Alex Forster
Reporting from Westminster

"Maybe tonight we'll convince some of you in this room that there is a very, very big historic shift going on," says Reform UK leader Nigel Farage.

He's just ducked down to a Reform watch party in Millbank Tower, Westminster, where the mood is very jubilant.

There are Reform-branded cupcakes and a cocktail menu featuring a "Nigel Negroni".

Labour losing seats to Reform - but Greens are a factorpublished at 03:21 BST 8 May

03:21 BST 8 May

Professor Sir John Curtice
Polling expert

It is clear that the Labour party is losing plenty of seats to Reform. One might therefore conclude that it is Reform who are doing the most damage to Labour in terms of the vote.

However, that is not the pattern that is emerging from the results in the BBC's "key wards".

A sharp fall in Labour's performance is accompanied more often by an above average Green performance than it is by a strong Reform performance.

Meanwhile, it is the Conservatives who appear to be suffering most where Reform is advancing most.

It should be remembered that Labour may often lose seats to Reform because it is losing votes to the Greens, while the Conservatives are losing votes to Reform. The net effect can be that Labour end up losing a seat to Reform.

So far, it's a successful night for Reformpublished at 03:15 BST 8 May

03:15 BST 8 May

Professor Sir John Curtice
Polling expert

Image source, PA Media

The night is so far proving to be one of substantial success for Reform. They are currently winning more than half of the seats that have been declared.

In contrast, Labour, who have been defending most seats this evening, have lost four in five of the seats that they have been trying to defend.

These figures reflect the fact that in the key wards where the BBC have collected detailed voting information, so far Reform have been averaging around 30% of the vote, whereas Labour have so far won just 16% of the vote.

The other challenger party, the Greens, are performing creditably; their average of 15% of the vote is up 10 points on average compared to 2022. However, it is not enough for them to be picking more than the occasional gain. So far, just a net gain of eight seats.

The Conservatives are also losing ground; their vote is on average down by 14 points and the party is losing more than half the seats it is trying to defend.

The Liberal Democrats' hopes of making notable net gains of seats are not being realised.

So far, the party has seen little change in its net tally. Moreover, the party's share of the vote is down on average by 5 points since 2022, a drop that is shielded by the fact it is less than the drop of the Conservatives and Labour.

Daniel Wainwright
BBC Verify senior data journalist

The final results have now come in from Wigan, where Labour has lost all 22 of the seats it was defending to Reform UK. Reform also took seats from an independent and a Conservative.

But control of the council will not change hands. Labour's majority was already secure because only a third of seats were up for election.

The Conservative MP for Harwich and North Essex says he was "expecting to get wiped by Reform" in this election.

Bernard Jenkin tells the BBC that Reform were "always going to sweep the board around here". He's speaking from a leisure centre in Clacton, where counts are taking place.

"While our candidates have been talking about the local issues, this [election] is a big protest - a big turnout about national issues," he says, citing immigration and the economy.

But Jenkin adds that he suspects "we will be ahead of Reform" by the next election.

He says that when voters are confronted with "real choice", he thinks they'll see the "real risk" of electing a "complete novice" to No 10.

Labour losing seats to Reform in previously loyal areaspublished at 02:59 BST 8 May

02:59 BST 8 May

Alex Forsyth
Political correspondent

It’s not just how many seats Labour’s losing in this election – it’s also where that really matters.

In these early stages they’re seeing losses on Merseyside, in Greater Manchester – areas synonymous with Labour for decades which stayed Labour loyal even when Boris Johnson’s Conservative party was eating into the so-called "red wall".

Reform is now winning seats in those areas. It doesn’t mean Labour will lose control of the councils, as only a proportion of the seats are being elected tonight.

But this will prompt some serious soul-searching in Labour, not least from the MPs which represent those areas… which just happens to include the former Deputy Prime Minister, Angela Rayner.

The Liberal Democrats have won their first council of the night in Stockport, Greater Manchester, which was previously under no overall control.

The council has 63 seats, with 32 needed for a majority and a third up for election.

The Lib Dems have so far held 10 seats and gained two from the Conservatives, while Reform have gained two wards from Labour. The Greens have also taken a seat from Labour. There are six seats left to declare.

The Liberal Democrats had been eyeing up Stockport in the run-up to the elections, with party leader Sir Ed Davey saying last month that he was aiming to regain outright control of a Greater Manchester council for the first time in 15 years.

• North East Lincolnshire will remain a council with no party majority. The council has 42 seats and 22 needed for a majority - before the election, the Conservatives were the biggest party with 18 seats. So far, seven seats have been declared - Lib Dems have held one seat while Reform have taken six
• Rochford also remains a council with no party majority. A third of its 39 seats were up for election. So far, seven seats have been declared - all for Reform
• Broxbourne remains a Conservative majority. A third of its 30 seats were up for election. Out of those seats, seven were held by Tories, one held by Labour, and two went to Reform
• Plymouth remains a Labour majority. It has 60 seats and a third were up for election - but Labour already had a majority. Nine seats have been declared so far, six of which have gone to Reform, two to Greens, and one to Labour
• Southend-on-Sea remains a no party majority. A third of its 51 seats are up for election. So far, seven have been declared - Reform have gained four, while Tories have held onto one seat and Labour two
• And Hart remains a council with no party majority. It has 33 seats and a third are up for election

Image source, EPA

Now is not the time to replace Keir Starmer, Deputy PM David Lammy tells BBC Radio Election 26 Special.

"You don't change the pilot during the flight. You carry on, and you recognise too that governments sometimes - particularly incumbent governments - have it hard," he says.

But John McDonnell, Labour MP and former shadow chancellor, tells the programme Starmer may need to consider whether he is an asset to the party at this point.

"We're nearly mid-term in the government. Once you get past that mid-term, you're then looking towards the next election.

"A lot of MPs are looking to their political life expectancy as well, and it's very easy, you can get into a panic situation.

"So it is better to actually have a conversation now about how do we get out of this."

Labour has lost its third council of the night in Tamworth, Staffordshire - where no party will now have a majority.

The council has 30 seats. Labour started with 16 but lost two seats, while Reform gained nine and Conservatives also lost six.

Professor Sir John Curtice
Polling expert

A clear pattern is emerging in the geography of Reform's performance.

Their vote is for the most part concentrated in wards where a majority were in favour of Brexit in 2016.

In contrast, the Greens are doing rather better in those places that opposed Brexit.

Miles Davis
Reporting from Plymouth

Reform is "riding a turquoise wave" in Plymouth - the self-styled Ocean City of Britain - says the party leader here.

We are still awaiting results here but the leader of Reform on Plymouth City Council, Steve Ricketts, said his party had done "exceptionally well".

He says: "It looks like the wind is really blowing in our direction and we know it’s an exciting time for Plymouth.

"We’re riding a turquoise wave and the country is speaking."

Out of the 57 seats on Plymouth City Council there are 19 up for grabs. The council is currently run by Labour who went into this election with 39 seats - meaning that whatever happens, they will still be the party in charge.

Results are starting to come thick and fast now - here's a graphic showing the first eight council results.

Labour has lost two - in Hartlepool and Redditch - while its holds have been in places where it couldn't lose, because only a third of seats were available.

Labour has lost its second council of the night so far. In Hartlepool, in the north-east of England, the party has lost seven of its 22 seats, while Reform has gained 12 seats, bringing its total to 15.

That gives both parties the same amount of seats in the 36-seat council.

In total, 12 of 36 seats were up for election - and 19 are required to win control of the council.

Redditch has declared all of its seats and Labour has lost its majority - meaning there's now no party majority in the council.

It's the sixth council to be declared and the first council of the night to change hands.

The council has 27 seats but only nine were up for election. Of these, Reform won eight seats and Labour won one.

Greens and the Conservatives have both also lost a seat on the council.

Sharon Edwards
Political Reporter, BBC Radio Lincolnshire

Cllr Naomi Tweddle, the Labour leader of the City of Lincoln Council, has turned out to support the party’s candidates tonight - even though she gave birth to her daughter on Sunday.

Her seat is not up as just one third of the authority’s 33 seats went to the polls this year.

She took a pause in wheeling her new daughter around the corridors outside the counting room to speak to the BBC.

She said she "had to be here", adding "we have been out today trying to win every single vote standing on the council’s exceptional record".

If you're looking at our banner at the top of the page, you'll see three more councils' results are in, taking the total to five.

• Wigan, Greater Manchester: With only a third of seats contested, Labour's majority was unassailable. But, nine seats have been declared so far - including Reform taking eight seats from Labour
• Salford, Greater Manchester: Similarly to Wigan, Labour holds onto Salford because only a third of seats are up for election, and Labour has an unassailable lead. So far, Reform has taken two seats from Labour, the Greens have taken one from Lib Dem and Labour has held a seat
• Peterborough, Cambridgeshire: Here, there's a strong collection of independent and small party councillors that aren't up for election - meaning there will be no party majority. Eight seats have been declared of the 18 up for election - these are two Reform, two Conservative, three Lib Dem and one Green.

Professor Sir John Curtice
Polling expert

We've now had results from five key wards - where the BBC has collected detailed voting information.

So far, the Labour vote has fallen by 21 points on average in the first five key wards, while Reform have won 27% of the vote on average.

The Conservatives have suffered less, but their support too is down by 5 points.

Professor Sir John Curtice
Polling expert

The first key ward - which the BBC has collected detailed voting information on - has been declared in Peterborough.

It was a Liberal Democrat gain from the Conservatives in Hampton Vale.

The Conservative vote has collapsed by 21 points, while at same time support for Labour has been squeezed with a drop of 15 points.

Both Reform and the Greens have increased their share of the vote to 26 and 17% respectively and have performed creditably. The Liberal Democrats have increased their vote share by 4 points to 31%.

Here is evidence that this looks like a good night for Reform and the Greens, while the Lib Dems may also take some pickings from Labour and the Conservatives.

Adina Campbell
Reporting from Wandsworth

The cries of a three-week-old baby have cut through a tense mood here in Wandsworth, south London.

It’s expected to be a tight race between Labour and the Conservatives, with the Tories hoping to take back control of this council after losing it in 2022. Wandsworth was Conservative for more than 40 years before that.

The baby is called Erasmus - he’s the son of two candidates standing tonight, and he's set to get more sleep than us, as the result is likely to come around 06:00.