Election results so far at a glance – and what’s still to come

Reform UK has made significant gains at the expense of Labour and the Conservatives in council election results in England so far.

The polls across Scotland, Wales and 136 English local authorities are the biggest set of elections since the 2024 general election and a key test for Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer.

As most councils did not begin counting overnight, a fuller picture will only emerge later on Friday – when results are also expected from parliamentary elections in Wales and Scotland.

Here are the key developments so far – and what’s still to come.

Early Reform gains and Labour losses

Reform UK has been picking up seats in former Labour heartlands in the north of England and the Midlands, including Wigan, Bolton, Salford and Halton.

In Hartlepool, Tameside, Redditch and Tamworth, Labour lost control of the council as support for Reform surged.

Reform won control of Havering, an outer London borough bordering Essex, from a local residents’ party, with the Tories seeing big losses.

It has also gained control of Newcastle-under-Lyme from the Conservatives, and is hoping for wins in Tory-held county councils set to declare later on Friday.

The last time these councils were up for election, Reform was in its infancy, so it is only possible for the party to win majority control in areas where all seats are being contested.

For most councils counting overnight, only a third of seats were up for election, so the party could have more chances to win power later in the day.

Tories lose ground

In early counting, the Tories won back control of Westminster from Labour and gained seats to become the largest party on Wandsworth Council again.

But those results, in two previously flagship London councils, are bright spots in an otherwise poor set of results for the official opposition so far.

The Conservatives have been losing seats to Reform in places like Brentwood and North East Lincolnshire – and in Hampshire, where it has lost control of the council for the first time since 1997.

The Tories continue to face a threat from Reform UK in county council elections like Essex, Norfolk and Suffolk, which declare results later.

Meanwhile, in parts of southern England including Surrey and Sussex, it is the Liberal Democrats who pose the biggest challenge to the Tories.

Mixed night for Lib Dems

It has been a mixed set of results for the Liberal Democrats so far.

They won control of Stockport and Portsmouth, where they were already the largest party, picking up seats from Labour, and posted gains in Sutton and Richmond-upon-Thames, two south-west London strongholds.

But in Hull, Reform UK gains saw the Lib Dems lose control of the council.

They had held hopes of winning control of Tory-run Hampshire, but a Reform surge meant that, despite Lib Dem gains, no party is in overall control there.

The Lib Dems are hoping to win control of the two new councils in Surrey, which are being elected in “shadow” form before formally taking power next year.

Greens eye gains in London

The Green Party of England and Wales has picked up some seats overnight in places like Salford, Oxford, Southampton and Exeter, where Labour lost control of the council.

But the party’s key targets are in inner London, and the areas where they probably have the best chance of winning control of the council – Hackney and Lewisham – are not due to declare results until later.

Other council results still to come

Having taking control in Havering, Reform UK is also hoping to make gains in another outer London borough, Barking & Dagenham, which declares later.

For the Conservatives, Barnet in north London, is another flagship council they are hoping to win back from Labour.

Elsewhere, Reform UK is targeting former Labour strongholds in the north of England and the Midlands like Sunderland, Gateshead and Walsall.

In Birmingham – where the council is currently run by Labour – the new fragmented political landscape is on full display.

All the five main parties have a presence and with polls suggesting strong support for pro-Palestinian independents, the result later could leave the city under no overall control for the first time in more than a decade.

Reform and Plaid battle in Wales

After more than a century of being the biggest party in Westminster and Cardiff Bay elections, Labour is facing the prospect of losing its dominance in Wales.

Multiple party sources have told the BBC they expect to lose the Senedd election.

Disillusionment with the incumbent party means it is Plaid Cymru and Reform UK vying for first place.

Meanwhile, the Greens are hoping to win their first Senedd seat, as the Welsh Liberal Democrats aim to increase their number from a single seat.

While Wales is not traditionally an area of strength for the Conservatives, the party looks set for considerable losses.

SNP aims for fifth term in Scotland

There are also expected to be heavy losses for Labour in Scotland, where the Scottish National Party are aiming to win an unprecedented fifth successive term.

Reform UK – which currently has no representation in Holyrood – is challenging Labour for second place, with the Conservatives expected to lose seats.

Both the Greens and the Liberal Democrats are hoping to make gains as the dominance of main parties fragments.