Election results 2021: When will we know who has won?

Counting officials will also have to follow social distancing rules so results will take longer

Millions of people across England, Scotland and Wales voted in elections on Thursday 6 May.

They cast votes for councillors, mayors, police commissioners, members of the Scottish and Welsh parliaments - and one Westminster MP.

How are the votes counted and announced?

After polls closed at 22:00 BST, ballot boxes were taken from all the polling stations, to local or regional counting centres where staff open them up and start counting votes.

A small number of representatives from each of the parties and members of the media are allowed into the centres to observe the counts.

Once all the votes in a particular area - such as an English council or a Scottish constituency - are counted, the official in charge - known as the returning officer - takes the stage and announces the results.

Will counting be slower this year?

Yes - this is partly because Covid safety measures are going to have an effect.

There'll be fewer staff at each of the counts, to allow for social distancing, and this is likely to slow things down.

The returning officers are responsible for the process in their own centres, so measures and timings will vary across the country.

However, counts will also take longer because of the high number of elections taking place in some areas.

A number of elections have taken place because they were postponed from 2020.

For example, staff in Bristol will be counting votes for the West of England Mayor, the Mayor of Bristol, the Avon and Somerset Police and Crime Commissioner and the whole of Bristol Council.

When will we find out results?

Hartlepool Westminster by-election

This was announced on Friday morning, with the Conservatives taking the seat from Labour.

Scottish Parliament

Returning officers started counting on Friday morning. The final result - including the regional lists - are due on Saturday.

• Scottish results so far

Welsh Senedd

All the constituency votes have been counted and results for the regional seats should finish on Saturday.

• Wales results so far

English councils and mayors

Many of the results have already come in. But expect declarations to be spread out over the weekend.

• England results so far

London Assembly and Mayor

Counting in some areas of London, as well as the Mayoral race, will start on Saturday, with results probably announced in the evening.

• London results so far

Police and Crime Commissioners

These results will be spread out. In some regions, votes will not be counted until Monday morning, with results emerging in the afternoon or evening.

How can I watch the results?

The BBC's Election 2021 results programme will begin later than usual due to the slower count.

On Saturday the programmes will be 10:00-13:00 on BBC Two, 14:15-18:00 on BBC One, and 20:35-20:40 on BBC One.

The BBC News Channel will also carry coverage throughout the weekend, and the BBC News website will provide live results, analysis and updates.

Where else can I follow the results?

The BBC News website will provide live results, analysis and updates from across England, Scotland and Wales.

Local radio stations will be covering the counts, as well as results and analysis on BBC Radio 4 and BBC Radio 5 live.

• How to follow the results on the BBC

• Postcode search: Who won in your area?

• Simple guide: All the elections on May 6

• English council elections: A simple guide

• Scottish elections: A simple guide

• Wales elections: A simple guide

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