The Scottish National Party gained one seat and the Scottish Conservatives lost two in Clackmannanshire.

The SNP remain the largest party with nine of the 18 seats.

Labour remain on five and the Tories are down to three.

The Scottish Greens have one councillor.

Clackmannanshire was previously run by an SNP minority administration.

Arran bucks the trend with a surge in Tory supportpublished at 15:13 British Summer Time 6 May 2022

15:13 BST 6 May 2022

Glenn Campbell
BBC Scotland Political Editor

Image source, Getty Images

It is sometimes said that the isle of Arran is Scotland in miniature, but not in this election. Far from it.

The island has returned a Conservative councillor - the Tory support having surged and SNP support tumbling, perhaps reflecting local concern over ferry services.

The result is an exception. Nationally, the SNP have made gains at this stage and are on course to finish first, potentially doing better than in 2017.

After long years in the doldrums, Labour is picking up seats. They have taken control of West Dunbartonshire and seem set to regain second place overall from the Tories.

It would always have been difficult for the Tories to repeat their spectacular success in 2017, but they appear to be taking a bigger hit in these elections in Scotland than the party is suffering in England.

Some will blame Boris Johnson and Partygate or the cost-of-living crisis. Others point the finger at the Scottish Tory leader Douglas Ross for backing the prime minister having previously called for him to quit.

Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton was "over the moon" after a series of significant wins in Edinburgh.

"We felt we were in touching distance of winning these wards from nine months out, so actually the Partygate stuff - yes that's had an impact - but we put the groundwork in, built the foundations well in advance of these victories."

He said voters were concerned about local issues but they also raised Partygate and the cost-of-living crisis on the doorstep.

Their victories in the local election would be a "springboard to success", he said.

"We're picking up seats we didn't even know were in play, so we're hopeful we're going to take a big leap forward." he added.

The SNP has become the largest group on Angus Council after gaining four seats.

They now have 13 of the 28 councillors.

The Conservatives are down one to seven and the independents are also on seven, down two.

Scottish Labour took one seat.

Angus Council had been run by a Conservative, independent and Lib Dem administration.

The Scottish Conservatives gained three seats to overtake the SNP as the largest party in Moray.

The Tories now have 11 seats, with the SNP down one to eight.

Labour are up two seats to three.

There are now just two independent councillors, down six on the last election.

There is one Scottish Green and one Lib Dem.

Moray had been run by a SNP minority administration since 2019.

We're over halfway through the counting and a picture of this local election in Scotland is beginning to emerge. It's the Scottish Conservatives who are falling back from their 2017 result, with most of other parties making some gains.

The Scottish Conservatives lost two seats in South Ayrshire but held on as the largest party with 10 councillors.

The SNP has nine, the same as the last election, and Labour remains on five.

There are four independent councillors, up two from 2017.

The council has been run by an administration consisting of the SNP, Labour and independents.

It could all come down to cutting the cardspublished at 14:48 British Summer Time 6 May 2022

14:48 BST 6 May 2022

Kirsten Campbell
BBC Scotland political correspondent

The votes are being counted and councillors elected, but even though the results will soon be announced, it could be some time before control of all 32 of Scotland's local authorities is finalised.

Winning the largest number of seats in a council is no guarantee of power.

After the last council elections in 2017, the largest party wasn't in the political administration of 11 local authorities, including Argyll and Bute, East Renfrewshire and West Lothian.

In three councils - Angus, North Ayrshire and Stirling - the numbers were tied, with one political grouping losing out in each case.

In a proportional system, deals are there to be done. There were 17 coalitions after the last election. But it’s not always a speedy process. In Edinburgh, it took more than a month for the SNP and Labour to agree to jointly run the city council, even though the Conservatives were the largest party.

And what happens when agreement can't be reached and the votes are tied?

It comes down to a cut of the cards. The SNP retained control of Moray Council last December after drawing a Jack.

The Scottish Conservatives lost one seat but remain the largest group on Scottish Borders Council with 14.

The SNP remained on nine, there were seven independent councillors and three Liberal Democrats.

The Scottish Greens won their first ever seat in the Scottish Borders.

The council was previously run by an administration of Conservative and independent councillors.

Image source, PA Media

Boris Johnson admits his party faced a "mixed set of results" overnight as the votes for local elections in England were counted.

Speaking on a visit to a school in London, the PM says it was a "tough night in some parts of the country", but also says the Conservatives were making "remarkable gains" elsewhere.

He adds: "The big lesson, the message from voters about what they want us to do... is to focus on the big issues that matter to them."

Part of that, he says, is energy security, especially as bills soar, as well as his existing "agenda" on increasing the number of nurses and police officers.

Labour strengthens its position in Inverclydepublished at 14:24 British Summer Time 6 May 2022

14:24 BST 6 May 2022

Jamie McIvor
BBC Scotland News Correspondent

Labour has strengthened its position as the largest party on Inverclyde Council.

It has nine of the 22 councillors - a gain of one.

The SNP came a close second with eight councillors - up one on 2017 and three more than they had before the election.

Two Alba councillors who defected from the SNP were not re-elected.

Labour group leader Stephen McCabe hopes to form another minority administration.

The SNP also plans to hold talks with other councillors.

The expectation is that the new administration will be formed by the time the full council meets on 19 May.

The Liberal Democrats no longer have any councillors in Inverclyde, while there is one fewer independent councillor.

The Scottish National Party remains the largest group on East Ayrshire council with 14 of 32 seats.

Labour gained one seat to have 10 and the Conservatives have four - two fewer than the last election.

There are four independents, which is up one.

The council had been run by an SNP minority administration.

Scotland's voting system is not designed for overall controlpublished at 14:12 British Summer Time 6 May 2022

14:12 BST 6 May 2022

Philip Sim
BBC Scotland political correspondent

Labour has won overall control of West Dunbartonshire Council – and the significance of this should not be under-stated.

The single transferable vote system used in Scotland is meant to produce more proportional results, rather than big majorities. In 2017, no party managed to win a majority on any Scottish councils.

Not only was West Dunbartonshire a hung council last time out, it has been run by the SNP for the last five years. But with the Conservative vote collapsing – the party lost both of its seats – it is Labour which has profited.

The question remains whether this kind of decisive change could happen on any other councils – like Dundee, where the SNP might hope to regain its majority.

Labour is the largest group on Inverclyde Council with nine councillors, just ahead of the SNP with eight.

The Scottish Conservatives have two and there are three independents.

The two Alba councillors were not re-elected, with the seats taken by SNP candidates.

We're starting to get full council results in Scotland and it's the Conservatives who are down so far, with Labour, Scottish Greens, Lib Dems and the SNP all making some gains on 2017.

Image source, Getty Images

• Counting is under way in the local council elections in Scotland, with the final result expected by early evening
• In Glasgow, the SNP's Susan Aiken has been beaten to first place by the Greens. The former leader of Glasgow City Council was re-elected in Langside but she was overtaken by Green candidate Holly Bruce on first preference votes.
• The SNP's Susan Thomson has been elected the Western Isles' first female councillor since 2012.
• The Scottish Greens have won their first ever seat in the Borders. Neil Mackinnon has been voted onto the council in Galashiels.

• Very early results show the SNP's seat tally holding, with Scottish Labour and the Scottish Lib Dems gaining and the Scottish Conservatives dropping
• The SNP's Westminster leader says the key message from Scotland is that "the Tories have been rejected"
• Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross said it was too early to tell the impact of the Scottish elections, but conceded the results in England were "very disappointing"
• In England, Labour has taken control of three flagship councils in London that had been held by the Conservatives for decades
• However, Labour failed to make similar gains elsewhere in England
• Boris Johnson has acknowledged that the Conservatives endured a tough night in parts of England.

Western Isles Council will have exactly the same make-up as previously.

It has 20 independent councillors, six SNP and one Conservative.

There are two vacancies because not enough candidates put themselves forward.

Who will gain most from the Tory collapse?published at 13:40 British Summer Time 6 May 2022

13:40 BST 6 May 2022

Philip Sim
BBC Scotland political correspondent

The early story of this election has been the fall in the Conservative vote – and the resulting revival of Labour.

The Tories have collapsed to the point of losing a seat to the British Unionist Party in North Lanarkshire, and the outstanding question is who will profit the most from their losses.

The SNP are still in a strong position, but it is Labour who are making the biggest gains, particularly in the west of Scotland.

The party has taken overall control of West Dunbartonshire Council – a significant feat under the STV system. In 2017, no party won a majority in any of Scotland’s 32 councils.

Meanwhile, the Greens and Lib Dems are celebrating advances of their own – again, often at the expense of Conservatives.

Steven McKenzie
BBC Scotland Highlands and Islands reporter

We reported earlier how the Western Isles had elected its first female councillor since 2012 - now you can make that two.

Susan Thomson has been joined by fellow SNP member Frances Murray.

Six other women who stood as candidates were unsuccessful.

The islands have been seeking greater female representation on the local authority Comhairle nan Eilean Siar.

When islanders last went to the polls in 2017, for the first time in its history no women were elected.

Ms Thomson will be one of three councillors who will represent ward two - Uibhist a Deas, Eirisgeigh agus Beinn na Faoghla.

Ms Murray will be one of four representing Steòrnabhagh a Deas.

Shetland remained mostly independent with 19 of the 23 councillors not belonging to a party.

Labour and the Scottish Greens took one seat each and the SNP retained the one seat they had in 2017. One seat remains vacant.