9.15am
A Conservative spokesman comments on the Bexley result:
“This is another very good result for the Conservative Party in London.
“Reform told everyone repeatedly that they would take control of Bexley, but local residents have chosen to stay with the local Conservatives, who have a track record of delivering for residents, rather than Nigel Farage’s one man band of spin without substance.
“Kemi Badenoch’s Conservative Party is coming back, and showing that under new leadership we are making progress and will continue to do so.”
The Friday counts are getting underway. But there will probably be a lull for a few hours until we have more results.
8.45am
The Conservatives have held Bexley Council. Many expected Reform UK to gain it. But they have only gained six seats in the results counted so far.
Reform UK has gained control of Havering.
Shadow housing secretary James Cleverly said the Conservatives had had a “tough night”, but there were “some areas where we’ve beaten expectations”.
Tom Harwood tweets:
“Neither YouGov nor More In Common’s MRP analysis suggested the Tories would take Wandsworth or Westminster.”
The Conservatives have gained a by-election in Hertfordshire from Reform UK.
8.30am
Patrick Maguire writes in The Times:
“There is nothing to redeem Sir Keir Starmer in the results from England overnight, nor any plausible consoling fiction left to cling on to. At best, Labour MPs are being taught a hard lesson about the fantastical unpopularity of their leader. At worst, they are witnessing — and frankly are complicit in — Labour’s demise as a national party.”
8.15am
The Conservatives have held Kensington and Chelsea Council, having only lost one seat in the results declared so far. The council leader, Elizabeth Campbell, is a regular contributor to this site. Congratulations.
8.00am
A Conservative spokesman comments on the Wandsworth result:
“We are very pleased to have become the largest party in Wandsworth, and after conversations we are confident that we will run the council.
“This is yet another former Labour council where residents have seen that only the Conservative Party, under Kemi Badenoch’s leadership, have the serious plans needed for London and for the country, and the team to deliver it.
“This is a victory for both the local Conservative councillors and activists, and for this new Conservative Party – which is demonstrating that we are making clear progress.”
7.45am
One of the most encouraging messages from the results so far is how badly the Green Party is doing relative to expectations. So far, a net gain of only 25 seats. They have increased their tally in Oxford, Ealing, Exeter and Reading but lost seats in Richmond.
7.30am
We have not had the full results, but Reform UK has a big lead in Havering, having already gained 13 seats. Similarly, in Essex, Reform UK has a large majority in the results declared so far.
It looks likely that Hampshire will be hung. At the moment, the Conservatives are the largest party on 22.
7.15am
The Conservatives have commented on the Westminster result:
“We are delighted the Conservatives have taken control of Westminster Council. Labour are set to have a terrible night in London, an area they swept in the last general election.
“Under Kemi Badenoch, the Conservatives are coming back in London. This victory is a clear sign of the progress the Conservatives are making under new leadership.
“This is also testament to the hard work of Conservative councillors and activists in Westminster. We are confident they will show that only the Conservatives are serious about delivering better services for lower taxes.”
7.00am
It’s confirmed that the Conservatives have gained Westminster. Congratulations to our former columnist Elliot Keck, who gained a seat from Labour.
6.45am
Reform UK has gained Newcastle-under-Lyme from the Conservatives.
The Conservatives are set to gain Westminster with a clear majority. Not all the results are in, but there have already been nine Conservative gains.
6.30am
Labour has lost Wandsworth to no overall control. The Conservatives are on 29 seats with seven gains. Labour is on 28. There is also an independent, Malcolm Grimston, who used to be a Conservative councillor, and emerges as Kingmaker. Aled Richards-Jones, the Conservative Group Leader, has written for us about his borough here.
Labour has held Ealing but lost 13 seats to the Lib Dems and the Green Party. The Conservatives held steady on five seats. (Their leader, Julian Gallant, has written for us about the campaign.) Labour has also easily held on in Merton. Could Labour become the London party? It may well win most of the councils in the capital. But not much elsewhere.
Labour has lost overall control in Southampton.
6am
Good morning and welcome to the bracing new world of multi-party politics. Most of the results are still to come. But it is already clear that Reform UK has had an extraordinary breakthrough with Labour’s support collapsing in many areas. Class-based politics is dead. The poorer the area, the worse for Labour. In much of its supposedly “safe” working-class heartlands it has not merely been defeated but wiped out.
Last year, the Conservatives were the big losers. We had the most to lose, as the contests were for county councils and they had previously been contested in 2021 – when Boris Johnson was at the height of his popularity with the Conservatives gaining the Hartlepool by-election the same day.
This time, it is Labour with most to lose, due to the types of councils up for grabs and as they were mostly last contested in 2022, which was a good year for them. So it would be normal for them to do badly. But the results so far are worse than that for Labour. Keep in mind that in some councils only a third of seats were up for election. In Wigan, for example, Labour lost all 22 of the seats it was defending but retains control of the Council. For now.
I have always felt that decisive all-out elections are better than having the seats come up a third at a time. But while it limits the number of councils it is possible for Reform UK to gain this year, it offers an advantage for them in gaining some experience. Brand new councillors taking power is a daunting prospect. We have seen them struggling due to this in some of the councils they gained last year.
In Tameside, Labour lost 16 out of the 17 seats it was defending. So although only a third of seats were contested, it has lost overall control. In Hull, Labour lost eight of the nine seats it was defending. In Oldham, seven of the nine seats it was defending went. In Plymouth, it was nine out 11. In Dudley, it was 13 out of 14. In Halton, it was 15 out of 17. In Hartlepool, Labour lost all seven seats it was defending. I could go on. The pattern is pretty clear.
So the results thus far are even worse for Labour than the pundits had been predicting. The range had gone from Labour losing “only” half their seats to losing as many as three-quarters. At the moment, their losses are at 83 per cent.
The Conservatives have not only held Harlow Council but gained five seats from Labour there. Why? Perhaps because they offered residents a reason to vote Conservative. The Council Tax has been frozen there for five years in a row. It bucked the trend of Conservative losses last time as well.
Broxbourne saw the Conservatives win seven of the ten seats up for election this time. Fareham was held by the Conservatives with the loss of just one seat. Basildon saw the Conservatives hold three of the four seats being defended this time. Labour lost all six of the ones they had up. In my own local authority, Hammersmith and Fulham, the Conservatives gained two seats from Labour. We gained a seat in Reading.
But in other areas, the results for the Conservatives were dire. In North East Lincolnshire, we lost all nine seats we were defending to Reform UK. In Richmond, the Conservatives have been wiped out by the Lib Dems. Ditto in Sutton.
But the rout for Labour is the big story. The focus will be on whether they oust Keir Starmer. Yet the results are so awful for them that they may decide that would be mere displacement activity.
As Baroness Fox tweeted:
“Driving me mad commentators all focusing on should Starmer stay or should he go. Completely misses point. He may embody popular loathing for Labour, but this is deeper rejection of a whole political elite that’s sneered at, demonised, patronised millions of voters for too long.”
Here are the timings of the results due in today, via the Press Association:
12:30pm
- Blackburn
- Manchester
1pm
- Burnley
1:45pm
- North Tyneside
2pm
- Cheltenham
- Hyndburn
- Rochdale
- Sheffield
- Welwyn Hatfield
2:30pm
- Huntingdonshire
- Norwich
- Pendle
- Preston
- St Helens
- West Oxfordshire
3pm
- Cannock Chase
- Epping Forrest
- Isle of Wight
- Islington
- Leeds
- Rushmoor
- Solihull
- Three Rivers
- Thurrock
- Waltham Forest
3:30pm
- Nuneaton and Bedworth
4pm
- Basingstoke and Deane
- Crawley
- Gateshead
- Hillingdon
- Ipswich
- Rugby
- South Cambridgeshire
- Suffolk
- Sunderland
- Trafford,
- Tunbridge Wells
- West Lancashire
- West Sussex
- Wolverhampton
4:30pm
- Barnsley
- Bury
- Harrow
4:45pm
- Newcastle Upon Tyne
5pm
- Barking and Dagenham
- Barnet
- Brent
- Cambridge
- Coventry
- Enfield
- Essex
- Hackney
- Milton Keynes
- Redbridge
- Sandwell
- St Albams
- Stevenage
- Walsall
- Watford
- Wokingham
5:30pm
- Haringey
- Norfolk
- Sefton
- South Tyneside
6pm
- Adur
- Birmingham
- Camden
- East Surrey
- East Sussex
- Hastings
- Kingston Upon Thames
- Kirklees
- Newham
- Southwark
- Swindon
- Tower Hamlets
- Wakefield
- West Surrey
- Winchester
- Worthing
7pm
- Bromley
- Cherwell
8:30pm
- Calderdale
The following results are not due until Saturday
- Bradford
- Croydon
- Lewisham