Amy Holmes
Political reporter, BBC Three Counties

Image source, Amy Holmes/BBC

Where the end result sees Milton Keynes City Council back in no overall control with the Liberal Democrats now the largest party with 20 councillors, while Labour is on 19, the Conservatives on 12 and Reform UK have its first nine councillors in the city.

What happens next?

Well both Labour and the Lib Dems will be meeting tomorrow to appoint new leaders and then one of those leaders will be voted in as the new leader of the council soon after.

Oh and by the way, we will be doing it all again in 2027 in Milton Keynes, when a third of councillors will be standing once more!

Thanks for reading today.

Amy Holmes
Political reporter, BBC Three Counties

Image source, Amy Holmes/BBC

At the Arena MK we are waiting on the result of the final ward, Watling, which is currently undergoing an intense recount.

The Liberal Democrats are currently the largest party on Milton Keynes City Council with 20 councillors, Labour have 18, Conservatives have 10 and Reform UK have nine.

Three councillors are left to elect, so Labour could still overtake the Liberal Democrats - but no party can reach the magic majority mark of 31.

Reform has picked up the majority of its seats in the Bletchley area and the Conservative Party is into double figures for councillors with one ward still to go.

Matthew Lockwood
BBC Three Counties Radio

It has been a day to celebrate for the Liberal Democrats in Watford.

After Peter Taylor was elected mayor for a third successive term, the party remains in control of Watford Borough Council after winning all 12 seats up for re-election and gaining two seats from Labour.

Emil Rowe is the new Liberal Democrat councillor for Holywell – the first Liberal Democrat in that ward for 20 years.

Sandra Mano is the party’s new councillor for the Vicarage ward.

Taylor said: “Labour are way down, we are the party to beat Reform [in Watford] - in a general election.”

Nicola Haseler
Senior journalist reporter, Stevenage

There was a crucial ward on Stevenage Borough Council for Labour to hold on to – Old Town.

Mason Humberstone, a former Labour councillor on the authority who defected to Reform UK last year, was hoping to win as a Reform candidate after standing for the party in Thursday's ballot.

It was a close call, with 509 votes to Reform and 542 to Labour.

Kevin Bonavia, the Labour MP for Stevenage, said: "Residents got to see what he was about and they rejected him at the first opportunity.”

Image source, Nicola Haseler/BBC

Nine wards were won by Reform, including Roebuck, which 26-year-old Liam Morrell Phillips won.

“What today has proved is people want change. It’s important we get younger people involved in politics, a lot of young people say, 'What’s the point in voting?'."

“Am I the future face of Reform? We’ll have to wait and see!”

Image source, Nicola Haseler/BBC

Danny Fullbrook
Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire

The Liberal Democrats have held on to St Albans City and District Council, the home of the parliamentary party's deputy leader Daisy Cooper.

The party had 19 councillors elected, meaning its current total on the council sits at 44.

Two Conservative councillors were elected, bringing the party's total to five.

The rest of the authority is made of three Green Party councillors, two Independent councillors and two Labour councillors.

Martin Heath
Political reporter, BBC Three Counties

Image source, Martin Heath/BBC

Sandreni Bonfante, the Liberal Democrat deputy leader of Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council, says she is really grateful for the opportunity to "keep on delivering what people have asked for on the doorsteps".

Labour is still the largest party on the authority, but the Liberal Democrats kept all of its seats, making it likely that the Labour and Liberal Democrat coalition will remain in place.

Nicola Haseler
BBC News

Labour remains the largest party on Stevenage Borough Council with 22 councillors and Reform UK is the second-largest group with 10.

Reform won nine seats, Labour took three and Liberal Democrats took two.

Laura Coffey
Political reporter, in Rickmansworth

Image source, Laura Coffey/BBC

On Three Rivers District Council the Conservatives have made three gains overall - taking one seat from Labour in South Oxhey and two from the Liberal Democrats.

Alongside that the party has held on to four of its existing seats.

The Liberal Democrats have held five seats, while the Green Party has retained one.

Reform UK has not won any seats, but the party has finished second or third in most wards.

The council remains in no overall control.

Peter Taylor has been re-elected as mayor of Watford for his third term.

The Liberal Democrat took a 52.52% majority with 14,583 votes.

Mark Dixon, of Reform UK, is in second place with 4,972 votes, a 17.91% share.

The turnout for this election is 36.96% of the electorate.

Martin Heath
Political reporter, BBC Three Counties

It is widely accepted that local elections are really referendums on national issues, so the UK response to the war in Iran, the Peter Mandelson row and the cost of living could be key issues.

However, local factors could play a part.

Recent debates on social media have included the county's record on services for children with disabilities, 20mph zones and town centre regeneration.

Some parties have campaigned on issues even closer to home - including overdevelopment of local areas, saving the green belt and helping local businesses.

Amy Holmes
Political reporter, BBC Three Counties

Image source, Amy Holmes/BBC

Labour has had full control of Milton Keynes City Council for two years, having previously been in an alliance with the Liberal Democrats as, at the time, it did not have another councillors to take full control (a party needs half of the councillors plus one).

As it stands, the party led by Pete Marland for 12 years (although he is standing down) have 30 councillors (out of 57), while the Liberal Democrat Party is the official opposition with 18 and the Conservatives have nine.

The Green Party currently has no councillors - in fact, it has only had one in the history of the authority - while Reform UK also has none, but both parties are tipped to make gains in the city.

Nicola Haseler
Senior journalist reporter, Stevenage

Image source, Nicola Haseler/BBC

So far six wards in Stevenage Borough Council have declared and four have gone to Reform UK.

Labour held on to the Bedwell ward, which mean it has the one seat it needed to keep control of the authority, and the Liberal Democrats took one seat.

Stevenage has been a Labour run council since 1974, when the council was formed.

At the time of the council's formation, Harold Wilson was prime minister, a stamp was about 4p and a pint of beer was 22p - so it would have been a seismic shift if Labour had lost control of the council for the first time in the authority's history.

There have also only been three council leaders in those 52 years – all Labour.

Correction: We previously reported Reform UK had won five seats, but the party won four

The final result is in at the Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council count - and very little has changed.

Labour is still the largest party on the authority, having lost two seats to Reform UK but gaining one from the Green Party.

The Liberal Democrats kept all of its seats, making it likely that the Labour and Liberal Democrat coalition will remain in place.

The Conservative Party still have the 12 seats it had before the election.

Image source, Martin Heath/BBC

Amy Holmes
Political reporter, BBC Three Counties

Image source, Amy Holmes/BBC

Reform UK are strongly tipped to win their first councillor in Milton Keynes this afternoon, and based on overnight results are being backed to perhaps be the largest party on the authority.

Party spokesperson Mark Arnull, who is leader of West Northants Council said: "I'm looking at boxes and I'm seeing Reform UK with quite big piles. So I think the candidates are buoyant, I'm buoyant, the party's buoyant, I'm excited to see what we can do here today."

In terms of results he added: "It's slightly difficult to call but I'm looking around the room, I'm seeing the right piles in the right areas at the moment and our candidates have been out on the streets they've been knocking doors and all the right things that we do everywhere around the country."

Matthew Lockwood
Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire

Image source, Peter Taylor

Peter Taylor, the sitting Liberal Democrat mayor of Watford who is hoping to win a third successive term, said: “The mood here is the usual feeling of nervous anticipation.

“The Watford Liberal Democrat team seems to be doing well.

“As elsewhere, Labour and the Conservatives are struggling, Reform UK are a threat in some parts of the town.”

Could this election lead to regime change in Hertfordshire?published at 13:13 BST 8 May

13:13 BST 8 May

Martin Heath
Political reporter, BBC Three Counties

Although the six councils with elections this year are only putting a third of their seats up for election, four of them could see a change in control.

The districts of Three Rivers and Welwyn Hatfield had no party with an overall majority, with the former relying on ad hoc cooperation and the latter on an occasionally fragile coalition.

One or two extra seats for larger parties could result in a change of control.

St Albans, run by the Liberal Democrats, and Labour-controlled Stevenage both have parties in overall control, but enough seats are being contested to make a change of regime mathematically possible.

Image source, Ben Schofield/BBC

Amy Holmes
Political reporter, BBC Three Counties

Image source, Amy Holmes/BBC

Milton Keynes is growing fast with more than 300,000 residents - and that figure could rise to 400,000 by 2040.

The government announced in March that the city would become a "renewed new town" with another 40,000 homes being built by 2029.

Milton Keynes City Council is well ahead of government targets to build 1,720 houses a year (2,110 were constructed 2024-25), although just 7% of those in central Milton Keynes were affordable housing.

However there are concerns from politicians and residents that the growth is happening too quickly, with infrastructure struggling to cope with the increase in residents.

Another problem to solve is special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) provision, as the number of children with an Education, Health and Care Plans has more than doubled in the last decade - and the last Ofsted and Care Quality Commission, external inspection said the authority needed to improve.

The council's SEND budget is £73.3m for 2026-27, up from £51m in 2021-22. All political parties seem to agree it needs to be fixed, but how they do that tends to vary.

Amy Holmes
Political reporter, BBC Three Counties

Image source, Amy Holmes/BBC

The Conservatives are the smallest party on Milton Keynes City Council going into this election, with nine councillors - but as recently as 2022 it was the largest.

Shazna Muzammil, the group's leader, said at the count: "Keeping the nine [councillors] is the best result. Anything more than that is a fantastic result for us."

With Reform UK tipped to potentially become the largest party in Milton Keynes, Muzammil was asked if her party could form an alliance to run the authority with the party.

She said: "I'll wait for them to knock on the door and then I'll have a think about what we want to do. We want to get through this campaign and focus on making sure our candidates get over the line."

Laura Coffey
Political reporter, Rickmansworth

Image source, Laura Coffey/BBC

Voter turnout in the Three Rivers district was 44.84%.

Stephen Giles-Medhurst, the Lib Dem leader of Three Rivers Council, said that figure is good for democracy.

The results have not been declared yet, but he believes Reform UK could do well in many of the authority's wards, similar to the party's results across the country.

He says he expects it will be tricky for all parties, but Reform could take at least one seat, possibly more.

Danny Fullbrook
Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire

Daisy Cooper is the MP for St Albans and deputy leader of the Liberal Democrats.

The Lib Dems run St Albans City and District Council and with only a third of wards up for election this time around, that is not expected to change.

When speaking on the BBC News Channel, Cooper said the party is seeing strong results in areas where it already has sitting MPs, such as St Albans - even as Reform UK makes gains elsewhere.

She said: "Reform UK is peddling a really distinct form of divisive politics and the Conservative Party are chasing them in that direction. As a result there's a very distinctive political space for Liberal Democrats and we're determined to fill it.

"What we can see in these local elections is we are expanding our footprint in the areas where we've already won in a general election and we're building our footprint ready for the next general election too."