Local elections 2023: Final results expected in next few hours - and what we know so far

Votes are still being counted in this year's local elections in England.

The results have been coming in waves with all councils expected to declare by 8pm on Friday.

Elections were held in 230 of England's 317 councils, within district, borough, county borough and unitary authority councils, along with four mayoral elections in Bedford, Leicester, Mansfield and Middlesbrough.

'Alarm bells' in Tory HQ - follow local elections live
See full election results as they come in

This is your guide to what we know already - and what is left to watch out for.

The story so far

• Labour have gained six councils from the Conservatives. The first was Medway. It was established as a new council in 1997, but even during its landslide victory, Labour could not win it outright.

• Labour also took East Staffordshire from the Tories' small majority, winning 11 seats. And their targeted campaign to take Swindon from the Conservatives paid off too.

• The party's win in Erewash, Derbyshire is a positive sign for their hopes of a General Election victory. The Conservatives had held it since 2003.

• Labour also took Bracknell Forest, seen as one of the UK's most right-wing new towns, from the Tories with 18 new seats, as well as Dover, which had been under Conservative control since 2007.

• The Liberal Democrats gained four councils from the Tories. They won Windsor and Maidenhead, with the Conservatives losing 16 seats - three to independents and 13 to the Lib Dems. This is the lowest number of seats the Tories have ever had in Windsor, in a dramatic shift for former Prime Minister Theresa May's parliamentary constituency.

• Sir Ed Davey also celebrated a "blue wall" upset in Dacorum, Hertfordshire, taking it from Conservative control for the first time in 20 years to build on by-election results there.

• The Lib Dems also won 13 seats to take Stratford-on-Avon from the Conservatives, most of which lies in former chancellor Nadhim Zahawi's parliamentary constituency.

• And they took South Hams from the Conservatives, gaining nine seats while the Tories lost two.

• The Green Party gained control of a council in England for the first time, winning Mid Suffolk.

• The Conservatives lost control of 25 councils to no overall control - Tamworth, Brentwood, Hertsmere, North West Leicestershire, East Lindsey, South Gloucestershire, South Kesteven, Welwyn Hatfield, Maidstone, Bromsgrove, Cannock Chase, West Devon, North Warwickshire, Tewkesbury, Pendle, Central Bedfordshire, Runnymede, Wealden, Staffordshire Moorlands, Melton, Charnwood, East Suffolk, Broadland and Newark and Sherwood.

• East Hertfordshire also went from the Conservatives to no overall control, with huge gains for the Greens, who won 17 seats as the Tories lost 23.

• Plymouth, Stoke-on-Trent, Blackpool, Middlesbrough, North East Derbyshire, Broxtowe, High Peak in Derbyshire Gravesham and West Lancashire all went from no overall control to Labour.

• Middlesbrough now also has a Labour mayor after Chris Cooke took the post from an independent incumbent.

• The Liberal Democrats won 22 seats in Mid Devon to take it from no overall control. The Tories lost 12 seats there, while independents fell by 11. They also won Teignbridge as a result of Conservative losses - despite not gaining any new seats themselves - and in Chichester.

• Hartlepool, remained under no overall control despite both parties looking to seize a majority - after Boris Johnson secured a by-election victory in the parliamentary seat in 2021.

• Bolton remains under no overall control, but Labour made five gains while the Conservatives lost seven seats. It is one of several Metropolitan Boroughs where the rise of local independent groups has affected the ability of one party to seize a majority. There were also no changes in Sheffield, which remained no overall control.

• The Conservatives lost seven seats to no overall control in Bromsgrove, former chancellor, health and home secretary Sajid Javid's parliamentary constituency, which has been Tory-held since 1983.

• There have only been two Conservative gains so far. Torbay, where they won five seats to take it from no overall control, having lost their majority in 2019, and Wyre Forest from no overall control, where the independent party Health Concern isn't fielding as many candidates as previously.

• The Conservatives held all three of their West Midlands battlegrounds in Walsall, Solihull and Dudley. Walsall was a key measure of progress for Labour and its bid to win the next General Election.

• The Tories also fought off Lib Dem competition to hold East Cambridgeshire in a victory for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's party.

• Labour's only overall loss was Slough, which has become no overall control. The Conservatives are now the largest party there after Labour lost 17 seats.

• Labour failed to win the four seats they needed in Burnley, which remained no overall control along with North Hertfordshire and Darlington.

• Sir Keir Starmer's party held Gateshead, but his bid to increase the majority there failed to materialise, with the Lib Dems gaining two seats from Labour.

• Labour gained three seats to hold Rossendale and also retained control of Knowsley and Manchester.

• Sir Peter Soulsby was re-elected as Labour mayor of Leicester, but with a much reduced majority after a 17% swing to the Conservatives.

Read more: Professor Michael Thrasher explains how to interpret the results

• There were no changes in Watford, where the Lib Dems held, or in Milton Keynes, which is run by a Labour and Liberal Democrat coalition.

• Wokingham and Tunbridge Wells remained no overall control.

• There were questions around Elmbridge in Surrey, where cabinet ministers Jeremy Hunt and Michael Gove both have their constituencies, but it remained no overall control, despite Lib Dem gains in the area.

What's still to come

• The results of the Mansfield mayoral election are also still due.

• The final rush will begin at 6pm - but by this point, we will likely have a good idea of the overall picture. Those to declare in this wave will include Lancaster, New Forest, South Derbyshire, West Suffolk and Bedford.

• Waverley is expected to declare at around 6pm. In May 2019, the Liberal Democrats came within six percentage points of the Tory total - but won only 14 seats compared to 23 for the Conservatives. The Lib Dems will be hoping to make gains and seats to build pressure ahead of the general election.

From 8pm

• The very last result is expected to come from York, which is currently run by a Liberal Democrat and Green coalition. Labour is hoping to make gains.