Northumberland has become the first county council to declare all its results, with Conservatives winning 26 seats, Reform 23, Labour eight, Independents seven, Liberal Democrats three and Greens two, PA Media reports. With the Conservatives and Reform now holding 49 of the 69 seats on the council, it raises the question of whether the parties will have to deal to run it. The council was previously led by a minority Conservative administration, with the party down seven and Labour down nine, while Reform previously had no seats on the council. Here are the results as shown on the Guardian’s results page. Prof John Curtice, the leading elections expert, told the BBC that the results so far suggest Reform UK has made a significant breakthrough in English politics. He said they are currently 10 points ahead of the Tories in council results and – crucially – that the first-past-the-post (FPTP) electoral system was now helping them, not hindering them. Speaking to the Today programme, he said: The big question that we were looking to these local elections, together with the parliamentary byelection, to answer is, is the message of the opinion polls that Reform seemingly pose a significant threat to the traditional dominance of the Conservatives and Labour in our electoral politics – is that message of the polls correct? And it already seems to be clear that the answer to that question is yes. Winning the byelection in itself was a very substantial success for Reform, narrow as it was. Ukip never, ever managed to win a parliamentary byelection afresh when it was fighting. And so to that extent is we have now broken new ground in terms of parliamentary byelections. But it’s what happened underneath the byelections that, in a sense, is really notable. Yes, Reform did narrowly miss out on those three mayoralities [Doncaster, West of England and North Tyneside – Curtice was speaking before the Greater Lincolnshire result was declared]. But we’ve got 124 wards have been declared, basically across four councils. Reform are clearly ahead on 38% of the vote, the Conservatives with 28% and Labour with 18%. Now these are very heavily in pro-leave, traditionally Tory areas, so they’re not necessarily representative. But, even so, what were once parts of true blue England now rather look like true turquoise England. Curtice also said the first-past-the-post electoral system was working for Reform, not against it. It’s also the case again, quite remarkably, Reform, who of course found it very difficult to break through the electoral system last summer, now actually have won more councillors as of this morning than any other party. And I think the crucial point there is that, while at 15% the electoral system could work against them, at their level of support now it could work in their favour. In her victory speech at the count, Andrea Jenkyns, the new Reform UK mayor for Greater Lincolnshire, attacked her opponents as she claimed the campaign had been one of the dirtiest she had ever experienced. She said: I’ve fought many elections – four general elections, my third local election – but I’ve never experienced such negativity and soul-destroying campaigns against me like this one. The dirty tricks in US politics, I believe, is now being imported here into Britain. The Conservatives called the police on me and implied I slept with political friends. They contacted the mainstream media to smear me. The independent’s husband pushed for a hearing at the council. My barrister had to represent me. The case was dismissed. The campaign was also filled with irony as one of the candidates stated I was parachuted in – she said in her South African accent. They undemocratically tried to remove me from the ballot. But I will say no more on this, and I wish them all well, because this is insignificant now, and I’ll draw a line under it now. Jenkyns also said that the election results meant there was a “new dawn” in British politics and that, under Reform UK, “we’re going to have a Britain where we put British people first”. She went on: Today, we as Reform, as we are making gains up and down the country, you will see an end to soft-touch Britain. The fight back to save the heart and soul of our great country has now begun. Now that Reform is in a place of power, we can help start rebuilding Britain. Inch by inch, Reform will reset Britain to its glorious past. We will tackle illegal migration. We’ve been working on policies. I say no to putting people in hotels. Tents are good enough for France. They should be good enough. They’re here in Britain. I take my hat off to our great leader, Nigel. He has fought for decades, and he still fights for you here today, and I know one day he will make a magnificent prime minister. Here are the full results from the Greater Lincolnshire mayoral election. Dame Andrea Jenkyns (Reform) 104,133 (42.03%) Rob Waltham (C) 64,585 (26.07%) Jason Stockwood (Lab) 30,384 (12.26%) Marianne Overton (Ind) 19,911 (8.04%) Sally Horscroft (Green) 15,040 (6.07%) Trevor Young (LD) 13,728 (5.54%) Reform maj 39,548 (15.96%) Electorate 828,613; Turnout 247,781 (29.90%) Andrea Jenkyns, the former Tory MP and (briefly) minister who defected to Reform UK, has just been elected as mayor of Greater Lincolnshire. She had 42% of the vote, ahead of the Conservatives’ Rob Waltham on 26.1%. Adrian Ramsay, the Green party co-leader, says the Runcorn and Helsby byelection result shows Labour needs “a complete reset”. He said: This Labour government and Starmer needs to do nothing short of a complete reset. Tonight’s results, not just in Runcorn, show that rather than pandering to Reform, they need to address the genuine concerns of working people by taxing wealth to ensure they can rebuild our health service and provide decent social housing. In the council elections, the Greens claim they are on course for a “record-breaking night”, with the party set to increase the number of councillors they have. Here is a Guardian graphic showing how the vote share changed in Helsby and Runcorn. Turning away from Runcorn and Helsby for a moment, the Liberal Democrats say they are on course for big gains in the council elections. Daisy Cooper, the party’s deputy leader, said: The Liberal Democrats are on course for big gains in places like Shropshire, Devon and Oxfordshire, showing we have replaced the Conservatives as the party of Middle England. People have not forgiven the Conservatives for their shameful record but are disappointed that the Labour government has failed to deliver the change they promised. Josh Halliday is the Guardian’s North of England editor. The incredibly narrow result in Runcorn and Helsby, which came on a night when Reform UK was expected to gain hundreds of council seats across England, followed a huge 17% swing from Labour to Nigel Farage’s party. After a recount that saw the declaration delayed by three hours, Reform UK won 38.6% of the vote – amounting to 12,645 votes, six more than Labour, making it one of the smallest margins of victory in recent UK political history. The Conservatives slumped from 16% of the vote at last year’s general election to just 7% at this contest, narrowly finishing ahead of the Green party in third place. Arriving at the count centre to declare victory at 6am, Farage said: Here and across the country you’re seeing big swings to us, from Labour in the north and Conservatives in the Midlands and the south. It’s fascinating. For the movement, for the party, it’s a very, very big moment, absolutely no question and it’s happening right across everywhere. Farage said the result sent a clear message that “we are now the opposition” and that if voters back the Conservatives then they will “just get a Labour government”. Karen Shore, Labour’s candidate, refused to speak to the media as she was ushered out of the count centre at the DCBL Stadium in Widnes, Cheshire. From the moment this byelection was called nearly seven weeks ago it was always expected to be close. But no one could have predicted it would come down to just a handful of votes. By polling day, bookmakers had Farage’s party odds-on to win, while two polls made them favourites. That seemed to tally with the dominant mood on the ground too. Voter after voter expressed concern about immigration and Labour’s cuts to winter fuel payments - two of Reform UK’s key talking points - and one of the most-often repeated phrases seemed to be: “I’ve always voted Labour but…” Although this seemed overall like a constituency ready to turn its back on Labour – in Runcorn’s case, for the first time in half a century – there was an undercurrent of unease. A minority of voters from across the political spectrum expressed misgivings about their area being represented by a hard-right party – and concerns about Farage in particular. These included Conservative voters, who said they were inclined to back Labour – albeit reluctantly – to try stop a Reform win. One of Labour’s key messages throughout was to “stop Farage” – it’s possible this resonated with voters as polling day neared, worried about the prospect of a Reform UK win. This tactical voting may have pushed the result to the wire, although it was not enough to prevent one of the narrowest victories in recent parliamentary history. For Labour, they may perhaps breathe a sigh of relief that the defeat wasn’t greater given the multiple challenges they faced. That will do little, however, to calm the nerves of those dozens of MPs who may now feel their own jobs are even more vulnerable at the next general election. Luke Tryl from More in Common has posted this chart on social media showing how the size of the majority in Runcorn and Helsby compares with other byelections won by slim majorities. And here is the official response to the Runcorn and Helsby result from the Conservative party. They say the result suggests that Keir Starmer is “on course to be a one-term prime minister”. (But they are not arguing that it shows Kemi Badenoch is on course to replace him – because, obviously, it implies she isn’t.) A Conservative spokesperson said: This result is a damning verdict on Keir Starmer’s leadership which has led to Labour losing a safe seat. Just 10 months ago Labour won an enormous majority, including in this seat with 52% of the vote, but their policies have been a punch in the face for the people of Runcorn. Snatching winter fuel payments from vulnerable pensioners, pushing farmers to the brink with their vindictive family farms tax and hammering families with a £3,500 jobs tax, families are being punished for their disastrous decisions in government. Now we know why Keir Starmer never bothered to visit the area. Keir Starmer promised change, but the change he’s delivered has been roundly rejected. Keir Starmer’s MPs will rightfully question his leadership and whether he is now on course to be a one-term prime minister. The Labour party has issued this response to the Runcorn and Helsby byelection result. It says the result shows the government needs to “move faster” with its Plan for Change. A spokesperson said: Byelections are always difficult for the party in government and the events which led to this one being called made it even harder. Voters are still rightly furious with the state of the country after 14 years of failure and clearly expect the government to move faster with the Plan for Change. While Labour has suffered an extremely narrow defeat, the shock is that the Conservative vote has collapsed. Moderate voters are clearly appalled by the talk of a Tory-Reform pact. There are encouraging signs that our Plan for Change is working – NHS waiting lists, inflation and interest rates down with wages up – but we will go further and faster to deliver change with relentless focus on putting money back into people’s pockets. Here are the full results from the Runcorn and Helsby byelection. Reform UK won by just six votes, with a swing of 17.4%. This is said to be the closest byelection result in history. It is a long list because there were 15 candidates – a near record for a byelection. Sarah Pochin (Reform) 12,645 (38.72%, +20.58%) Karen Shore (Lab) 12,639 (38.70%, -14.23%) Sean Houlston (C) 2,341 (7.17%, -8.83%) Chris Copeman (Green) 2,314 (7.09%, +0.66%) Paul Duffy (LD) 942 (2.88%, -2.20%) Dan Clarke (Lib) 454 (1.39%, +0.26%) Michael Williams (Ind) 363 (1.11%) Alan McKie (Ind) 269 (0.82%) Peter Ford (WPB) 164 (0.50%) John Stevens (Rejoin) 129 (0.40%) Howling Laud Hope (Loony) 128 (0.39%) Catherine Blaiklock (Eng Dem) 95 (0.29%) Paul Murphy (Soc Dem) 68 (0.21%, -0.07%) Jason Hughes (Volt) 54 (0.17%) Graham Moore (ECP) 50 (0.15%) Reform maj 6 (0.02%) 17.41% swing Lab to Reform Electorate 70,621; Turnout 32,655 (46.24%, -13.57%) 2024: Lab maj 14,696 (34.80%) – Turnout 42,235 (59.81%) Amesbury (Lab) 22,358 (52.94%); Moorcroft (Reform) 7,662 (18.14%); Marsden (C) 6,756 (16.00%); Copeman (Green) 2,715 (6.43%); Rowe (LD) 2,149 (5.09%); Clarke (Lib) 479 (1.13%); Murphy (Soc Dem) 116 (0.27%) Good morning. I’m Andrew Sparrow, picking up from Kate Lamb. Sarah Pochin, the new Reform UK MP for Runcorn and Helsby, is speaking now at the count. She pays tribute to the party’s “great leader”, Nigel Farage. She goes on: The people of Runcorn and Helsby have spoken. Enough is enough. Enough Tory failure. Enough Labour lies. And I want to thank every one of you who were brave enough to put a cross against my name on the ballot paper, every one of you who voted for change, every one of you who have put their faith in me as your next member of parliament for this constituency which has such potential, and who have put their faith in Nigel Farage as the next prime minister of this great country. She says she will be a voice for people who need representation. Her victory will “insprie the rest of the country to believe that they too can stand up for fairness”, she says. And she says her win has made history. After a nail-biting night, election officials have announced that Reform UK’s candidate Sarah Pochin has won the byelection in Runcorn and Helsby. Reform UK’s Nigel Farage is walking into the Runcorn and Helsby counting event. After a dramatic night and full recount, results are expected to be announced very soon. Another twist in this unpredictable Runcorn and Helsby byelection! We’ve just been told that the recount has almost been completed but it has thrown up a number of “doubtful” ballot papers that now need to be assessed by the candidates. Earlier, we had been told that as few as four ballot papers had been deemed in doubt - before they were then accepted as valid Reform UK votes. Now it appears that more than four ballot papers are in doubt. Will keep you posted. The Doncaster mayoral race was very close at the top - not only between the top two candidates, Labour’s Ros Jones and Reform’s Alex Jones, but coming a close third was the Tories’ Nick Fletcher. Fletcher is no stranger to politics, having served as the MP for Don Valley between 2019 and 2024, when he lost his seat at the last general election. He garnered a respectable 18,982 votes, compared with Alex Jones’s 23,107 and Ros Jones’s 23,805. In fourth was Julie Buckley from the Green Party with 2,449 votes and fifth was Andrew Walmsley from the Yorkshire Party. In her speech, Ros Jones said her priority was to the people of Doncaster. “I make this promise to the people of Doncaster, whether you voted for me or not, I will work for you every single day.” Ros Jones has hit out at Sir Keir Starmer’s changes to the winter fuel allowance, hike to employers’ national insurance contributions and welfare reforms. She told the BBC: “I wrote as soon as the winter fuel allowance was actually mooted, and I said it was wrong, and therefore I stepped in immediately and used our household support fund to ensure no-one in Doncaster went cold during the winter.” The increase in national insurance was “hitting some of our smaller businesses” and the squeeze on the personal independence payment was leaving many people “worried”, Ms Jones said. She added: “I think the results here tonight will demonstrate that they need to be listening to the man, woman and businesses on the street, and actually deliver for the people, with the people.” A breakdown of the electoral dynamics in the West of England race. Labour has won the West of England mayoralty in what could yet prove to be the best moment of the night for the governing party, which was expected to face stiff competition from the Green Party. However, in a surprise, it was Reform UK which pipped the Greens to second place in an area which has significant number of left-leaning voters, particularly in the city of Bristol. Reform UK’s candidate was Aaron Banks, a self-styled ‘Bad boy of Brexit’ and bankroller of one of the campaigners for Britain to leave the European Union, who 45,252 votes to the 51, 197 of Labour’s Helen Godwin. Labour sources said that polling as recently as last week had suggested a decisive victory for the Greens. “Not only has their vote fallen since 2021 but the Conservative vote has also plummeted by 12%,” they said, claiming that many voters had been appalled at talk of a Tory-Reform pact during the campaign. What’s happening in Runcorn and Helsby? No sign of white smoke at the Runcorn and Helsby byelection count. Quite a few of the also-ran candidates have left, wisely. Dozens of orange-jacketed counters are meticulously going through each one of the 32,740 votes, powered on by a fresh round of chocolate bars and, probably, a desperation for this to be over given it was supposed to wrap up two hours ago. We’re in pretty uncharted territory here as it’s said to be the narrowest margin of victory of any UK parliamentary byelection, although that hasn’t been verified. Whatever the result, it’s certainly one of the most dramatic contests of recent times. The Doncaster mayoral results are in! Labour’s Ros Jones has won by a margin of less than 700 votes. The turnout was 33%. Huge cheers from the gathered Labour supporters, who are singing “There’s only one Ros Jones!” A win for Labour, with the party’s Helen Godwin securing a win in the West of England mayoral race. Godwin defeated Reform’s Arron Banks, who came second. In Doncaster, Reform’s candidate Alex Jones said it was still “too early to say” whether he would win, with 10 minutes to go until declaration. “It’s looking good,” he added. “Even if we run them a close second, it shows our message is getting through to the populace.” Has he got big ideas for if he gets in? “Yeah a few. You’ll find out.” The result of the Greater Lincolnshire mayoral race - where Reform UK are bullish about their prospects of winning - is now not expected for at least another hour and a half. One of the largest districts where counting is taking place is said to have only started counting, while elections for local councillors in those areas has also slowed things down. However, there was an alarm call for Labour in one of the other districts, North East Lincolnshire, which has already come through with its results and includes the towns of Grimsby and Cleethorpes. In that district, Reform’s Andrea Jenkyns took 12523 votes, followed by Labour’s Jason Stockwood (6419) and Rob Waltham (6239). Labour’s performance was being watched on account of expectations that Stockwood, a tech investor and former chair of Grimsby Town Football Club, could count on some kind of base there. Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has posted on X, saying the party has won in Runcorn and Helsby. “Reform UK have won the Runcorn & Helsby by-election by 4 votes! Labour have demanded a recount. We are very confident we have won.” Votes are currently being recounted in Runcorn and Helsby, with the results expected soon. Reform UK looked on course to take control of Staffordshire County Council, after taking 24 of the 30 seats to be counted overnight, with Conservatives winning the other six, PA reports. It means when counting resumes later on Friday, Reform need to win just eight more seats, which would give Nigel Farage’s party a majority on the council which has 62 seats. Conservative council leader Alan White lost his seat to Reform in one of the first results of the night. His party previously controlled the council with 53 seats, with Labour holding five and independents four. The four district and borough areas returning results overnight were Lichfield, Newcastle, South Staffordshire and Tamworth, and ballots will be counted later on Friday in the Cannock Chase, East Staffordshire, Stafford and Staffordshire Moorlands areas. The Conservatives have controlled the county council since winning in 2009, claiming elections in 2013, 2017 and 2021. Throughout our reporting in Runcorn and Helsby in recent months we encountered voters of all persuasions who said they simply either wouldn’t vote, or would do so very reluctantly. This potential result - splitting Labour and Reform UK by just four votes - shows that every vote truly does count. If the result stands - and we expect a formal declaration in about an hour - it would be hand Reform UK one of the narrowest parliamentary majorities in recent UK political history. Since World War Two, two constituencies have been won by just two votes each, according to the BBC - once by the Liberal Democrats in 1997 and another by the Scottish National Party in 2017. Update from Doncaster: Votes are still being counted in Doncaster, where it is impossible to tell which way things will go. Labour’s Ros Jones, in a burgundy suit, said she was still hopeful but if she didn’t win she would accept the electorate’s decision. “That’s how democracy works,” she said. She has been walking around the floor, with lots of people stopping to speak to her. Meanwhile, no sign of Reform’s candidate Alex Jones. He was visibly nervous speaking to party members at a Reform event when he shared a stage with Nigel Farage a couple of weeks ago, and this evening some are joking that he’s worried he might actually win. This is astonishing. There’s going to be a full recount in the Runcorn and Helsby byelection as Reform UK were ahead by just four votes. The mood in the count centre is one of utter disbelief. If the recount returns the same result, Reform UK will have overturned one of Labour’s safest seats by just four votes. Drama in Runcorn: Candidates in the key Runcorn and Helsby byelection are being gathered because “a couple of doubtful votes” need to be checked, a senior council official has said. That’s an indication of how close this contest will be. The parties are being given provisional results, before Labour and Reform UK decide whether to call a full recount. That’s the territory we’re in. More in from North Lincolnshire: Reform UK candidate Dame Andrea Jenkyns was ahead after the first declaration in the contest to become the first North Lincolnshire mayor. Boston Borough Council, one of the nine authorities that make up the mayoral area, said Dame Andrea had 7,285 votes, ahead of Conservatives (2,695), Lincolnshire Independents (1,193), Labour (897), Green (774) and Liberal Democrat (513). Reform’s deputy leader Richard Tice earlier said the party was “absolutely smashing it” in the contest, where Dame Andrea - a former Tory minister - is on course to win. In the 2016 referendum, 75.6% of people in Boston voted to leave the EU - the highest proportion in the UK. The tensions between Andrea Jenkyns, Reform UK’s candidate for the Greater Lincolnshire mayoralty, and her old Conservative colleagues were on display following her arrival at the county centre in Grimsby. After arriving at the count centre, she was seen to embrace her Labour rival, Jason Stockwood, the tech investor and former chair of Grimsby Town Football Club, while she kept her distance from the Conservative candidate, Rob Waltham. Jenkyns, who has been criticised by Waltham for not living in the area and at one stage faced accusations she was not eligible to stand, told the Guardian: “The figures are looking good and while a lot has yet to come hopefully it’s going to go my way.” The former Conservative MP and minister said the results tonight were a key staging post in Reform’s project to win the next general election. “Reform getting into places of power for the first time and we have to show we can deliver. We are going to be under scrutiny and if we can show what we can do then it will be a blueprint for government,” she added. Jenkyns has promised “Doge Lincolnshire” to cut government waste – a reference to Elon Musk’s “department of government efficiency” in the US – and used the slogan “No to net zero madness” in her campaign. The battle for the Runcorn and Helsby by-election has come down to “within a hundred votes,” according to candidates briefed by local officials. A number of the ballot papers are being recounted because it’s so close. It’s “incredibly tight,” the acting returning officer told the candidates. This is quite a dramatic turn of events after Nigel Farage was planning to make a grand entrance. The Reform UK leader is believed to be waiting in a car outside the count centre, presumably ready to make an appearance if his party wins. The full North Tyneside mayoral result is in: Labour hold Karen Clark (Lab) 16,230 (30.22%) John Falkenstein (Reform) 15,786 (29.39%) Liam Bones (C) 11,017 (20.51%) Chloe-Louise Reilly (Green) 3,980 (7.41%) John Appleby (LD) 3,453 (6.43%) Cath Davis (Ind) 1,780 (3.31%) Martin Uren (Ind) 1,460 (2.72%) Lab maj 444 (0.83%) Electorate 159,717; Turnout 53,706 (33.63%) Reform UK’s deputy leader Richard Tice said there was a “seismic shift” in politics taking place, PA reports. He told Sky News that Reform was “absolutely smashing it” in Lincolnshire, with Dame Andrea Jenkyns on course to win the regional mayoral race and the party set for “very good” results in the county council contest. He said: “There’s no doubt in my mind, I think Andrea Jenkyns has won this race in Greater Lincolnshire for the mayoral and I think we are going to have a very, very good night in terms of the county council.” Mr Tice said the Runcorn and Helsby by-election was “very, very close, nip-and-tuck, way too close to call”. He said there was a “seismic shift going on tonight in British politics, where Reform is is taking huge chunks of votes and seats from both the two main parties”. More from Josh Halliday, who is reporting live from Runcorn: Farage is expected to arrive at the Runcorn and Helsby byelection count imminently. I asked a Reform official whether that means they’ve won, and he replied with a broad grin. Labour figures, meanwhile, are looking pretty grim-faced. There’s still no sign of their candidate. Keep an eye on the all the results as they come in with our live update tracker below. The Doncaster mayoral count has just begun. A total of 32% of the electorate turned out to vote, which is up from 28% in 2021. Postal vote turnout was 61%. This could be an upset for Labour, with Ros Jones, the incumbent who has won three mayoral elections, facing a hefty challenge from Reform. The younger party has a younger candidate in Alex Jones (no relation), an inexperienced politician in his 30s who works as a model and a forex trader. Whoever wins here is likely to take the full council, votes for which are being counted tomorrow, with the result arriving early evening. If Reform take Doncaster council, it will be the first time Labour has not been the largest party here since it was established 50 years ago. In a solid red heartland, such a seismic shift would tell Keir Starmer everything he needs to know about how the public think the prime minister and his cabinet is performing. Nigel Farage is believed to be on his way to the Runcorn and Helsby byelection count - perhaps the strongest signal yet that Reform UK expects a narrow victory over Labour. The result would be a huge blow to Sir Keir Starmer in one of the party’s safest seats. Labour’s Karen Clark won with 30% of the vote, compared to Reform on 29%, with the Conservatives on 21%. The result came ahead of increasing jitters that Nigel Farage’s populist right party would pull off one of the surprises of the night in what would be a major steal from Labour. Nevertheless, Reform’s gains appears to have been largely at the expense of Labour. Reacting on BBC, Science Minister Peter, said: “A win is a win. We understand these are parts of the country that have real desperate need for change.” “This is a good result for Labour. It shows that Labour is still in contention in parts of the country where we keep on being told that we are not.” We think a result might be fairly close in the closely watched seat of Runcorn and also in Helsby. “It’s very close,” says a Reform UK official, although they definitely look the happier of any of the contenders right now. Candidates have just been summoned to examine some of the spoiled ballots - those which haven’t been counted as a valid vote - and one observer notes: “I’ve seen more drawings of penises than I’ve ever seen in my life”. Another said there was a lot of “four letter words” directed at the parties. Reform UK’s deputy leader Richard Tice says he has ‘no doubt’ his party’s candidate has ‘convincingly won’ one of the biggest prizes of the night - the mayoralty of the newly created Greater Lincolnshire Combined County Authority. Reform’s candidate, Andrea Jenkyns, has yet to arrive at the count centre here in the town of Grimsby. He was much less bullish about the Runcorn by-election, saying he was “hearing some encouraging things.” To be clear, we don’t yet have results from Greater Lincolnshire or Runcorn. Hertfordshire County results: Votes for six of Hertfordshire County Council’s 78 seats were counted overnight by Broxbourne Borough Council, which traditionally is one of the earliest to announce general election results. Conservatives won four of the seats and Reform UK the other two, on a turnout of 27.64%. The full results for Hertfordshire are not expected until late on Friday afternoon. The Conservatives previously controlled the council with 43 seats. Reform UK has won three of the first five wards declared at Northumberland County Council, with Labour and the Conservatives picking up one each, PA reports. There are 67 seats on the council, with the Conservatives defending 33, Labour 18, the Liberal Democrats four and Greens two, while there were 10 independent councillors. Guardian reporter Ben Quinn is at Grimsby town hall where the ballot boxes are arriving. Another key prize of the night is the mayoralty of the Greater Lincolnshire Combined County Authority, a newly created entity that brings together a demographically diverse land mass. Traditionally Labour-leaning industrial towns such as Scunthorpe in the north are welded together with farmland and prosperous market towns to the south including Grantham, popular with London commuters. As well as local issues, different national policies are also playing out. In the area around the industrial town of Scunthorpe for example, some expected that Britain’s governing Labour Party could get a bounce from the move by the government to take control of a Chinese-owned British steel mill last month. As I also reported from southern Lincolnshire, anger among some rural communities towards solar farms has also been seized on by the populist Reform Party where its anti Net Zero policies have found receptive ears. Labour and Reform UK officials appeared tense as votes were counted through the night at DCBL stadium, the home of Widnes Vikings rugby league club, just across the mouth of the River Mersey from Runcorn. The battle for Runcorn and Helsby has been billed as the first key test of Reform UK’s ability to topple Britain’s historic two-party system at the next general election. As many as 153 Labour MPs in England and Wales risk losing their seats to Nigel Farage’s party if it continues its surge in popularity, a recent poll suggested. Campaigners from both parties repeatedly said the result was “too close to call”, downplaying talk of a decisive victory for either side. There was no sign of either Labour or Reform UK candidate with almost an hour to go before the expected result, although the Reform UK chair, Zia Yusuf, did make an appearance for a brief television interview. Turnout in the contest was a higher-than-expected 46.33%, which some on the count floor attributed to the “Farage factor” – a reference to the Reform UK leader’s ability to provoke strong opinion on either side. Fifteen candidates are contesting this by-election but in reality it is a two-horse race between Labour and Reform UK, although there had been little enthusiasm from many voters for either party. One independent candidate said the race had been “defined by who people don’t want to vote for - not who people do want to vote for”. What’s at stake? These elections are being seen as the first full-scale electoral test for Keir Starmer since the general election, with likely notable repercussions for Nigel Farage and Kemi Badenoch, and to a lesser extent the Liberal Democrats and Greens. Up for grabs are more than 1,600 council seats in 23 councils. In the last local elections, in May 2021 when Boris Johnson was still prime minister, Conservatives won nearly 1,000 of them. But today, the dynamic is very different . County councils across England are being elected on 1 May, along with four regional mayors. Find out which areas are voting and search for your own in this handy tracker. The right-wing populist Reform UK is bullish about its chances of winning two new mayoral posts that have been created with significant powers in the north east of England and are among the biggest prizes of the night, writes the Guardian’s Ben Quinn. That includes the race to be the new mayor of the Greater Lincolnshire Combined County Authority, where a former Conservative MP and minister, Andrea Jenkyns, is Reform’s candidate. The race is largely regarded as being between Reform and the traditionally dominant party of the right, the Conservative Party, and success there for Reform would mark a major moment in its project to displace its rival on the right. However, sources in Reform were also expressing confidence that Luke Campbell, a former Olympic boxer with zero political experience, would also win the mayoralty of the Hull and East Yorkshire Combined Authority. Polls in advance of the election had suggested the race was too close to call. The party has been talking up its prospects in the contest based on what it says were early tallies – informal scores – of voting in Lincolnshire, where County Council elections were also held. “Based on what we’ve seen, we are outpacing the Conservative candidate at least two to one in the south of Lincolnshire,” said one source, who admitted that it would be “harder” for the party in northern, more urban and traditionally more Labour-leaning, areas. “The north will be different but it’s clear that we are smashing it in Tory heartlands.” Zia Yusuf, chair of Reform UK has spoken to BBC Newsnight from the Runcorn by-election count, saying he thinks it will be a historic night for the party. I think we are going to win hundreds of council seats; we stand a really good chance of taking control of some councils for the first time as Reform UK, and I think that we will win at least one, perhaps even two mayoral races. As I said, I think it is going to be a historic night for Reform, and in the context, I think this is probably the most... important set of council elections in this country’s history because it marks an end to the stranglehold, that duopoly of the two old parties that they have had on British politics for about a century now.” Where we are: Vote counting is underway, with early results starting to trickle in. All eyes are on whether Labour could lose a previously safe Commons seat, and whether the Tories take a blow across the country. Nigel Farage’s Reform UK could deal major blows to both Labour and the Conservatives, while the Liberal Democrats and the Greens are also confident of success at the expense of the two biggest Westminster parties, write PA media. Battles to watch include whether Keir Starmer’s Labour party can hold on to the Runcorn and Helsby seat in the Commons, with Reform hoping to take a seat the governing party won convincingly at the 2024 general election. Meanwhile, Kemi Badenoch faces her first test as Tory leader as the party braced for a difficult set of results, with both Reform and the Lib Dems hopeful of stealing council seats last contested in 2021 at the height of Boris Johnson’s popularity with Conservative voters. Good morning and welcome to our blog covering results in 24 English local council elections, six mayoral races and the byelection in Runcorn and Helsby. Reform have mounted a fierce challenge to try to overturn the near-15,000 Labour majority in Runcorn. The byelection, the first since last year’s general election, was triggered when Mike Amesbury resigned after being given a suspended prison sentence for punching a constituent, an incident captured on video. Reform are also predicted to do well in some of the mayoral contests, which would be worrying for Labour. Meanwhile the council results are forecast to be grim for the Conservatives. Their leader, Kemi Badenoch, has already ruled out resigning, and has said that the party’s current unpopularity “just has to be got through”. In an interview on Tuesday, she said: This is something that we have said has to be got through. We’ve got to get through this initial period where the public rejected Conservatism. Last year [at the general election], they voted whatever they could to get Conservatives out. We have a job to do to fix the brand. Anyone who thinks that this is an overnight task and that changing leader yet again is the solution is not paying attention. The public are quite tired of watching us change leader. Follow along with us for all the news.
Author: Andrew Sparrow (now) and Kate Lamb (earlier)