You might notice, however, that our results appear slightly differently \u2013 or slower \u2013 than others\u2019. My colleagues who built the tracker have provided this explanation:<\/p>\n
double quotation markOur results are provided by the Press Association (PA). Numbers for change in seats are calculated against the state of the council or parliament just before this election. Other organisations calculate using the previous election, and this can lead to discrepancies. In Wales, the electoral system is sufficiently different to previous elections that comparison is not given.<\/p>\n
Other outlets may also announce individual ward councillor results as they become known, while PA release results for each council only when its full count is complete. PA collates results only for elections that were due in this electoral cycle, meaning there may be council byelection results in other parts of the country that are not included. There are frequent changes in ward boundaries, sometimes accompanied by changes in the number of councillors overall. \u201cShadow elections\u201d were also held for two new unitary authorities due to be created in Surrey in 2027.<\/p>\n
Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a020.31 EDT<\/p>\n Key events<\/p>\n Show key events only<\/p>\n Please turn on JavaScript to use this feature<\/p>\n Reform gains councillors in Chorley and Southend-on-Sea<\/p>\n Reform has made gains in both Chorley and Southend-on-Sea, though there is no overall change to control of either council.<\/p>\n Photograph: The GuardianShare<\/a><\/p>\n The Press Association, which is providing the data for our results tracker, says that after 10 fully declared council results, Labour has won only 17% of the seats it was defending.<\/p>\n Reform has so far won 56% of the seats it was contesting, it adds.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Labour holds Salford and Lincoln<\/p>\n Labour has managed to retain control of Lincoln council, which Reform had been heavily targeting. Farage\u2019s party took four seats tonight \u2013 they also won the mayoralty last year \u2013 but it wasn\u2019t enough to completely erode Labour\u2019s majority.<\/p>\n In Salford, Reform gained 13 seats but again Labour retain control of the council, which had a third of its seats up for grabs.<\/p>\n Photograph: The GuardianShare<\/a>Results exceeding Reform’s expectations, says Farage<\/p>\n Nigel Farage has told reporters at the party\u2019s Millbank headquarters that the results so far have exceeded his expectations.<\/p>\n double quotation markI think what you\u2019re witnessing is an historic change in British politics. Forget left-right, there is no more left-right. It is gone, it is out of the window, it\u2019s finished.<\/p>\n As you can see, we are scoring stunning percentages in traditional old Labour areas. We\u2019re currently averaging about 39% of the vote, of the seats that are in already, we\u2019re currently on 145 seats won.<\/p>\n We are way exceeding anything that I thought.<\/p>\n He added:<\/p>\n double quotation markWhat you\u2019ll see tomorrow is the same pattern repeated across the south when we win Essex by an extraordinary margin and Norfolk by an extraordinary margin.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Lib Dems win control of Stockport<\/p>\n Stockport council, which was previously under no overall control, has been taken by the Liberal Democrats after they gained three seats.<\/p>\n A total of 21 out of 63 seats were up for grabs.<\/p>\n Responding to the win, a party spokesperson said:<\/p>\n double quotation markThis is a great result and shows that Liberal Democrat teams can win right across the country.<\/p>\n Our hardworking local team has held off the rise of Reform \u2013 while others sought to sow division and chaos, we focused on the issues that matter.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a022.26 EDT<\/p>\n Labour loses 23 seats in Wigan – but retains control of council<\/p>\n Labour has retained overall control of Wigan council, though there is little cause for cheer for them. Only a third of the seats were up for election and they lost 20 of those.<\/p>\n Conservative MP Lewis Cocking has welcomed a \u201cfantastic set of results\u201d for his party in Broxbourne. Ten out of 30 seats on the council were up for election in the Hertfordshire borough.<\/p>\n The Conservatives suffered a loss to Reform UK, but ultimately won seven seats and have retained control of the authority. Reform UK won two seats and Labour one.<\/p>\n Cocking, who previously led Broxbourne Council, told the Press Association he was \u201creally over the moon\u201d.<\/p>\n double quotation markWe\u2019ve had a fantastic set of results in Broxbourne. I\u2019m really sad we didn\u2019t get three of our candidates over the line.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>No change in Hart or Peterborough<\/p>\n In Hart, the council remains under no overall control after Reform took just one seat from the Tories. The Lib Dems remain the largest party.<\/p>\n There is also no overall change in Peterborough.<\/p>\n Updated at\u00a021.44 EDT<\/p>\n Labour loses Tamworth, Conservatives hold Broxbourne<\/p>\n More bad news for Labour, which has lost control of Tamworth council after Reform gained nine seats. No party has majority in Tamworth.<\/p>\n In Broxbourne, a true Conservative stronghold, the Tories have retained control.<\/p>\n Photograph: The GuardianShare<\/a> Mark Brown is at the Hartlepool council count.<\/p>\n The turnout in Hartlepool was 31.5%, slightly higher than the 28% of the last local election in 2024.<\/p>\n The council has a volatile leadership history with Labour, the Conservatives, Independents and the Brexit Party all having spells in charge in recent decades.<\/p>\n This time the Conservatives were defending two seats, losing both of them to Reform.<\/p>\n In 2021, losing the Hartlepool by-election to the Conservatives made Starmer seriously consider resigning as Labour leader. He saw it as a \u201cpersonal rejection\u201d but was persuaded not to act hastily.<\/p>\n Could Hartlepool and the wider results in the north east have Starmer once again considering his future? Is Hartlepool setting the north east narrative?<\/p>\n Reform took County Durham last year and is confident of taking Sunderland, which has been Labour since the council was established in its current form in 1973. That important declaration is expected around 4pm.<\/p>\n Reform also hopes to take Gateshead (4pm) and South Tyneside (5.30pm). In Newcastle, the Greens are confident of making significant gains.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Hartlepool MP calls for Starmer to step down as PM after council results Mark Brown is at the Hartlepool council count.<\/p>\n Reform are the runaway winners in what could be a catastrophic day for Labour in north east England<\/a>.<\/p>\n There were 12 seats up for grabs in Hartlepool and Reform won every single one of them. It means Labour, which had a slim majority and was defending six seats, is likely to become the opposition.<\/p>\n Because only a third of the council was being elected, Reform do not have an outright majority. The party will have to make deals with independents in order to take control.<\/p>\n Labour councillors and supporters were noticeably despondent at the count in Brierton sports centre. They knew what was coming. Heavy defeat was in the air.<\/p>\n The town\u2019s Labour MP Jonathan Brash watched his wife Pamela Hargreaves, leader of Hartlepool council, lose her seat.<\/p>\n He told the Guardian he was angry and he repeated his call for Keir Starmer to go.<\/p>\n double quotation markIt has been a terrible night for the Labour party. What I\u2019ve seen here is extraordinarily good, hard-working, Hartlepool people lose their seats. I\u2019ve seen canvassers working night and day in this election and it\u2019s all been for naught and the reason has absolutely nothing to do with them.<\/p>\n They are delivering for this town, they have been delivering for this town and the reality is we need change at the top of the Labour party.<\/p>\n I think the very best thing the prime minister could do now is address the nation tomorrow and set out a timetable for his departure. We can then have an orderly transition, one that, by the way, ensures the full breadth of talent within the Labour party is able to stand, should it want to.<\/p>\n Brash said that was not him backing Andy Burnham \u2013 \u201cI don\u2019t know who\u2019s going to put their name forward\u201d \u2013 but it was \u201cdisgraceful\u201d that the Greater Manchester mayor was blocked from standing in the Gorton and Denton by-election.<\/p>\n He hopes Starmer will go but it was about more than that, he said.<\/p>\n double quotation markWe need bolder policies to actually fix the foundations of our country. We\u2019ve got a huge majority for three years. There are things that we can do that are radical and different and really change the lives of people for the better. It\u2019s time to stop the political cowardice on those big issues and actually go for it and make those massive changes this country needs.<\/p>\n Brash said he expected Labour would now become the opposition in Hartlepool \u201cand we will be holding Reform\u2019s feet to the fire\u201d.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a021.12 EDT<\/p>\n Labour loses control of Hartlepool and Redditch<\/p>\n Two more council declarations, and it\u2019s not good news for Labour.<\/p>\n In Hartlepool, Reform UK has gained 11 seats while Labour has lost six, meaning they have lost control of the council. There is now no party with overall control in Hartlepool.<\/p>\n In Redditch, meanwhile, Reform has taken eight seats from Labour, the Tories, the Greens and an independent. As with Hartlepool, Redditch has moved from Labour controlled to no overall control.<\/p>\n Reform UK are making gains in Wigan, taking six of the first seven results to be declared, with an independent taking the other seat.<\/p>\n However, the result will not affect control of the council as Labour began the night with 62 of the 75 seats, with only 25 seats being contested on the night.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n The Press Association reports there were hugs and cheers at the Salford City Council count as Labour held the Eccles ward with 1,663 votes to Reform\u2019s 1,207.<\/p>\n The Green Party claimed the Quays seat from the Liberal Democrats.<\/p>\n![\"Lincoln](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/602.jpg\")
Photograph: The Guardian<\/p>\n![\"Stockport](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/620.jpg\")
Photograph: The Guardian<\/p>\n![\"Wigan](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/1778207773_464_620.jpg\")
Photograph: The GuardianShare<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Hart](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/616.jpg\")
Photograph: The Guardian<\/p>\n![\"Peterborough](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/1778207773_369_620.jpg\")
Photograph: The GuardianShare<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Tamworth](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/618.jpg\")
Photograph: The Guardian<\/p>\n![\"Mark](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/mark_brown_140x140.jpg\")
Mark Brown<\/p>\nMark Brown<\/p>\n![\"Hartlepool](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/606.jpg\")
Photograph: The Guardian<\/p>\n![\"Redditch](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/1778207775_927_618.jpg\")
Photograph: The GuardianShare<\/a><\/p>\n