Voting has closed – what happens now?
Now that the votes have closed, counting will begin in 46 of the 136 local authorities in England, and the results will be declared overnight.
Counting for the Senedd and Holyrood elections will begin tomorrow along with the other local authorities.
Here is what happens now:
Most of the local authorities counting overnight have only a third or half of their seats up for grabs, which means those councils where a party currently has a large majority – such as Broxbourne (Conservative) and Halton (Labour), both of which are due to declare around this time – are unlikely to see a change in overall control.
But councils where a party is defending only a slim majority, for example Harlow (Conservative) and Redditch (Labour), which are also due to finish counting at this time, may slip into no overall control if other parties make gains.
Labour is defending majorities at Hartlepool and Lincoln, both of which are due to declare around now, while an early test for the Liberal Democrats will be if they can cling on to their tiny majority at Hull.
Wigan is the first Metropolitan borough council due to finish counting, where only a third of seats are up for election.
Salford, another big Metropolitan council in Greater Manchester, should finish counting around this time. But like nearby Wigan, only a third of seats are up for grabs and Labour’s majority is large enough for the party to keep control even if it suffers heavy losses.
Around 3.30am, Westminster is due to be the first London council to finish counting – and the first council of the night where every seat is up for grabs.
The outcome here will not only be the first indication of how Labour is faring in the capital, but also if the Tories have managed to recover support in one of their former London strongholds – or whether gains by smaller parties leave the council in no overall control.
Hampshire is the first county council due to complete its declarations, where the Conservatives have been the majority party since 1997.
In London, a full set of results is due from Ealing (Labour), Sutton (Lib Dems) and Wandsworth (Labour), with Wandsworth most likely to see seats changing hands and any evidence of a rise in support for the Greens.
Among the authorities counting overnight still left to declare are six London councils: Bexley, Hammersmith & Fulham, Havering, Kensington & Chelsea, Merton, and Richmond upon Thames.
Bexley is Reform’s top target in the capital and the party may also do well in Havering, while the Lib Dems have gained ground in Merton in recent years and – together with other parties – may take enough seats from Labour this time to leave the council in no overall control.
Counting gets under way for the parliamentary elections in Scotland and Wales, for 86 local authorities in England, and for the six mayoral contests.
The first constituency results from Scotland are likely to be announced around this time, with Airdrie, Ayr and Coatbridge & Chryston potentially among them.
In England the first mayoral result is due, from Hackney in east London. The result for the Newham mayoral contest should also be declared around this time, which is another Labour defence.
Among the first councils to finish declaring results should be Manchester, where a third of seats are up for election but where Labour’s majority is so huge it will remain in overall control even if it sustains heavy losses.
Results due to be completed in England around this time include Hyndburn, Preston, Rochdale and St Helens, all of which currently have a Labour majority but where it would only take a few seat changes to leave Preston and St Helens with no party in overall control.
Results from Scottish constituencies should be coming in fast by now, though it will be some time before the overall state of the parties in the parliament will become clear, as most of these individual seats are likely to be won by the SNP.
The first declarations from Wales are due around this time, where a new system of voting has been adopted that has seen the country divided into 16 super-constituencies, each of which sends six members to the Senedd, allocated proportionally according to the number of votes cast.
In London, the first of Friday’s results should be complete, with Labour defending huge majorities at Islington and Waltham Forest in the face of challenges from the Greens and independents in the former and Reform in the latter.
The mayoral result from Lewisham is due around this time – a role Labour has held continuously since the post was created in 2002, but which is another target for the Greens.
Results will pick up pace, with around 40 councils in England due to finishing counting in the next couple of hours.
Full results are also due from Barnsley and Gateshead, two more Labour strongholds since 1973 where every seat is up for grabs, along with other Labour-majority councils at Bury, Crawley, Greenwich, Ipswich, Trafford and Wolverhampton.
A string of London councils currently held by Labour are due to finish counting, including Barnet, where the Tories are hoping to regain control; Hackney, a top target for the Greens; and Redbridge, where Reform and independents are eyeing gains.
Two county councils should have a complete set of results by now, both of which are currently run by the Tories and where Reform is the main challenger: Essex and Norfolk.
In Scotland, the first members elected under the regional vote system should be announced by now, which is where smaller parties – particularly the Greens and Reform – are hoping to have some success.
The mayoral result for the London borough of Tower Hamlets is due, where Lutfur Rahman of the Aspire party is seeking another term.
Two brand new local authorities should finish their declarations, East Surrey and West Surrey, which will operate as “shadow” councils until formally replacing Surrey county council in 2027.
The last results of the day from England will include Bromley in London, where the ruling Conservatives will hope to hold on to their majority in the face of a challenge from Reform, and Calderdale in West Yorkshire, where Labour is defending a very slim majority.
All the results from Scotland and Wales are scheduled to be announced by Friday evening, though it may be late in the night before counting is complete.
