife and family in Australia and says: "We need change and we will get it under a Labour government."

"I believe many people in Blackpool have been left in little faith in politicians," Webb adds noting former Tory MP Scott Benton who resigned after a lobbying scandal.

Finally, Webb says he has a message for Rishi Sunak.

He calls on the prime minister to do "the decent thing" - "admit you have failed and call a general election".

The Tories have (just) finished second ahead of Reform UK.

Richard Tice, Reform's leader, had said the party was close to finishing second in the race.

But David Jones, the Conservative candidate, won 117 more votes than Reform's Mark Butcher.

Chris Webb - Labour - 10,825

David Jones - Conservative - 3,218

Mark Butcher - Reform - 3,101

Andrew Cregan - Lib Dems - 387

Ben Thomas - Green Party - 368

Stephen Black - Independent - 163

Kim Knight - Alliance for Freedom and Democracy - 147

Howling Laud Hope - Official Monster Raving Loony Party - 121

Damon Sharp - New Open Non-Political Organised Leadership - 45