we wa nt we want that general election and we are confident going into that general election, because what this by—election shows is that the country wants change. the lib dems have retained all the councils they held, while its been a strong night for the green party. this is the live scene of counting taking place in stockton and nottingham. we'll bring you the latest. hello, i'm lewis vaughanjones. plenty of results to pick through. but a big caveat, not all results are in yet. we may have to wait until saturday for the full picture of what has happened.

but so far, it looks like the conservatives are having a rough time. they've lost around half of the council seats they were defending — that's similar to how they performed in 1995, two years before they were crushed at a general election. labour, the greens and the liberal democrats all made gains. and labour are celebrating a victory in the blackpool south by—election, with a huge swing from the conservatives. with the story of the night, here's our political correspondent damian grammaticas. ..commonly known as chris, labour party 10,825. cheering. blackpool south, a little before 5am, and a decisive labour victory. they were confident of emerging winners in the by election, but this was emphatic. they have said to rishi sunak and to the conservatives they've had enough. they've had enough for m years of the conservatives being in power. they have lost trust of the british people and blackpool has had enough of this failed government. the conservatives, who had held the seat, were beaten into second place. but the shock for tories will be

that reform very nearly pushed them into third. they didn't get brexit done properly, they didn't cut immigration and people are tired — sick and tired — of the tory incompetence and lies. we're done with it. we're done with the tories. it's time for change. it's time for reform. and the first council of the night to change control, hartlepool. labour and co—operative party 2,649 votes. the conservatives lost six councillors here. labour in charge again. the win is symbolic for them, clawing back lost ground. day, thomas william, labour party. 806. cheering. in rushmoor in hampshire, labour have taken control directly from the conservatives. boundary changes helped here, but it's also been gaining wards from tories. mounting losses, an unwelcome sight for the conservative minister at the count. cheering.

and in north east lincolnshire, more labour cheer. wow. conservatives lost control of the council here. grimsby is exactly the sort of place labour will hope to win back at the general election. sadly, in local elections, they tend to mirror the polls at national level, and clearly it's a statement of the obvious. we're far behind in the polls nationally and people have followed through at local level. but there are warning signs for labour, too. in oldham, labour lost control of the council. in areas with substantial numbers of muslim voters, it's shed support, losing wards. and elsewhere the greens have been picking up votes, often at labour's expense. voters are really, really sick of this conservative government and the way they've run this country into the ground over the last 14 years. but they're not really feeling inspired by what keir starmer�*s labour party is offering. in stockport, where they processed the votes in a car park,

liberal democrats won a couple of wards from labour, modest advances. but the battlegrounds they care about most are yet to start tallying. we're expecting to see gains, we're expecting to see good progress, specifically in the areas where we hope to win parliamentary seats. and i do hereby declare that carol ann shevlin—ney is duly elected. so the picture emerging is one of labour chalking up gains, conservatives slipping back and smaller parties winning support from both of them. damian grammaticus, bbc news. let's get some analysis on the results that have come through overnight. our political correspondent, nick eardley, is in the newsroom. takeit take it away. yes, this is a big moment in the electoral cycle because it's the biggest sense of where the public are at before a general election. let's start with the big picture this lunchtime. there is a long way to go, but with

35 of the 107 councils, sorry, 37, in england declared, this is the picture. labour having a good night so far, up 5a councillors, the conservatives are having a very bad time so far, down 126. that will worry them. lib dems are having a pretty good time, greens as well doing all right, and an interesting increase in the number of independents. there is something we can dive into further. this is the state of the parties. labour up three, conservatives down three. this is the number that will be watched very closely in the party hqs, to give us a sense of the popularity or otherwise each party. the conservatives down 14% compared to 2021 when the seats were last contested. labour up five, to 2021 when the seats were last contested. labour upfive, other parties two or three. in terms of

what has been interesting, we had picked out a few results that are worth flagging. redditch was conservatives and is now labour, same in rushmore. hartlepool and thurrock, did not have any control, they were hung councils and are now labour. all of that will hearten keir starmer. in old and it's really interesting, i will explain this in a minute. —— holden. if you are a conservative watching you are depressed about this, there is a small glimmer of hope in harlow and in fareham, where it's been a devastatingly bad night, but they have held on. let's delve into specific examples that will tell the story of what has happened. redditch. at the bottom, you might be able to pick out the blue. been conservative run for years, but not

any more. 21 labour councillors now, compared to just five conservatives. a comfortable majority for labour. here's why. this is what changed, labour up ten and the conservatives down 11. redditch is a place we refer to as a bellwether. the parties look at redditch because they think it's indicative of what is being said in the rest of the country and gives them a sense of the mood. this result has hardened labour hq. -- the mood. this result has hardened labour hq. -— hearten. rushmore in hampshire, another area that has been conservatives for years. not any more. this the percentage of votes the parties have got, labour on a8, conservatives 37. there is the change in those percentages. labour up 16%, conservatives down 17%. that will worry rishi sunak this lunchtime. not all good news

for labour. one trend that is not the biggest story of the night but is an important one is something we saw in oldham in greater manchester, labour have controlled this for years but do not any more. this is why. the number of independents has stopped labour getting a majority. labour lost five seats and the independence won seven. there's five seats, it lost the people who stood against the party's platform on gaza, the war in gaza and said, we do not agree with your policy and would do it differently and they are five of those seven independents. if you are labour trying to work out if your community might be affected by the war in gaza, this will make you nervous. it's not the biggest problem in the world for labour but on a night at has broadly been a good result for the party, this will

be because of nervousness. find good result for the party, this will be because of nervousness. and there was a bur-election _ be because of nervousness. and there was a by-election as _ be because of nervousness. and there was a by-election as well, _ be because of nervousness. and there was a by-election as well, and - be because of nervousness. and there was a by-election as well, and ump i was a by—election as well, and ump in blackpool south. run us through that. , , , that. this is the result in blackpool _ that. this is the result in blackpool south. - that. this is the result in blackpool south. three i that. this is the result in - blackpool south. three years ago, labour lost a by—election in hartlepool. there was a question about how the party was doing in parts of the country it had traditionally done well. one was blackpool south, because it was conservative at the last general election but look at this. labour have won by a stonking majority, 7600 votes more than the conservatives, and the tories will be really worried about this number. mark butcher from the reform party, the successor to nigel faraj�*s brexit party, almost beat the conservative candidate, only 117 votes in that, really close and will worry conservative ho. here are the

percentages. look at that tory votes change, it has collapsed, down by more than a third that is a big change for the conservative party. labour up 21 and reform uk on 11%. up labour up 21 and reform uk on 11%. up 11%. this one is the one i think is probably the graphic of the night. look at this. it's a huge swing from the conservatives to labour. 26% will really make conservative mps looking at this result wondering what it might mean for them nervousness morning. that is the biggest swing from conservatives to labour since the second world war, worth reflecting that the other two swings have come in recent years as well, big by—election wins for labour. lots of tory mps will be going over these results trying to figure out what it means for a general election, looking at that and will be worried. thank you, nick. the election result

in blackpool south was pretty clear. labour leader sir keir starmer was in blackpool this morning and spoke to our politcal correspondent helen catt. we want that general election and we are confident going into that general election because what this by—election shows is that the country wants change. this is a very clear divide. we've had 1a years of failure and decline. we've just got chaos and division from the tories. people want to turn the page on that and go forward with labour and our positive plan for the country. yes. why so cautious when you've had such a big win? we want a general election. we want to win that general election. we want to take our country forward. and i thank every single person who voted labour yesterday and put their trust in a changed labour party. but politics and by—elections are about messages and obviously there's a lot of discussion now. what does this mean? i think it's really straightforward. people have had enough. they want to turn the page.

they want to go forward with labour. they know we've got a positive case. and i think now, you know, that's a direct message to the prime minister, the most direct of all these results that we're coming, many are in, more to come. but this was a direct message to the prime minister, which is, you know, make way, let's have a general election. let's allow our country now to go forward. and just quickly, before i let you move on to some other people. how concerned are you about the impact your gaza position is having on your vote in some areas of the country? well, obviously, i'm concerned wherever we lose votes and we intend to win any votes we've lost back. but there's no denying that across the country, whether it's hartlepool in the north or rushmoor in the south or redditch, the bellwether seat, we are winning votes across the country and that i think reflects a changed labour party with a positive case to take to the country. so i am very pleased with the results. blackpool is an incredible result but we're picking up seats

where we need them in other parts of the country as well. that was keir starmer in blackpool. let's cross live to blackpool and our reporter rowan bridge. a very happy local labour party and a happy labour leader as well. after? a happy labour leader as well. very much so i knew _ a happy labour leader as well. very much so i knew could _ a happy labour leader as well. - much so i knew could tell the confidence and buoyancy keir starmer had got from this result. it was clear pretty early on last night that labour were going to take this seat but i think even they must be surprised by the scale of that victory, as nick was saying, 26% swing from the conservatives to labour, one of the biggest into the second world war. the other party that feeling please this evening, today, our reform uk, what used to be the brexit party. richard tice had been out this morning saying they are pleased with their results.

labour has stolen a chunk of the conservative vote but a chunk went to reform uk, almost forcing the conservatives into third place last night. the conservatives only held on byjust over 100 votes, so a good night for labour. reform uk are happy, differs pointing —— a disappointing result for the conservatives however they tried to spin it. conservatives however they tried to sin it. ~ . .,, conservatives however they tried to sinit.~ ., conservatives however they tried to sin it. ~ ., ., spin it. what was the message from the new mp — spin it. what was the message from the new mp in _ spin it. what was the message from the new mp in his _ spin it. what was the message from the new mp in his victory _ spin it. what was the message from the new mp in his victory speech? l the new mp in his victory speech? the tone for labour is that they are calling for a general election, unsurprisingly they feel they are on a roll at the moment, consistently polling at 20% over conservatives and they feel momentum is with them and they feel momentum is with them and a result like blackpool south helps with that. they have been buoyed by some of the local factors here as well in blackpool south, scott benton, the former mp who resigned and was caught in a

lobbying scandal, that tarnished the conservative brand here. it's worth noting that people like us are paying a lot of attention to this and the national parties are paying and the national parties are paying a lot of attention to the result here, and the impact of that, but the turnout itself is only around a third. two thirds of voters in blackpool south did not turn out, so if you walk up and down the seafront, for a lot of people, the result is something they didn't participate in and probably have not paid much attention to. a, participate in and probably have not paid much attention to.— participate in and probably have not paid much attention to. a good note of caution. paid much attention to. a good note of caution- we _ paid much attention to. a good note of caution. we should _ paid much attention to. a good note of caution. we should be _ paid much attention to. a good note of caution. we should be wary - paid much attention to. a good note of caution. we should be wary of. of caution. we should be wary of turnout and that issue of translating local elections international projections or predictions. very strong note of caution with any of that. thank you. a short while ago, we spoke to the leader of reform uk,

richard tice, and started off by asked him if he was frustrated that his party didn't beat the conservatives into second place. it would have been great, but nevertheless, we are delighted with 17%, its above our national polling average, our best by—election result, and what it shows actually, with great local candidates, more and more people are hearing about reform uk and they like the message they hear, and everybody knew labour would win this but if you look at the collapse in the tory vote, they went from 50% down to 17%. this is a seismic shift. went from 5096 down to 17%. this is a seismic shift-— went from 5096 down to 1796. this is a seismic shift-— seismic shift. what about the idea for voters that _ seismic shift. what about the idea for voters that actually _ seismic shift. what about the idea for voters that actually you - seismic shift. what about the idea for voters that actually you did - for voters that actually you did very well given national voucher and the things you mentioned, nobody will dispute that, but it's still nowhere near actually winning a seat, so what does that say to voters in the area?—

seat, so what does that say to voters in the area? that says we have the wrong _ voters in the area? that says we have the wrong electoral - voters in the area? that says we j have the wrong electoral system voters in the area? that says we i have the wrong electoral system in this country because it is patiently unfair, if you are getting 17% of votes across the country, but because of our system you can't get any seats, that shows democracy isn't working. that's why most western nations have some proportional representation. the irony is that tories are collapsing so fast, soon they will be begging for proportional representation to stop the annihilation of the tory party, so wouldn't that be a thing of? . ., ., ., ., , party, so wouldn't that be a thing of? . ., ., ., .,, , of? electoral reform has been high on the agenda _ of? electoral reform has been high on the agenda but _ of? electoral reform has been high on the agenda but no _ of? electoral reform has been high on the agenda but no such - of? electoral reform has been high on the agenda but no such shift - of? electoral reform has been high on the agenda but no such shift in| on the agenda but no such shift in the offing. let's talk about, away from blackpool south, the rest of the evening. what is your assessment of reform uk's performance? the first votes out _ of reform uk's performance? tue: first votes out were of reform uk's performance? tte: first votes out were actually of reform uk's performance? tt2 first votes out were actually in the north—east, and we beat the tories in 16 of 25 awards. significantly outperforming our national polling share. we are delighted, we've got

some very important mayo results being counted, again in the north—east, manchester, and we could surprise people on the upside. one thing becoming rapidly cleared as basically, as more people hear about reform uk, we are becoming the real opposition to the labour party in the north, the midlands, wales, we are on the way up. it's clear the tories on the way down. tt are on the way up. it's clear the tories on the way down.- are on the way up. it's clear the tories on the way down. if you say ou are tories on the way down. if you say you are becoming _ tories on the way down. if you say you are becoming the _ tories on the way down. if you say you are becoming the opposition l tories on the way down. if you say| you are becoming the opposition to the labour party in some areas, is the labour party in some areas, is the truth not that if they vote for you, they take votes away from the conservatives and they get labour? the more reform voters, the more opportunities we can get. there is no difference between the two parties. the highest government spending for 70 years, higher taxation for 70 years, the worst public sector outcomes, west grove 70 years, and the longest per person recession we are in for 70 years. ——

the worst growth for 70 years. labour's plans will not achieve any economic growth whatsoever. we hear nothing on that. we have a bold plan to make work pay, to get to zero waiting list on health care, absolutely essential, and so many areas of british life that need fundamental reform. you areas of british life that need fundamental reform. you said word was getting — fundamental reform. you said word was getting out _ fundamental reform. you said word was getting out about _ fundamental reform. you said word was getting out about reform - fundamental reform. you said word was getting out about reform uk . fundamental reform. you said word l was getting out about reform uk and people were hearing about you, if that was your ambition, nigel farage is pretty well—known across the uk and you want him to stand, don't you? and you want him to stand, don't ou? ., , , you? the more help nigelfeels he can aive, you? the more help nigelfeels he can give. the _ you? the more help nigelfeels he can give, the better, _ you? the more help nigelfeels he can give, the better, he _ you? the more help nigelfeels he can give, the better, he has - you? the more help nigelfeels he can give, the better, he has a - you? the more help nigelfeels he can give, the better, he has a big. can give, the better, he has a big decision to make a clock is ticking, because the general election might because the general election might be a summer election. there are a number of circumstances why it could be in the summer. the more help nigel can give, the better, but he thought he had left front line

politics. we trusted the tories in 2019 to get brexit done properly, they messed up and had their chance and that is why we are saying, we must become the real opposition to labour's socialism. he was saying it was a good neighbour his party, but it's been a good night for other smaller parties. lib dems and the for example. adrian ramsay is co—leader of the green party of england and wales. hejoins me now live from westminster. what do you make of the performance of the greens, above or below expectations?— of the greens, above or below exectations? ~ , . ., ., , expectations? above expectations, it's been an — expectations? above expectations, it's been an excellent _ expectations? above expectations, it's been an excellent night - expectations? above expectations, it's been an excellent night and - expectations? above expectations, it's been an excellent night and we | it's been an excellent night and we are untracked for a fifth election in a row to get a record number of green councillors elected right across the country, and it is that national performance that is particularly encouraging for me. we have made ray through is, winning ourfirst have made ray through is, winning our first councillors have made ray through is, winning ourfirst councillors in have made ray through is, winning our first councillors in places like newcastle, sefton and redditch, we have added to our counsellor numbers

and all corners of england, in places like exeter, peterborough, south tyneside. and we have shown yet again that right across the country, in urban areas and rural winning seats from labour and conservatives, greens are a national force, winning seating national governments in all corners of the country and people know if they want positive change, with a hard—working green who will work for their community and their future, they can get that in local elections and general election as well. he stretched — general election as well. he stretched it _ general election as well. he stretched it to the general election but you know full well a good performance in local elections will not translate to mps in westminster seats across the country, will it? we have the excellent foundations now for building our support in parts of the country where we have the best chance of gaining green mps. if you look at place like

herefordshire, bristol, east anglia where i am based, the seats in those places we have a big concentration of green councillors where we are now the main opposition to the incumbent and people can see that if they want a change, they want a strong green advocate for their community and in parliament, we can get those green voices there. based on the national polls, we are expecting a change of government and people clearly once that but do we want labour to have a huge majority and be able to do whatever it once or would it be betterfor democracy to have more of a diversity of voices in parliament, including green mps to speak up on the biggest issues of our time, on the breakdown of our climate and nature, on growing inequality in society, and public services being stretched and needing the funding that greens are willing to advocate? we desperately need those voices at a national level too. t need those voices at a national level toe-— need those voices at a national leveltoo. , ., . ., _ level too. i spoke to richard tyson from reform _ level too. i spoke to richard tyson from reform uk, _ level too. i spoke to richard tyson from reform uk, i _ level too. i spoke to richard tyson from reform uk, i don't _ level too. i spoke to richard tyson from reform uk, i don't know-

level too. i spoke to richard tysonj from reform uk, i don't know how much you agree with him on in general politics but he wants electoral reform. he says his party's vote electoral reform. he says his pa rty�*s vote share realistically won't get him the representation at westminster he thinks he deserves. do you agree with him? that westminster he thinks he deserves. do you agree with him?— westminster he thinks he deserves. do you agree with him? that might be the only thing — do you agree with him? that might be the onlv thing i— do you agree with him? that might be the only thing i agree _ do you agree with him? that might be the only thing i agree with _ do you agree with him? that might be the only thing i agree with him - do you agree with him? that might be the only thing i agree with him on, - the only thing i agree with him on, and that it —— there are lots of things we must do to restore faith and trust in our democracy, which has been shattered recently, and a fairing motor system is something i would like, but what i would put in front of you is the fact that the greens are doing really well under the electoral system we have got. you mention reform uk, but if you look at the bbc�*s own website, the total number of reform councillors elected last night was zero and they had ten into this election. the green party has 750 councillors elected across the country. our strategy is not about shaving off a few votes here and there from another party but getting greens

elected at all levels of government to be strong advocates for our communities and for a fairer society. we are learning to save the nhs is at breaking point and people cannot get access to local dentists, bus services have been eroded and the very richest in society should be asked to pay even modestly more in tax, enabling us to invest billions in our public services, as well as a transition to a greener economy with all the jobs and opportunities for bringing down people's bills that brings with it. we will only get those changes with a strong green voice in parliament, which is why we're focused not only on shaving off a few votes here and there but getting greens elected as we have been doing in record numbers over the last few elections, and we looked set for another record set of results during today. —— we looked set. results during today. -- we looked set. . ., results during today. -- we looked set. ., ~ , ., results during today. -- we looked set. ., ~ ., ., set. thank you for coming on the programme- _

let's speak to our politcal correspondent, ben wright, who joins us live from westminster. a bit ofa a bit of a lull at the moment while we wait for more councils to declare. just over a third so far who have had elections had given us their results and there will be quite a rush as we head towards lunchtime and the afternoon, we will get many more results. the big picture at the moment, and it's a partial one because we haven't had the majority of councils declare and we haven't had my oral results, is that the tories are doing badly. we must remember that the comparison we are making is to how the conservatives performed in 2021, seats up for grabs this time, the vast majority were last contested then when the tories are doing very well. borisjohnson was prime minister, the tory party was doing well, the vaccine had just been rolled out, he had a huge by—election win in hartlepool, he went up there and there was a

gigantic borisjohnson limp over the harbour. keir starmer is contemplating resigning and the talk was of the tories being in powerfor a decade. today feels a very long way away from that and the early results seem to mirror the opinion polls, that the tories are in a dl et al. hole. some of the councils that stand out, hartlepool. —— are in a very deep electoral hole. there are good wins for the labour party and will cause further despondency in tory ho. what the conservatives are hoping for is some of those big male contests, two in particular, the conservative mayor in the tees valley and the tory mayor in the west midlands are hoping desperately for one or both of them to be real elected. if that happens, that could shift the narrative quite a lot.

let's treat the elections in their own right for a second. broadly underline the significance of local elections, democratic exercises, but day—to—day impact on people's lives. councils are responsible for large budgets and deliver the services people most experienced day—to—day. in their communities, and that is why the make—up of a council really matters to people. we should not forget that. that is why millions of people voted yesterday, it's about local services. inevitably, this is seen as a snapshot of the national mood. the electoral suffer logistical later will come up with a projected national share and an indication of what may happen in terms of the parties' national support, when the results are extrapolated across the country. we are months away from a general

election so this has a very big bearing on the mood of all of the parties at westminster. as i said, so far, they are confirming what the polls are showing, which is that labour are doing very well and the conservatives badly. one of the big questions going into these elections was whether the results could be so bad for the tories that it might uncork another panic of rebellion among the tory party backbenchers and a potential possible move to replace rishi sunak. we are nowhere near that moment right now, but what will happen over the next a8—hours, we shall see. will happen over the next ab-hours, we shall see-— we shall see. thank you. we will take a moment _ we shall see. thank you. we will take a moment to _ we shall see. thank you. we will take a moment to look— we shall see. thank you. we will take a moment to look at - we shall see. thank you. we will l take a moment to look at different male elections. we will head to the east midlands first. east midland mayoral election, peter saull, political editor for the east midlands. he joins us live from nottingham. i'm at the nottingham tennis centre, where the east midlands mayo county

is about to get under way. —— east midlands mayo accounting. it's the first time here they have had a directly elected metro meier. a lot of talk about the west midlands and the tees valley, but this one in the east midlands will also give a really interesting indication of where the parties are at nationally. lots of attention on this one, it is a straight two horse race between labour and the conservatives. at the moment, it's labour sounding much more confident than the tories, the conservatives i've spoken to this morning pointing to a much more difficult national picture, they believe they have a strong candidate in the mp for mansfield, ben bradley, but he is feeling a little despondent at the moment. labour much more confident with claire ward, a former labour mp during the layer and brown years, covering derbyshire and nottinghamshire. not necessarily the whole of the region,

leicestershire not included in that, but a huge area, 2.2 million people. a large geographic one stretching from the peak district to south nottinghamshire. lots of attention on this one nationally, we will get the counting under way in about half an hour's time, the result due between one and two o'clock. {slate an hour's time, the result due between one and two o'clock. give us an indication — between one and two o'clock. give us an indication of _ between one and two o'clock. give us an indication of the _ between one and two o'clock. give us an indication of the kind _ between one and two o'clock. give us an indication of the kind of— between one and two o'clock. give us an indication of the kind of role - an indication of the kind of role and powers this political post has. different parts of the country have ranges of powers so city can in london is responsible for quite a lot but less so here in the east midlands. the main kind of areas there will be responsible for our public transport, housing provision, skills and training, so further education. ultimately they will be responsible for hundreds of pounds of central government funding and we are going to get more metro