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Live Reporting

Miriam Barker, Gareth Rees and John Arkless

All times stated are UK

  1. Thank you and goodbye

    Thank you for joining us today for our coverage of the 2022 Welsh council elections.

    Here's a run down of the biggest stories of the day:

    • The Conservatives lost the only council they controlled in Wales, Monmouthshire
    • Labour won control of two councils - Blaenau Gwent and Bridgend - but lost Neath Port Talbot
    • Plaid Cymru gained control of three councils, despite losing councillors overall
    • The Liberal Democrats gained seats and are now the largest party in Powys
    • The Green Party delivered its best ever Welsh council election result, winning eight seats across seven counties
    • Flintshire and Vale of Glamorgan are still to declare, but both will be under no overall control

    Overall, Labour has won control of eight councils, Plaid Cymru has won four, while 10 will be under no overall control.

    That's it for our coverage of the night. You can read our round-up of today's results here.

  2. Wales 2022 Local Election Result

    So, here is the final map of Wales' councils.

    The Conservatives have lost control of their only council in Wales - Monmouthshire.

    Labour became the biggest party in Monmouthshire and gained two councils outright.

    It now has over 500 councillors across Wales, although it lost Neath Port Talbot.

    Plaid Cymru gained control of three councils.

    Wales council map
  3. First Minister pleased with Labour results

    And here's what Welsh Labour Leader Mark Drakeford had to say about today's results a little earlier.

    View more on twitter
  4. Tories losses 'hopefully a hiccup', Senedd leader says

    Here's what Andrew RT Davies, the Welsh Conservatives' leader in the Senedd had to saybout the election results a little earlier.

    View more on twitter
  5. Flintshire remains no overall control

    Although two wards will be recounted tomorrow, no group can reach a majority in Flintshire, meaning it will remain under no overall control whatever the total is.

    For more on the results, see here

    Flintshire result graphic
  6. Neath Port Talbot confirmed as a Labour loss

    As we reported earlier, Labour has lost control of Neath Port Talbot council, which is now under no overall control.

    Labour is still the largest group, with 25 seats, but fell short of the 31 needed for a majority.

    It is Labour's only loss after making two gains, in Blaenau Gwent and Bridgend.

    For more on the results in Wales, see here

    Results graphic
  7. Vale of Glamorgan will be no overall control

    Although we're awaiting the final results in Vale of Glamorgan, with one ward left to declare, it looks like Labour will be the largest party but fall short of an overall majority.

    The party has currently won 25 of 50 declared seats, with 28 needed for a majority.

    But, according to the council's website, there are only two Labour candidates standing in the Dinas Powys ward, the final one to declare, meaning they can't beat 27.

    This means it'll remain under no overall control, as it was in 2017.

  8. Almost there in Vale of Glamorgan

    We've been waiting for results from the Vale of Glamorgan for a while, but we're almost there.

    Fifty of 54 wards have been declared, with Labour the largest party, on 25 seats so far.

    Labour will need 28 for a majority, with just Dinas Powys to declare.

  9. Winners and Losers

    Here is the latest tally of councillors from officially declared counts.

    We're expecting the final Flintshire declaration tomorrow, although we know no party can win an outright majority there now...

    ...and we are still hoping to get the Vale of Glamorgan result this evening.

    Wales election graph
  10. Terrible days for Tories

    David Deans, BBC Wales political reporter

    The Tories have had a terrible day of results in the Welsh council elections, losing the only authority they controlled – Monmouthshire.

    But Welsh Labour have taken two steps forward and one step back, after winning control of Blaenau Gwent and Bridgend, but losing Neath Port Talbot to no overall control.

    It is left with the largest number of council majorities - eight.

    Overall the Mark Drakeford-led party are the biggest winner in terms of councillors, so far winning at least an extra 64 seats, while the Welsh Conservatives are the biggest losers, dropping by 75.

    In Monmouthshire Labour leapfrogged the Tories to become the largest party, but fell short of an overall majority.

    Plaid Cymru have consolidated control over authorities they already led in the heartlands, taking majorities in Anglesey, Carmarthenshire and Ceredigion, and holding Gwynedd.

    The Lib Dems enjoyed ten seat gains in Powys, becoming the largest group with 24 councillors.

    The party says it is the highest number of councillors the party has ever had.

    Meanwhile the Greens have won seven seats so far – their best ever result in Wales.

  11. 'A good day for Labour' - Drakeford

    Mark Drakeford

    First Minister Mark Drakeford told BBC Wales it had been a “good day for Labour here in Wales”.

    “We’ve made gains in every part of Wales,” he said, doing “especially well where it's been the Conservatives who have been our main opponents”.

    The Welsh Labour leader said it set the ground for the party to win back seats lost during the 2019 general election.

    He said many voters told him “they wanted to use their vote to express their dissatisfaction with a UK government that is so badly out of touch”.

    He said it puts Labour in a “favourable place” to also make gains in other seats.

    Mr Drakeford said this and last year’s elections “are telling us something significant about the way Wales feels about its current Westminster government and the sort of government it would rather have not just here in Wales, not just in local councils, but at a UK level as well”.

    After Durham police said it would reinvestigate whether Sir Keir Starmer broke lockdown rules, Mr Drakeford said: “They investigated once and they found there was nothing to proceed with. They decided to investigate again, we must give them the opportunity to do that."

  12. How are results being reported?

    Polling station sign

    Due to boundary changes for these elections, some changes may not appear to match up with the previous results in 2017.

    The system being used is called notional results, which gives an idea of how many councillors each party would have had if the new boundaries been in force last time the seats were contested.

    You can see if an area has had boundary changes in the 'About this council' section at the bottom of the results pages.

    Click here to read more about notional results.

  13. Labour making gains in Vale of Glamorgan

    Although we have three councils still to officially declare, we know the outcomes in two of those, with Labour losing Neath Port Talbot to no overall control and Flintshire remaining under no overall control.

    All eyes on Vale of Glamorgan tonight then, with 32 of 54 seats declared so far.

    Labour is making gains - it has taken all of the seats in the Cadoc ward where the Tories lost a councillor.

    It has also taken two out of three seats from the Conservatives in the Illtyd ward.

  14. Labour hold in Rhondda Cynon Taf confirmed

    Final results for all wards have now been declared in Rhondda Cynon Taf, with Labour retaining control.

    The party won 59 of 75 available seats.

    For a breakdown of the results, see here

    Graphic
  15. The picture across Wales

    This is how the new local authority map of Wales looks this evening - with just one council result to come

    Electoral map of Welsh local councils
  16. No overall control in Flintshire

    The results in Flintshire won't be confirmed tonight, with two wards set to be recounted tomorrow.

    Labour currently has 29 seats, with 28 going to independents. With 34 needed for a majority and four seats to declare across the two wards, no group will be able to command a majority.

    The council has been under no overall control since the last election in 2017, where Labour was the largest party.

  17. New councillor had heart attack whilst out door-knocking... on nurse's door

    Allan
    Image caption: Allan Jeffrey has a heart attack while out door-knocking for his election campaign

    Any politicians that complain about campaigning almost being the death of them probably haven't met Allan Jeffery, newly elected Uplands party councillor in Swansea.

    Allan had a cardiac arrest while out campaigning for the Uplands party, but fortunately at the time he was knocking on the door of a nurse.

    After recovering he has now been elected alongside three of his colleagues to Swansea council.

    Peter May, Upland party leader, said Allan will be a "great contribution" to the council.

  18. How the Conservatives lost Monmouthshire

    Quick recap..

    Here is the final tally from Monmouthshire - the only council the Welsh Conservatives controlled before yesterday's election.

    As you can see, Labour is now the biggest group on the council.

    Mons council result by party chart
  19. Analysis

    ‘Bad day for the Tories’

    Felicity Evans

    BBC Wales political editor

    Boris Johnson

    The results emerging from Wales confirm the worst fears of the Welsh Conservatives.

    They were always expecting to suffer losses, but not on a scale that could wipe out all the gains they made in the last council elections five years ago.

    Their leader, Andrew RT Davies, blames the issues that have plagued Boris Johnson's government in Westminster - the cost of living crisis and Partygate.

    He says he still supports the prime minister but "he has to use the summer months to build the confidence of the party" going forward to the next general election.

    In north-east Wales, where the party routed Welsh Labour in the 2019 election, the Tories have fallen from the largest party in one council, Denbighshire, to fourth.

    A result that will do nothing to calm Welsh Tory nerves about Mr Johnson's ability to keep those 2019 Conservative converts on board.

    In the south, in true blue Monmouthshire, the only council where they had overall control, they have lost their majority and Labour are now the largest party.

    Read more here.