LIVE: Reform win first council and hundreds of seats

Take a look at our live-updating maps and charts produced by the Daily Mail’s Deep Dive team for the latest election results across England, Wales and Scotland.

Reform are claiming victory in Havering where the party says it now has full control.

It would be the second council win for Reform after taking Newcastle-under-Lyme from the Conservatives earlier this morning.

Sir Keir Starmer said he took responsibility for Labour’s ‘tough’ local election results.

In his first remarks this morning, the Prime Minister said:

Days like this don’t weaken my resolve to deliver the change that I promised. The results are tough, they are very tough, and there’s no sugarcoating it.

We have lost brilliant Labour representatives across the country, these are people who put so much into their communities, so much into our party. And that hurts, and it should hurt, and I take responsibility.

The SNP’s Finance Secretary says a majority for her party in the local elections would give a ‘clear mandate’ for another referendum on Scottish independence.

Shona Robison, who is standing down from Holyrood, said the SNP would continue campaigning for independence if it falls short of a majority as some polls have suggested.

Speaking on BBC Radio Scotland’s Breakfast show, Ms Robison said an SNP majority would be a ‘clear mandate’ for another referendum on Scottish independence.

Asked what would happen if her party fell short of this, she said:

Well, we will continue to campaign for independence. And actually there could be a scenario where the parties who support independence yet again get a majority at the Scottish Parliament.

Keir Starmer’s worst nightmares are taking shape today as Labour suffers an extraordinary battering from voters in local elections.

Calls are already emerging for the PM to go with results overnight showing a bloodbath for the party across English councils. A meltdown is also looming in the Scottish Parliament and Welsh Senedd later.

A Labour MP who saw his wife lose her council seat as Reform surged in Hartlepool repeated his call for Sir Keir to step down.

Jonathan Brash said: ‘I’m looking for change at the top of the Labour Party.’

Former shadow chancellor John McDonnell said a leadership challenge ‘must be on the table’ if the disastrous showing continues.

The Labour group leader in Hull has also demanded the PM heads for the exit door.

It remains to be see whether the calls will intensify throughout the day

Senior Conservative Sir James Cleverly has said it has been a ‘tough night’ for his party but a ‘disastrous’ one for Labour.

Speaking to the PA News Agency, the shadow housing secretary said it would take time for Kemi Badenoch to get her message across.

Well, as predicted. It’s been a tough night for us, but we’ve made some real gains, against expectations. I’ve just heard we’ve taken control of Westminster Council. We held Fareham in Hampshire, Harlow in Essex, Broxbourne in Hertfordshire, and so we have got real pockets of good news in what we always knew was going to be a tough night.

I think Labour have had a disastrous night, and we can see why, with the terrible situation they’ve created at a national level.

Sir James acknowledged Reform UK ‘are doing well’ but insisted Nigel Farage ‘has still got big questions to answer’ about a £5 million gift from cryptocurrency investor Christopher Harborne.

With the first 40 of 136 councils declared, Labour had lost more than 200 councillors as well as losing control of eight local authorities.

So far Labour has lost power in Westminster, Wandsworth, Redditch, Hartlepool, Tamworth, Exeter, Southampton and Tameside.

Reform UK had gained 270 seats and control of one council, the Liberal Democrats had gained 29 seats and a council, and the Greens had gained 23 seats, with the Conservatives down 61, and independents, ratepayer parties and Your Party combined down a total of 59.

Stick with us as we bring you more results throughout the day.

Sir Keir Starmer is the person to ‘turn this round’, Cabinet minister John Healey insisted as dire local election results for Labour piled pressure on the Prime Minister.

He was asked about a call overnight from Labour MP Jonathan Brash for Sir Keir to go.

The Defence Secretary told Times Radio: ‘No, he’s not right. Keir Starmer won the mandate for five years from the public. We’re not even halfway through that Parliament. I think he can still deliver, he can still turn it round.’

Asked whether Sir Keir was the man to lead that change, Mr Healey said: ‘He is.’

He continued: ‘I’m not dismissing how bad these results look set to be, but we have had difficult nights before, and we have worked our way back.’

Conservatives celebrate winning in Westminster

The Conservatives retaking Westminster City Council showed the Tories are ‘coming back in London’, a party spokesperson said.

The spokesperson said: ‘We are delighted the Conservatives have taken control of Westminster Council. Labour are set to have a terrible night in London, an area they swept in the last general election.

‘Under Kemi Badenoch, the Conservatives are coming back in London. This victory is a clear sign of the progress the Conservatives are making under new leadership.

‘This is also testament to the hard work of Conservative councillors and activists in Westminster. We are confident they will show that only the Conservatives are serious about delivering better services for lower taxes.’

John McDonnell, the Labour MP for Hayes and Harlington, has said a Party leadership change ‘must be on the agenda’ if Labour suffers a ‘nightmare’ across the local, Senedd, and Holyrood elections.

Asked whether he believed Sir Keir Starmer had to go, the former shadow chancellor said: ‘We will have to see when results are in and Wales and Scotland results may be more influential than council seats in England in shaping the party’s attitude to the future.

‘If it is the nightmare as we are worried it will be, then there should be no precipitous coup.’

He added: ‘The party needs to consider why we are in this situation and that discussion should be at all levels of the party and consider all the issues, including why there have been so many policy mistakes alienating our support, but the leadership question has inevitably to be on the agenda.

‘If there is to be a leadership change, it has to be an orderly transition, not a coup.’

Meanwhile, Labour MP Jonathan Brash, who saw his wife lose her council seat as Reform surged in Hartlepool, repeated his call for Sir Keir to step down.

He said: ‘I’m looking for change at the top of the Labour Party.’

Labour has held onto Ealing council – albeit with a reduced majority.

The Party saw 46 of its councillors elected, a drop from 59 in 2022.

The Lib Dems won 13, up from seven since the last local election, while the Greens also made gains winning five seats.

The Conservatives won five and one independent candidate was elected.

Labour also held onto Hammersmith and Fulham.

Richmond-upon-Thames in London was held by the Liberal Democrats alongside Sutton, although Ed Davey’s party failed to win Merton from Labour.

The Liberal Democrats won all 59 seats in Richmond, as the Greens lost their five seats.

The Lib Dems celebrated winning 51 of 55 council seats after gaining 23 in Sutton, where the Tories lost all 20 of their councillors.

A party source said: ‘This is a catastrophic result for Kemi Badenoch and a brilliant night for the Liberal Democrats.

‘She promised to change the Conservative Party, instead they are facing a total wipeout.’

The Conservatives have taken Westminster City Council from Labour, which has now lost control of eight local authorities.

The Tories had been hoping to regain control in the council after having leadership of the seat since the council began in 1965.

The last time the Conservative had control was in 2022, when Labour took control.