Two councillors for the West Ward in Shetland have been declared.

Independents Liz Boxwell and John Leask were elected.

The electorate was 1,364 and the number of ballot papers received was 771 - a turnout of 56.5%.

All 32 counts will be under way across Scotland now.

They're hard at work in Glasgow where 39 of 85 seats went to the SNP in 2017.

Both Labour and SNP are fielding enough candidates for a majority, but that's very hard to achieve under the STV system.

Glasgow was last to declare in 2017, with their results coming in just after 17:00.

Although the number of councillors elected for each party will likely be known by teatime on Friday, it will probably be next week before it becomes clear who will have control over certain councils.

This is because often no party wins a majority of seats and so groups of councillors work together to form coalitions. It can take a few days for these arrangements to be made.

Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross has arrived at the count in Moray, where he has been asked about the outlook for his party in this election.

In Scotland, he said it was too early to tell but he had heard the Tories were holding seats in the Borders, which our reporter Giancarlo Rinaldi confirmed a moment ago.

Asked about results in England, where the party has lost three London councils to Labour, he said: "It's very disappointing and challenging for the party to lose councils we have held since the 1960s - right the way through when we've been in government, when we've been in opposition, at the peak of the Blair years."

He acknowledged that defeated candidates had said Partygate was an issue for voters.

But he added: "It doesn't look like voters are shifting to other parties, they're staying at home this time. Again we have to wait and see what happens in Scotland.

"General apathy at local council elections is a concern for all the parties but we will not be immune from some of the problems we have seen south of the border with voters deciding this is an election they can sit out."

Giancarlo Rinaldi
South Scotland reporter, BBC news website

The first results in Scotland’s local council elections have been announced.

The SNP, Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats have returned councillors in the Tweeddale West ward of Scottish Borders Council.

The Conservatives’ vote share dropped by 15.7% based on the 2017 election in the ward.

The result in Tweeddale East, the neighbouring ward, was announced soon after, with an SNP, Conservative and independent councillor elected.

Image source, Reuters

The results are coming relatively thick and fast at counts in England, but when can we expect results in Scotland?

Scotland and Wales - where all council seats are up for grabs - are only starting their counts this morning, so expect a rush of updates and headlines through the afternoon and evening.

Results from the Northern Ireland Assembly election are expected to arrive later still. You may still be hearing some of those results being announced over the weekend.

Here a few key moments you might want to check back for:

• From midday, we're expecting to get the first results here in Scotland and also in Wales- and from the handful of mayoral contests that are happening in England
• By late afternoon or early evening, full results in Scotland and Wales are expected
• By 20:00, we hope to have all council results from England
• Around 02:00 on Saturday morning, we're expecting full results from Northern Ireland.But if things overrun beyond this point, the count will pick up again from 09:00

Voters across Scotland went to the polls to elect 1,227 new councillors to the country's 32 local authorities.

Each council is divided into smaller areas called wards, with every ward electing between one and five councillors.

Unlike other elections in Scotland, people vote using numbers - rather than by putting an X in the box next to their preferred candidate.

Image source, Electoral Commission

You are given a ballot paper that lists all of the candidates who are standing to be councillors in your ward.

You are then asked to number the candidates in the order of your choice by putting 1, 2, 3 and so on in the box next to each one - although you don't need to rank every candidate if you don't want to.

This is known as the Single Transferable Vote (STV) system, with councillors elected through a mathematical process based on how they are ranked by voters.

Find out more about Scotland's 2022 elections here.

Let's take another glance at what's happening down south, with results coming through in England.

Labour is out celebrating this morning, with its leader, Sir Keir Starmer, saying the party is "back on track" for the next general election.

But while the Tories are disappointed by their losses, they claim these are focused in London, and the party is doing better elsewhere in England. What will that mean for us here in Scotland? We should begin to see the picture emerging here around lunchtime.

As you can see from the chart above, Labour's gains in England so far are concentrated in the capital.

But as our leading analyst Professor Sir John Curtice says, don't let anyone tell you the Tories haven't suffered losses elsewhere too. But as you can see above, the consequent gains are being made by parties other than Labour.

Good Morning Scotland
BBC Radio Scotland

The majority of the Scottish electorate will have voted in the council elections the same way they would have voted in a national election.

That's the view of researcher Fraser McMillan from Glasgow University who is working on the Scottish election study.

He says only some voters are motivated by local issues like housing developments and that most vote just as they would in "higher order contests" like Holyrood and Westminster elections.

He says that Yes and No independence opinions have also been factors in recent years and could continue to influence.

And he says pollsters can't discount the independents.

Counting is beginning after voters across Scotland turned out to elect more than 1,200 councillors to the country's 32 local authorities.

One in five people in Scotland were registered for a postal vote in this election.

After all the spin and bad news management the people of Scotland will have their say throughout today.

• Voting under way in Scottish council elections
• Live: Voters head to polls in elections across UK
• A simple guide to the Scottish council elections
• How to follow the election results on the BBC

Even before the count began, a Scottish Conservative source admitted the results were "not looking good" for the party north of the border.

The finger of blame has been pointed at the prime minister and Partygate.

However former Tory MSP Adam Tomkins believes the blame lies closer to home and calls on Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross to "own" the result in Scotland.

Mr Ross withdrew his support for the prime minister in the midst of revelations of lockdown parties in Downing Street - but changed his mind following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

The counting of votes is beginning across Scotland's 32 local authorities.

As we can see the ballot boxes have arrived at the count in Orkney.

Ballot papers will be counted throughout Friday with the final results expected in the early evening.

Orkney may well be one of the first to declare its results, possibly even before lunchtime.

We'll bring you all the results as soon as they happen, as well as analysis and interviews.

Heavy losses predicted for Tories in Scotlandpublished at 08:27 British Summer Time 6 May 2022

08:27 BST 6 May 2022

David Wallace Lockhart
BBC political correspondent

A Scottish Conservative source said the situation north of the border “is not looking good” and pointed the finger of blame at the prime minister.

They predicted “heavy losses” for the Tories in Scotland and insisted “it’s all down to Partygate and Boris”. They added that those who would normally back them were “understandably, and rightly, angry” and had opted to stay home rather than vote.

Image source, Getty Images

However, other Scottish Tories who spent the day on the doorstep suggested it wasn’t a dominant issue, and that voters were more concerned with local factors.

Scottish Labour seem relatively confident about coming second in terms of vote share. But it feels like a totemic moment – such as becoming the largest party on Glasgow City Council once again – remains slightly out of reach.

The main question for the SNP is just how big a margin of victory they secure. Sources say turnout will be key here.

Good Morning Scotland
BBC Radio Scotland

We won't know the results here in Scotland for a few hours, but there have been some interesting developments in England overnight.

And, unsurprisingly, there has been a lot of mentions by Conservative candidates about the impact of Partygate on their campaigns.

Independent pollster Mark Diffley tells the Good Morning Scotland programme it's difficult to underestimate the impact .

Image source, PA Media

How are the parties likely to fare?published at 08:07 British Summer Time 6 May 2022

08:07 BST 6 May 2022

Philip Sim
BBC Scotland political correspondent

The biggest tussle is likely to be for second place. The SNP have won the most seats at the last 10 Scottish elections, and few expect them to seriously falter here.

While they continue to defy political gravity, there is little headroom left for Nicola Sturgeon’s troops to grow in to. They will be hoping to strengthen their grip on the councils they run, and make a strong case for forming administrations in more evenly-divided areas.

The Conservatives had a huge result in 2017, more than doubling their tally of seats while overtaking Labour.

But this has set a high bar for a party which has not had its troubles to seek in recent months. If the Tories can keep losses to a minimum and cling to control of key councils, Douglas Ross could celebrate with a whole suitcase of wine.

Image source, Getty Images

Labour meanwhile are desperate to retake second place under any measure they can get, be it seats or first-preference votes. The bar is lower here, given the absolute drubbing Labour took in 2017 - Anas Sarwar needs something to build momentum for his leadership and make his party look like a contender again.

The Lib Dems are on a similarly long road back to relevance, having lost more than half of their seats in 2012. Alex Cole-Hamilton is another new leader who could do with some grassroots success to build on, but expectations are muted after the party slid to four seats in last year’s Scottish Parliament election.

The Greens meanwhile have been inspired by their move into government alongside the SNP at Holyrood, and are hoping to bolster their numbers enough to seal similar pacts at a local level.

And the smaller parties running, like Alba and the Family Party, would likely be happy to win anything at all.

Alex Salmond’s outfit had a few councillors prior to the vote, mostly defections from the SNP – but any returned would be the party’s first representatives actually elected under the Alba banner. Having flopped in last year’s Holyrood contest, this is vital if Alba is to prove it has a place in the Scottish political landscape.

Where do the parties stand ahead of the Scottish council elections?published at 07:56 British Summer Time 6 May 2022

07:56 BST 6 May 2022

Professor Sir John Curtice
Polling expert

Image source, Getty Images

The local elections will decide who runs Scotland's local councils for the next five years.

The newly elected councillors will be responsible for running a range of vital services, including bin collection, schools and social care.

However, many voters would not have voted on how well or badly they think their council is being run - but rather backing the party for which they would vote in a Holyrood or Westminster election.

The results will therefore give us a measure of the popularity of the parties a year on from last year's Holyrood ballot.

The electoral system, though, is different from last year. Thursday's ballot will be held using the Single Transferable Vote under which voters rank their local candidates in order of preference - one, two, three, etc.

• Read more here
• The battle for votes in the council election
• Five things to watch in Scotland's local elections

Results are being declared from English councils, following Thursday's local elections. Here's a round-up of the headlines so far:

• Labour has taken three London councils from the Conservatives - Westminister, Barnet and Wandsworth
• With just under half the results in, the Tories are on track to lose about 250 seats across England, according to polling expert Sir John Curtice.
• Southampton has also gone to Labour, but the party is making only modest gains outside London
• The Lib Dems win control of Hull from Labour; they and the Greens have made advances
• Losing Tories blame the cost-of-living crisis and the ongoing Partygate scandal.

You can follow the latest on the UK-wide election results here.

Voters to deliver their mid-term verdictpublished at 07:35 British Summer Time 6 May 2022

07:35 BST 6 May 2022

Glenn Campbell
BBC Scotland Political Editor

In Scotland, these elections will decide who runs local services like schools, bin collections and road maintenance for the next five years.

They are also the first national test of political opinion since the Holyrood contest in May last year.

The results will therefore be seen, to some extent, as a mid-term verdict on the parties in power at Holyrood and Westminster and their opponents.

That’s why the campaign featured many national issues including the cost-of-living crisis, lockdown parties, ferry-building failures and the independence question.

Your local council is not principally responsible for handling any of these issues but the overall election outcome could still have a significant effect on momentum in Scottish and UK politics.

Good Morning Scotland
BBC Radio Scotland

There are eight council wards in Scotland which don't have to wait for a result today. Their councillors were announced at 11:00 on Thursday - election day.

Why? Because there were not enough candidates standing to go through the usual process. Votes were still cast but the few candidates who threw their hats into the ring were automatically re-elected or elected for the first time.

Willie Sullivan, the director of the Electoral Reform Society tells BBC Radio's Good Morning Scotland that geography plays a part in this anomaly. He says some areas are too big and contain communities with different needs and candidates find it difficult to commit to representing them.

Read more about uncontested wards

Image source, bbc

Counting will soon begin after voters across Scotland turned out to elect more than 1,200 councillors to the country's 32 local authorities.

Each council is divided into smaller areas known as wards, with every ward electing between one and five councillors.

These councillors will have control of education, social care and other key local services.

Counting of ballots will begin between 08:00 and 09:30 at count centres in each local authority area.

• Read more here
• Voting under way in Scottish council elections
• Live: Voters head to polls in elections across UK
• A simple guide to the Scottish council elections
• How to follow the election results on the BBC

Image source, Getty Images

Good morning and welcome to our live coverage of Scotland's May 2022 council elections.

As the results come in, we’ll bring you the latest updates, reaction and analysis from our elections team.

People went to the polls across Scotland yesterday and work to count their votes will begin the next few hours.

The election will decide which parties govern Scotland's 32 local authorities.