Local elections 2021: Which results have already been announced, and when will the rest come?
Of the thousands of elections which took place on 6 May, results have started to come in from a handful in England, with early signs showing it has been a disastrous night for Labour
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Hide AdA shock gain for the Conservatives in the Hartlepool by-election is the biggest result announced so far, but Labour have also lost a significant number of council seats in the North-East.
Of the 143 councils which had seats up for re-election, only 20 declared overnight, with more results due over the weekend.
What results have been announced so far?
The first major result of the day saw Labour lose the Hartlepool by-election, meaning a Tory MP will represent the town in Parliament for the first time in more than 50 years.
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Hide AdLabour picked up just over half the number of votes they achieved in 2019, in a result which will raise serious questions for the party’s leadership.
The Conservative’s will no doubt be thrilled - and slightly shocked - at the scale of their victory, registering more than 50 per cent of the vote.
Speaking after the result was announced, the Conservative candidate Jill Mortimer said people had "voted for chance" after Labour had "taken them for granted".
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Hide AdElsewhere, the Conservative’s have gained control of councils in Dudley, Harlow, Northumberland and Nuneaton & Bedworth.
In terms of council seats, Labour has so far lost 56, while the Conservatives have gained 56.
The Liberal Democrats and Greens have both gained a handful of councillors so far, four and three respectively.
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Hide AdThe first mayoral election to return a result took place in Doncaster, where Labour’s Ros Jones retained the post, albeit it with a 7 per cent drop in support.
When will the next results be announced?
The most impactful results will likely be from the Scottish Parliamentary elections, which are expected later today and tomorrow.
The same goes for the Welsh parliamentary elections, with the first results not due until later today.
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Hide AdMore council results in England will be declared as the weekend goes on, with many likely to be better for Labour than those already announced, as most have been in Brexit-voting ‘red-wall’ areas.
And of the 13 mayoral elections taking place, the majority of results won’t come until tomorrow afternoon, with one announced already in Doncaster, and the Tees Valley result expected this evening.
Police and Crime Commissioners are up for re-election for the second time since the roles were created in 2012, with the results expected from Saturday onwards.
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Hide AdOnes to watch
Many of the elections are not expected to be particularly close, although some have been hard-fought and it’s not yet clear how they’ll play out. The West Midlands and Tees Valley mayoral elections were expected to be close, although the signs from the results already announced suggest these may end up being more comfortable wins than predicted for the Conservatives.
The West Yorkshire mayoral election could provide one of very few positives for Labour, although if their candidate Tracy Brabin does win, she will have to step down as the MP for Batley and Spen, resulting in another by-election which will not go well for Labour if the Hartlepool result is anything to go by.