Nick Eardley
Political correspondent

Image source, Getty Images

There have been suggestions in recent days that former Labour deputy leader Angela Rayner could be a candidate in a future leadership race.

She is phoning around defeated candidates in her area today. I’m told there is no intervention planned imminently.

But it’s worth keeping an eye on what she does say over the weekend - and her analysis of what has gone wrong for Labour.

Westminster giants wounded as Reform, Plaid Cymru and SNP celebratepublished at 18:36 BST 8 May

18:36 BST 8 May

Chris Mason
Political editor

Image source, PA Media

Sometimes it is the details that best illustrate the broader canvas.

The Labour leader of the prime minister’s local authority - Camden in London - lost to the Greens. The Conservatives lost to Reform UK in leader Kemi Badenoch’s backyard of Essex.

And in Kirklees in West Yorkshire, the leaders of the Conservative, Labour and Liberal Democrat groups all lost their seats today.

Labour has been winning elections in Wales since before Sir David Attenborough - whose 100th birthday it is today - was even born. Until today that is.

But the Scottish National Party - which has been winning consecutive devolved elections in Scotland since before you could buy an iPhone - are still winning.

Labour have been thwacked, the Conservatives a sideshow. Westminster’s giants - one shrunken and one lilliputian.

Meanwhile, Reform is jubilant - as are Plaid Cymru and the SNP.

The prime minister is tonight winded, and his Labour Party wounded. There's been a smattering of calls from his own MPs for Keir Starmer to attach a sell by date to his premiership. It’ll be worth keeping an eye on whether that demand becomes contagious.

The final results have been declared in the election for the Welsh Senedd - and Plaid Cymru will be the biggest party, bringing an end to Labour's decades-long dominance of the country's politics.

Plaid won the most votes and took four seats in the final constituency to be called - Gwynedd Maldwyn - followed by Reform UK, who claimed two seats.

But the party will be short of an overall majority. It has won 43 seats - six short of a majority.

There are six mayoral races running today.

The Green Party have so far won two - one in Hackney we told you about earlier, and now another in Lewisham.

Liam Shrivastava was declared the winner there, with Labour coming in second.

The party had never held a mayoral position before this election.

The Liberal Democrats have held on to Watford, the Conservatives have held on to Croydon, and Labour has held on to Newham.

There's now just one left to declare - in Tower Hamlets. That position is currently held by the Aspire party's Luftur Rahman, who is running for re-election.

Council and mayoral counts in England continue

We're still awaiting results from around 40 councils - as Reform, the Greens and Liberal Democrats see gains in their number of councillors, and Labour and the Conservatives suffer losses.

There's still one mayoral race to decide - in Tower Hamlets in London - more on the mayoral races in our next post.

One more declaration in Wales to go

There's just one region left to declare in Wales, and the BBC has forecast Plaid Cymru will be the biggest party in the Senedd.

First Minister Eluned Morgan has already lost her seat, and stood down as Welsh Labour leader moments later.

Just over halfway there in Scotland

There's still just over 60 results left to declare in Scotland.

The SNP sit on 55, with the Lib Dems their closest challenger on five.

The BBC has forecast the SNP as the largest party, but short of a majority. Earlier, SNP leader John Swinney said: "It is becoming clear that the SNP will emerge as the largest party".

Image source, PA Wire

Results have continued to come in from Scotland. Among them, the Scottish Greens have taken Glasgow Southside from the SNP - a seat once held by former First Minister Nicola Sturgeon.

This is the second seat the Scottish Greens have taken from the SNP today.

We now have the results for all of Glasgow's seven constituencies - the other six were all SNP holds.

The Green Party has won control of Norwich Council - the first council its taken in the elections this year.

It gained six councillors in Norwich - giving it a total of 21. Labour lost eight councillors and Reform UK gained two.

Meanwhile, other council results across England continue to come in.

• Norfolk: Though votes are still being counted, the Conservatives have lost their majority and it's no longer possible for any party to take control
• Worthing: Labour has lost control of Worthing Council. No party has overall control of the council here either
• Thurrock: There were massive swings towards Reform UK. It gains 45 of the 49 seats on offer to take control of the council. Labour lost 23 seats and the Conservatives lost 13, leaving them both on two councillors each
• West Sussex: The Conservatives lose control of the council as they lose 30 seats. Voting here is still being counted, but the Lib Dems are currently in the lead with 22 councillors - a rise of 13. No party can take overall control

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Away from Wales, Lib Dem leader Ed Davey's been speaking at an event in Guildford.

Speaking to supporters, he says the Lib Dems are the "only non-populist party left standing".

Where the party is eyeing victory, Davey says voters are "looking for a party that is true to British values of decency, tolerance, respect of the rule of law, and real practical plans".

"And only the Liberal Democrats offer those," he adds.

He also says his party needs "to be heard more, of course we do, and that’s our objective".

"When people hear that our message of chance is true to what they actually want and that we’d avoid the chaos of the extremist populist parties, I think people in more and more places will come to the Liberal Democrats," Davey tells those gathered.

Earlier the party gained control of councils in Stockport and Portsmouth.

Image source, Getty Images

Keir Starmer has thanked Eluned Morgan as she stands down as leader of Welsh Labour.

“Eluned Morgan has been a formidable first minister and tireless champion for Wales," he says. "She broke barriers and has never stopped fighting for families in the communities she loves.

“Together, we have worked to lift children out of poverty, cut hospital waiting lists, and create thousands of new jobs.

"I want to thank Eluned Morgan for the over 30 years of service she has already given to our country and our party. I have no doubt her contribution to Wales will endure.”

Starmer is understood to have spoken to the outgoing Welsh first minister this afternoon.

Image source, PA Media

More from Eluned Morgan, who concedes: "The people of Wales rejected Welsh Labour."

She goes on to congratulate Plaid Cymru on their "momentous success". Recognising the "substantial gains" made by Reform UK in Wales, she says "we need to heed the anger, not feed the anger" in the country.

She says Labour needs to "go back to being the party of the working class" and that the UK Labour government needs to "change course".

But Morgan says she has been clear the election was about Wales and "Keir Starmer was not on the ballot".

"I am taking responsibility and I am resigning."

Morgan's speech comes as Plaid Cymru has pulled ahead in the initial constituency declarations - the BBC has forecast Plaid Cymru as the largest party in Senedd.

Eluned Morgan says she will step down as leader of the Welsh Labour party, after losing her seat in the Senedd.

"I take responsibility for the Labour result in Wales," she says.

As someone born in a Welsh Labour heartland, I never expected to see thispublished at 17:02 BST 8 May

17:02 BST 8 May

Gareth Lewis
Wales political editor

What adjective adequately describes the sheer and utter scale of Labour's collapse in Wales?

The symbol of the party's defeat might well be the failure of First Minister Eluned Morgan to win a seat, but it is bigger than that.

Perhaps it is best described in terms of things you thought you'd never see in your life.

As someone born and brought up in Bridgend with a wider family from Cynon Valley - traditional south Wales Labour heartlands - this fits in that category.

Labour themselves have not been short of words. "Disastrous", "catastrophic" and "devastating" have all been thrown around.

What has caused this monumental defeat?

There are plenty of words to write about that, including the Welsh party's own record, voters' disillusionment, the unpopularity of Prime Minister Keir Starmer and a desire for change for many people.

On the basis of what we have been hearing today three words stand out. They are "two horse race".

Those are the words Plaid Cymru has used throughout the campaign, pitching the fight as Plaid v Reform UK.

It appears voters who want to keep Reform out have been convinced.

Wales First Minister and Welsh Labour leader Eluned Morgan has lost her seat in the Senedd.

Labour takes no seats in her Ceredigion Penfro constituency.

Image source, PA Media

Speaking after winning his seat in Bangor Conwy Môn, Plaid Cymru's Rhun ap Iorwerth says: "It has become clear that Wales has demanded that change of leadership.

"I look forward to saying more about this later as the full picture becomes complete."

He says it's "been a privilege to serve the community" and an "equal privilege" to serve this wider, newly-formed constituency.

"We will work every day to the best of our abilities to represent the people of Bangor Conwy Môn," he adds.

• You can follow in-depth live coverage of the Welsh Senedd elections here

The BBC is forecasting that Plaid Cymru will be the largest party in the Welsh Senedd - with Rhun ap Iorwerth's party will get between 41 and 46 seats.

That forecast would mean Labour would lose its leadership of Wales for the first time since devolution, in 1997.

We're still awaiting results from 42 seats - here's the current state of play:

Jack Fenwick
Political correspondent

We’ve had what could be a significant intervention from Labour MP Louise Haigh, who has been speaking to my colleagues at BBC Look North.

She is an influential voice among many MPs on the so-called soft left of the party and is seen as being close to Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham.

It’s a group that has been incredibly frustrated with the prime minister in recent months, and Haigh says the unpopularity of Starmer came up on nearly every doorstep – but says now is not the time to move against him.

She says: “We cannot descend into an irresponsible, messy, internal contest. The prime minister is doing an exceptional job on the international stage and it’s imperative that he’s successful.”

But she also says that Starmer needs to change his ways, adding: “The government needs to listen and respond to how the public have voted today and unless they deliver that urgent and significant chance, it’s clear the prime minister cannot lead us into another election”.

That’s maybe the clearest sign yet that while things are very bad for the prime minister, the immediate situation is not terminal.

Chris Page
Ireland correspondent

Image source, PA Media

The first minister of Northern Ireland says the early indications from the elections in Scotland and Wales show that people are "tired of the shackles of Westminster”.

Michelle O’Neill of Sinn Fein is the first Irish nationalist to hold the position in the devolved government in Belfast.

She was speaking at a news conference after a meeting with ministers from Dublin.

Asked about the prospect that all three of the UK’s devolved nations could soon have nationalist first ministers, O’Neill says she has "common ground" with the SNP and Plaid Cymru when it comes to "national self-determination".

Northern Ireland’s Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly, of the Democratic Unionist Party, says the early election results might indicate a “desire for change”, but not "on the constitutional question”.

The results for Bangor Conwy Môn - the constituency of Plaid Cymru leader Rhun ap Iorwerth - have just been announced.

Plaid have won the most votes in the constituency, gaining 31,057 votes and three of the constituency's six seats.

Two seats go to Reform UK, and one for the Conservatives.

Steven Brocklehurst
BBC Scotland news

Image source, PA Wire

Earlier this afternoon - after just a dozen of the 129 seats were announced - Labour admitted defeat in Scotland.

Dejected Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar appeared at the Glasgow count and said: “We made an argument for change and ultimately, it’s an argument we lost.”

He said he had tried to make his party's campaign about Scotland but there is “a national wave of disappointment” they failed to overcome.

Sarwar said he stands by his calls earlier this year for the Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, to stand down.

“My party is hurting today and it’s my job to hold it together," he said. "We will continue to fight for the change we believe Scotland so desperately needs."

The BBC is forecasting the SNP will end the election as Scotland’s largest party, but will fall short of a majority, with between 60 and 63 constituency seats.

• Follow in-depth coverage of the Scottish Parliament election in our live page here