What we know at 8.20pm on Saturday 4^th May 2024, after 106 out of 107 councils, 2640 councillors, 11 Mayoralties (including London and estimated West Midlands result), 35 out of 37 Police and Crime Commissioners (PCC), the Greater London Assembly (with all votes declared but not the D’Hondt allocation), and 1 parliamentary by-election. Just 1 council and 2 PCCs to declare.

Verdict: 

Extremely bad for the Conservatives. Good for Labour and Lib Dems. Very good for Greens. Mixed for Reform UK.

Conservatives:

• Dropped to 25% in the BBC Projected National Share (PNS) of the local election vote: their joint lowest since records began in 1982
• Lost control of 10 councils out of 16 they were defending: Adur, Basildon, Dorset, Dudley, Gloucester, Havant, North East Lincolnshire, Nuneaton & Bedworth, Redditch and Rushmoor.
• – 473 net council seat losses: 48% of the 986 they defended, leaving them behind the Liberal Democrats in total seats won.
• Won only 1 of the 11 directly elected Mayoralties, with Andy Street narrowly losing the West Midlands and Ben Houchen suffering a 17-point swing to Labour in Tees Valley.
• Lost 10 of the 27 Police and Crime Commissioners they defended, with an average drop in vote share of 8 points across the 27.
• Lost the contest for London Mayor with a 3-point drop in their share of the vote.
• Lost 1 seat in the Greater London Assembly after a 3-point drop in their London-wide list vote.
• Lost the Blackpool South by-election on a 26% swing (the third biggest by-election swing in the post-war period).

Labour:

• First place with 34% in the BBC Projected National Share (PNS) of the local election vote: down 1 point on last year, but another 9-point lead over the Conservatives. Not as good as Labour achieved before their 1997 victory, but better than at any set of local elections where they went on to lose the general election.
• +8 net gains in council control. Gained 10 (Adur, Cannock Chase, Hartlepool, Hyndburn, Milton Keynes, Nuneaton & Bedworth, Redditch, Rushmoor, Tamworth and Thurrock), but lost Kirklees and Oldham. Retained control of a further 40 councils.
• +185 net council seats gains
• Won 10 of the 11 directly elected mayor positions, including West Midlands from Andy Street and London, that is all but Tees Valley which Labour failed to take despite achieving a 17-point swing there.  
• +10 gains of Police and Crime Commissioners, and held all 10 of those they were defending. Average vote share increase of +8 points across all 35 contests.
• Won the London Mayor contest for the third time in a row, with an increased vote share of +4-points.
• Maintained their position as largest party in the Greater London Assembly with 11 out of the 25 seats.
• Won the Blackpool South by-election on a 26% swing (the third biggest by-election swing in post-war period), in line with other big by-election wins for Labour this parliament.

Liberal Democrats:

• Gained control of Dorset and Tunbridge Wells and held all 10 councils they were defending.
• +104 net council seat gains, winning 521 seats in total (more than the 513 secured by the Conservatives). 
• Increased vote share +3 points on average across the Police and Crime Commissioners, despite the change in the electoral system creating incentives for their supporters to vote tactically away from them in most places.
• Maintained their position in the Greater London Assembly with 2 seats.

Green Party:

• Secured their best local elections performance ever (better than 2019): enough to put them at 13% in the local elections Projected National Share (PNS)
• +74 net council seat gains, winning 181 seats in total 
• Averaged 15% across the 7 Police and Crime Commissioner positions they stood for, despite the change in the electoral system creating incentives for their supporters to vote tactically for others
• Maintained their position in the Greater London Assembly with 3 seats.

Reform UK:

• Came 3^rd on 17%, narrowly behind the Conservatives, at the Blackpool South by-election.
• Won just 2 council seats out of 2640 up for election.
• Averaged 12% of the vote, in the wards they contested, but they contested just 12% of seats.
• Put in a much more limited effort and much less impressive performance than UKIP did in local elections between 2013 and 2016.
• 1 seat on the Greater London Assembly with 6% of the vote.

See analysis by John Curtice and the rest of the BBC team for further detail.