tory triumph in the local elections — the best result for the conservatives since 2008. amid the celebrations, the party and the prime minister are careful not to look complacent before the general election. i'm not taking anything for granted. i will be going out for the remaining weeks of this at a rally tonight, labour take heart from some successes but overall suffer terrible losses. we have had very dispointing results, yes, but we have to go out there in the next four weeks and get the message out of the kind of country we could be. questions about ukip's future, as they lose every seat they contested but one. in scotland, the snp now have the greatest number of seats but the conservatives make significant gains there too. also tonight: the government finally publishes its plan to reduce air pollution but it's criticised for being too unclear. protestors force marine le pen

to leave by the back door on the final day of campaigning in the french election. and west ham put the brakes on tottenham's title hopes tonight. coming up on sportsday on bbc news: we will have the latest reports, results, interviews and features from the bbc sports centre. good evening. the conservatives have made big gains in the local elections, winning seats all across the country from every other party. it's their best result in nearly a decade. as well as taking control of five councils in england and wales, they've made significant gains in scotland. labour has taken a beating, losing control of its former stronghold

of glasgow, amongst others. ukip‘s vote has collapsed, and the liberal democrats had varied fortunes. with all councils now declared, the conservatives have gained 319 seats in england. labour have lost 142 seats, the lib dems have lost 28 and ukip are down 143. in scotland, the snp have lost seven seats, the tories have gained 164, labour have lost 133. in wales, labour have lost 107 seats. the tories have gained 80 seats, plaid cymru have also gained, 33 seats. the lib dems have lost 11 seats. there's been no polling in northern ireland. with all the latest, here's our political editor, laura kuenssberg.

is duly elected as councillor for the said division. blue was the colour. in essex... teesside... derbyshire. .. the lib dems have lost 11 seats. there's been no polling in northern ireland. with all the latest, here's our political editor, laura kuenssberg. is duly elected as councillor for the said division. blue was the colour. in essex... teesside... derbyshire. .. lancashire... south, east, west and north. even in glasgow, where in some parts the tories went out with the ark. the conservative party candidate is duly elected as mayor... and in the marginal midlands, a big win. the area's first ever metro mayor, wearing a tory rosette. this is may's day. this is not about who

wins and who loses in the local elections, it is about continuing to fight for the best brexit deal for families and businesses across the united kingdom. are you still seriously maintaining today you are not looking at a victory and sweeping back into number ten, potentially with a very large majority? i'm not taking anything for granted. i will be going out for the remaining weeks of this general election campaign to earn the support of the british people. and it's labour that's suffering. red spilled in west dunbartonshire, northumberland, nottinghamshire. disappearing in almost every corner. a very bad night for labour. thank you so much for coming. mr corbyn needs a lot more than a brave face. i declare that andy burnham is duly elected as mayor... old faces, but new mayors in manchester and liverpool gave labour something to cheer. but what's this? the leader arrived tonight to celebrate that manchester victory. but the actual winner, andy burnham, was nowhere to be seen. jeremy corbyn has inspired,

but there is a huge question mark. can this kind of support for translate to the whole country? one senior labour figure told me the results were catastrophic. but the leader will hardly admit that. we've had very disappointing results in other parts of the country. yes, we have to go out there in the next four weeks and get a message out. yet with only weeks until the general election, candidates who want to stay on as labour mps are already pointing the finger. it's a pretty disastrous picture. it's simply not good enough for a party that's been in opposition for seven years, and heading towards a general election in five weeks. to not be picking up seats and not making forward progress. a symbol of the party's decline. a totem. labour lost control of glasgow city chambers to they failed to win there outright.

but they are the biggest party by far. the emerging pattern in scotland? a tory comeback. this is a clear and emphatic victory for the snp, it means we've got councillors and council groups across the country able to protect local services. it's also a great launch pad for the general election. in wales, labour lost more than 100 seats. but held cardiff and held back some of the worst. the tories and plaid cymru nibbling away some of their support. defending wales is what plaid cymru is all about. labourare in no position to do that. they've had a majority of mps in wales for decades. and they failed to put wales on the map. but it was ukip that had the worst crash from their heights. their scorecard nearly zero. brexit seeming to challenge their very reason for being. we've won the war, but we haven't yet won the peace. and i would say this: that we need ukip to be there, we need ukip to be strong, ukip is the insurance policy in case brexit doesn't get delivered. and, yes, this is sometimes how seats are decided.

a vote so close candidates draw straws. here, a lib dem had a lucky choice. in what, overall, that party described as "a patchy performance". political speak for "not that much to be proud of, nor disaster instead". the liberal democrats are now your best route to prevent our country and our communities being taken for granted by a conservative landslide. not much sign of the greens becoming a significant force, gaining some small new footholds but losing others along the way. yet in a patchwork of results there was one big winner. on her party's first big day out with her in charge. of course this is not the general election. today's results may not translate directly into what happens next month. and after today theresa may has plenty to be confident about. yet there will be no letup. she and the rest will be straight back out on the trail. laura kuenssberg, bbc news, westminster. well, as we've heard labour have suffered poor

results in the elections. they have lost a number of key strongholds including lancashire, derbyshire and bridgend. but they have taken two of the metro mayoral contests in manchester and liverpool, from where our deputy political he doesn't look very happy, even a bit tense. those defeats and setbacks in the north and the midlands hard to take and then, you'd almost believe labour was having a good day — almost. we've had some difficult results overnight. some have been very good. labour liverpool picked a labour mayor, a moment of comfort for steve rotherham, former mp, his family and his leader and just now, jeremy corbyn could use a little comfort. well, in the light of the results we are seeing now, do you accept you need to raise your game before the general election, or is your campaign now as good as it gets? obviously we need to gain support and i tell you, compared to two years ago, we are doing our best, doing well. we've obviously got a lot further to go. everybody understands that. but there are also a large number

of people who didn't vote in the local elections and a very large number who, sadly, still yet to register to vote and i hope they will all register to vote by 22nd may. labour loyalty runs deep on merseyside, reliable as the mersey ferry. the city goes with labour each time. but now some of that support is going adrift, in the city doubts are creeping in. in some places across the river, labour's in danger, for all the faith of those who wantjeremy corbyn to steer their party and the country. liverpool is labour, you're labour, isjeremy corbyn good for labour? yes, definitely. he is the change the country needs. we've put up with too many people without integrity who can be bought, who are false, who only cared about themselves. he does care about people. dead. he's dead. he's got no personality. no presence. he's got no — he doesn't look strong, helooks weak,

he looks like a wet cod all the time. even though you are agreeing with all he says. i love the guy, i do, i'm honest, i would like him to win but he's never going to win, never going to win, not in a million years. britain's choosing its course beyond the eu and its captain and who leads britain after brexit is a big issue, for some the decider. so you're a labour man. i was, but i won't be doing it this time because i don't trust them to get us out of europe. i think corbyn will the get ripped to bits in the negotiations, so i'm going to switch to the tories this time. jeremy corbyn came here after a bad night and a worse day, to show and tell reasons to be cheerful. liverpool is a labour fortress, but talk to people and it's as clear as day that support is crumbling and labour mps who won, with voting majorities of up to 5,000 and more, are telling me privately they've abandoned hope of holding their seats in parliament. after seven years of tory cuts and austerity, labour's fighting to beat the odds. no—one told jeremy corbyn leading would be easy but he's learned how hard it can be. ukip faces questions

about its future after winning just one of the council seats it was contesting. it's lost all 13 councillors in lincolnshire where its leader, paul nuttall, is running in the general election. he says the party is a victim of its ‘own success'. the former ukip mp, douglas carswell, says it's all over for ukip. 0ur political correspondent alex forsyth reports from boston in lincolnshire. this lincolnshire market town has been ripe ukip turf. boston's seen a surge in migration from eastern europe. more people here backed brexit than anywhere else in britain. but last night, voters abandoned ukip. they were there for a purpose. they got us the referendum and we are getting us out. they did what they set out to do. they are a spent force. i don't think they'll do much now. most of ukip‘s support here and almost all of its county

council seats went to the tories. it's not a local issue but some say they're the party to deliver brexit. i don't think ukip had any idea of how to do it. who do you think does? who do you think can do that? i think we have to rely on the conservative party. i think at the moment the conservatives are the only viable party. i think theresa may is the right person to lead this country, she's strong enough. in recent years, ukip has been a force to be reckoned with. they played a key part in getting the eu referendum, and then the country backed brexit but in these elections their support has collapsed in places like this, where they were once so popular, prompting some to ask whether this is the start of the end for ukip. this is where the party's leader will stand in the general election. today he avoided the cameras, but in a statement, paul nuttal said his party had been a victim of its own success and if the price of britain leaving the eu is a tory advance, it's a price ukip‘s prepared to pay, although he insisted the party

still had a bright future. sue ransom agrees. she lost her council seat last night. her husband failed to win but they say ukip will fight on, despite theresa may encroaching on their territory. has she stolen ukip‘s policy? yes, absolutely. does that mean she's stolen ukip‘s vote? possibly. she's saying what people want to hear. she says what i want to hear. so ukip‘s role now — is what if theresa may's saying what you want to here? guardians of the brexit referendum, that's how we see ourselves. we are here to make sure what17 million people wanted is going to happen and there'll be no back sliding. but having suffered such losses even in its heartlands, it's hard to see where ukip goes from here. the snp is now the largest party

in local government in scotland, winning a31 councillors. the scottish first minister, nicola sturgeon, said her party had won "loud and clear". but the big surprise was the performance of the conservatives, who doubled the number of their council seats, since the last elections, five years ago. they beat labour into third place. let'sjoin our scotland correspondent, lorna gordon in glasgow tonight. yes, glasgow city chambers is the last bastion of labour power here in scotland, and it has gone to the snp's leader. scotland's first minister, nicola sturgeon has called this a fantastic, historic result. good results, too, for the scottish conservatives who are resurge ented and they have made dramatic gains across the country. i should warn you, that my report does contain some flashing images. the hard fought over long sought

after electoral cries of scotland's biggest city. glasgow a labour stronghold for decades, falling to the snp. across the country the nationalists won the most seats overall. but failed to gain majorities. doing well but not as well as some expected. in an election where my party has emerged with the most votes, most six, in the driving seat of most councils, no matter how hard anybody tries to spin that into something else, it's a great win for the snp, one i'm absolutely delighted with. there we re absolutely delighted with. there were big gains for the conservatives, their campaign message — vote tory to protect the union— bearing fruit. sheffield and in the east end of glasgow isn't natural tory territory but the fact they gained a seat here and in other wards previously considered no—go areas for conservatives demonstrates how important the constitutional question has become. it seems that

evenin question has become. it seems that even in local elections now some voters loyalties are being influenced by one question above all others. independence or the union. people across scotland now who are looking for the scottish fight back against the snp, where they've tried to create a sense of momentum and hegemony, know that wherever you are from the borders to the highlands the only party strong enough to lead the only party strong enough to lead the fight back against the snp is the fight back against the snp is the scottish conservatives. the conservatives took votes from labour. across scotland their support slumped with heavy losses in their glasgow heartland and beyond. it's not a surprise in many ways, polls were telling us we were going to get 15%, lose control of every council across the country. that has not happened. labour is the largest party in for macro countries —— four counties last time i checked. disappointed but not a devastating result. the liberal democrats, encourage with their results. we choose local champions for their community who will stick up for the

local community first and foremost, but also there is a clear vote against a second independence referendum and we are the beneficiary of that in those areas, too, so we'll progress for the liberal democrats, it's a good time. the proportional representation used in this election makes overall majority is hard to get, meaning deals now have to be done. a tricky task for all the parties as their focus now shifts to the general election campaign. lorna gordon, bbc news, glasgow. let's turn to wales. 0ur wales correspondent sian lloyd is in cardiff tonight. labour lost seats and control of entire councils. yes, mixed set of results for labour in wales. today it has lost 100 seats. back in 2012 it had a good night. it had gained more than 200 extra counsellors. now it still holds control of some of the big councils. cardiff, swansea and

newport. but it has had setbacks, losses in traditional labour heartlands of the south wales valleys, including merthyr tydfil. many of those losses have been two independent candidates. the conservatives have made some games here, they have gained overall control of monmouthshire and came close in the vale of glamorgan and have added to their tally of councillors. plaid cymru had hoped to gain control of cupidity and, in this morn. if the liberal democrats had hoped to stage some sort of comeback, they are disappointed, because they have lost more seats. lets join our political editor laura kuenssberg, who is in westminsterfor us. the general election is only a month away, how might the results we see today affect how the parties approach these remaining weeks?

it'll have an impact on the psychology of all of these parties and how they approach the campaign. there is a lot to get through, let's ta ke there is a lot to get through, let's take it step—by—step. if you are a tory looking at these tea leaves tonight, you think it looks pretty tasty, not just because tonight, you think it looks pretty tasty, notjust because it appears we are seeing the right coming back together, eurosceptic voters who had gone to ukip switching straight back to theresa may, that is a busy part of their strategy for the general election campaign, and these results suggest it might happen in spades. it also seems to be the tories taking seats behind what you might consider enemy lines, taking council wards in parts of scotland and the north of england where four years being a tory, called a tory, might being a tory, called a tory, might be seen as an insult rather than a political choice. and for the labour party, of course, that's very troublesome. we might have seen jeremy corbyn very defiant tonight with a huge crowd of supporters but behind the scenes there are a lot of

senior people extremely worried about these results, one of them said to me today, there is no measure by which these look anything other than very bad. for the snp, they are hugely dominant in scotland from these results, no question about that. but perhaps having to work a bit harder than they might have expected, perhaps some of the shine coming off for ukip. for ukip the shine is gone. questions tonight over their reason for being. and the lib dems, too, not despondent, but having to work very hard for signs of the comeback they hope they might be able to achieve in this general election. here comes the health warning. local elections are not general elections, not everybody around the country had a chance to vote yesterday and in parts of the country where you were able to go to the polls, turnout, as in any local election, it's pretty low. so these results do not translate automatically into a tory win next month. nothing like it. but there is no question the millions of people went to the polls yesterday, who put

a cross in the box in all sorts of different parts of the country, they have prepared the ground for theresa may to have a bigger victory. laura in westminster, thank you. in other news... the government has finally published its plan to reduce air pollution in the uk — having lost a legal battle to delay it until after the general election. but it's already been criticised by environmentalists and motoring groups for being too vague. among a range of possible measures are new council clean air zones — where speed bumps might be removed and where vehicles would have to meet agreed emissions standards. the government also wants councils to promote green transport such as electric and hybrid cars and bikes and will consider a scrappage scheme for older more polluting diesel vehicles. 0ur science editor david shukman reports from nottingham — one of a number of uk cities failing to meet pollution standards. the rattle of diesel in the morning rush hour in nottingham. one of many cities where traffic generates

unhealthy levels of nitrogen dioxide. so all eyes are on the government's new plan to clean up. the authorities in nottingham have been taking steps on their own. with a tram system to get people out of cars and a special name for electric vehicles. cars and a special lane for electric vehicles. but the council says the government still isn't doing enough. they are trying to make local authority responsible for it and to duck their own responsibility as a central government. that is not going to work. local authorities have not got the resources to be able to respond. and they've not got the means to solve the problem. the environment secretary andrea leadsom, who unveiled the plan today, declined our request for an interview. but she said air quality was a high priority. 0ne scheme is to install new filters on older vehicles like the device being fitted to this bus. but this will not apply to cars. another scheme is to remove speed bumps, because cars

are more polluting when they slow down and speed up. safety experts say lives would be at risk. and there is a possible scrappage scheme for the most polluting vehicles, but little detail on how it would work. we've always wanted a national network of clean air zones along with help and support, such as a scrappage scheme, for people to switch to cleaner forms of transport. now, it appears the national department of clean air zones is not strong enough if we're going to protect people's health and there isn't much mention of a scrappage scheme either. it is diesel engines blamed for producing nitrogen dioxide, a gas invisible to the naked eye, but linked to a wide range of health impacts. so where does this leave drivers of diesel cars? it's not down to us, is it? joe public. if the government in power at the time that says diesel‘s good. let's go on to diesel. now they are saying different. maybe my next car probably would get a petrol, but i do a lot of commuting, driving on the motorways, so when i bought this car diesel

was the obvious choice. you might change now? absolutely. one idea discussed in the report is charging diesel drivers for coming into cities like nottingham. the government makes clear it does not support that. it wants local authorities to try every other option first. but if the air remains polluted, maybe charging will have to be considered again. the lib dems say the plan is a copout. the green party says the government is standing idly by while britain chokes. the government itself may yet face more pressure from the courts. david shukman, bbc news, nottingham. two men have been charged with the murder of the businessman, guy hedger, who was shot at his home in dorset last weekend. both are also charged with aggravated burglary and are due to appear at bournemouth magistrates' court tomorrow. the president of the european commission has accused the uk of "abandoning" the eu and said the english language is "losing its importance in europe". jean—claude juncker made the comments at a conference in italy, before opting to address

the audience in french. north korea has accused the united states of plotting to assassinate its leader, kimjong—un during a parade in the capital pyongyang. it claims that a terrorist group supported by the cia and south korean intelligence planned to use a bio—chemical substance to kill him. marine le pen — the far right candidate in the french presidential election — has faced angry protests, on the final day of campaigning. her rival, the independent centrist emmanuel macron, is said to be confident of victory in sunday's election, with a lead of around 20 points in the opinion polls. from paris, our europe editor katya adler reports. booing france's wannabe people's president fled today from her public out the back of reims cathedral. because this is what awaited marine le pen out front. her party deputy took the heat instead. different church, different

presidential candidate, and what a different reception. emmanuel macron, hugs, not hounded, by the crowd. this is the last day of the presidential campaign and the mood music has meaning. "macron president" is what most voters here seem to say. people here want change. to france's sluggish economy. security risks, high youth unemployment. it's notjust a new president they're choosing, but, they hope, a new direction for their country. emmanuel macron ticks a lot of boxes. he is different, neither left nor right wing, and pretty new to politics. but he is seen as safe different. he may not excite the passionate french, but marine le

pen's vision of a far right revolution horrifies many here. but the macron camp is using social media to warn followers not to count their chickens, as hillary clinton did before the us elections. these politics students are unimpressed by either presidential candidate, they're not alone in france in wondering whether to vote at all. neither of the candidates have a clear approvalfrom the french population. neither is banker, neither is racists, so neither macron, neither marine le pen. i don't believe in these two candidates. i will not vote. it's really a divided france who's going to vote on sunday. political shocks and bitter divisions have marked this presidential race from the off. even after sunday, french voters are sceptical about their country's future. katya adler, bbc news, paris.

the funeral has taken place of leslie rhodes, one of the victims of the westminster terror attacks. mr rhodes who was 75 and a retired window cleaner was on his way home after a hospital appointment when he was killed by khalid masood on westminster bridge. his family say they have yet to come to terms with the unfairness of his death . 0ur correspondent daniel sandford reports. more than six weeks after the westminster attack, the last of the funerals of the five people killed by khalid masood. family and friends saying goodbye to les rhodes. the 75—year—old had been a window cleaner and decorator all his life but was struck as masood sped across westminster bridge on his way to murdering pc keith palmer and died the next day of his injury. 0n the lawn in front of les rhodes' south london flat, family and friends had laid flowers, including a wreath symbolising his love of cricket. among them his sister—in—law,

carol, who he'd helped out when his brother, her husband, had died young of cancer. she told me les had just been to hospital opposite parliament on the day he was killed. he was walking along towards big ben and that's when he was struck down and killed, just going about his every day business. a normal man, doing a normal thing. that's all he was doing and that's how his life ended. his niece, amanda, still has raw anger towards the man who murdered uncle? my view is he shouldn't have been shot. he's got the easy way out. all the families now are going to suffer for many years to come. we've got to deal with the grief. les rhodes had a small family but dozens of friends came, to the funeral of a kind man cruelly killed in the westminster attack. daniel sandford, bbc news, south london. football, and chelsea arejust

football, and chelsea are just two wins away from securing the premier league title after nearest rival stores and suffered surprise defeat at west ham tonight. the second half west ham goal was enough to condemn spurs to only their fourth league loss of the season. sports correspondent david 0rnstein reports. at west ham they sing about bubbles, like dreams they fade and die. in totte n ha m like dreams they fade and die. in tottenham came opponent streaming of the premier league title. was this the premier league title. was this the night their bubble would burst or continue to fly? certainly they flew out of the blocks. harry kane, dele alli, harry kane again denied by some desperate defending. from dangerous in attack to absent at the back, spurs gave manuel landini the freedom of east london. hugo