Local election results live: Reform wins spate of councils as Farage declares ‘beginning of the end’ for Tories

Reform has won the Hull and East Yorkshire mayoral election.

Former boxer and Olympic medallist Luke Campbell will become the region’s mayor.

We’ll bring you more as it comes.

Kemi Badenoch has told Conservative councillors who have lost their seats she is “sincerely sorry” and that while the public are “fed up” with Labour, they are not yet ready to trust the Tories.

“What I saw everywhere I campaigned was that people are fed up with the Labour government.

“They were angry about winter fuel payments. They were angry about the jobs tax, but they are still not yet ready to trust us.

“We have a big job to do to rebuild trust with the public.

“That’s the job from Conservative party has given me and I am going to make sure that we get ourselves back to the place where we are seen as the credible alternative to Labour.”

In a message to Conservative councillors, she described “how sincerely sorry I am for your loss” but pledged that “we are going to win those seats back”.

All wards have been declared in Gloucestershire County Council and no party has achieved an overall majority.

The Conservatives plummeted from 24 down to six seats, while Liberal Democrats are the largest party with 27 councillors – an increase of 11.

Reform also gained 11 councillors, while the Greens gained five to now sit on nine, according to the BBC.

Labour lost four councillors and are left with just one in the council.

Political editor David Maddox brings the exclusive:

Senior Tories are already plotting ways to oust Kemi Badenoch after the party’s disastrous local election results.

The prospect of the Tories having their fourth leader in less than four years appears to be on the cards with the party losing hundreds of council seats across England and being almost wiped out in traditionally strong areas for them.

The Independent has learnt that discussions were already underway before Thursday’s local elections to find a way to remove her.

As dawn broke today, the country woke up to headlines of a Reform victory in the Runcorn and Helsby by-election, overturning a Labour majority of nearly 15,000 votes from less than a year ago.

Nigel Farage hailed the result – but it’s not the only to emerge with yesterday also seeing six mayoral contests and 24 local council elections.

Here are the results we have so far:

North Tyneside – Labour hold with Karen Clark beating the second-placed Reform candidate by just 444 votes

Doncaster – Labour hold with Ros Jones seeing off the second-placed Reform candidate by 698 votes.

West of England – Labour hold with Helen Godwin coming ahead of the second-placed Reform candidates by 5,949 votes.

Greater Lincolnshire – Reform win with Dame Andrew Jenkyns beating the second-placed Tory candidate by almost 40,000 votes.

Devon, Hertfordshire, Leicestershire, Northumberland, Warwickshire, Wiltshire, Worcestershire, and Gloucestershire councils – No overall control

Durham, Lincolnshire, Derbyshire, Staffordshire, Lancashire, Kent and Nottinghamshire councils: Reform wins control

Councillors (gains/losses):

Reform’s new mayor Dame Andrea Jenkyns Greater Lincolnshire has stormed out of a Sky News interview after being questioned about her claims that migrants should be put in tents and hitting out at her opponent over their South African accent.

“People come here illegally, they should be put in tents like they do in France,” she said.

Questioned on her remarks about her opponent’s accent, she said: “The irony of saying someone who’s been parachuted in who is not even from the country. I went to school, college, university [in Lincolnshire].”

Pressed whether she believes that someone with a different accent cannot be from Britain, the new Reform mayor said: “I’m not even going to answer any more of your questions.

“Your questioning is quite divisive, you’re looking into things when it was a little play with words, a little joke because of the irony – do you not understand irony?”

Reform would have won by a ten per cent margin if the entire population had voted in a general election on Thursday.

Nigel Farage’s party would have taken 30 per cent of the vote, with Labour down at 20 per cent, according to the BBC’s Projected National Share.

Lib Dems would come third with 17 per cent while the Conservatives would have dropped down to be the fourth most popular party, at just 15 per cent of the vote. The Greens would sit at 11 per cent.

Sir Ed Davey has claimed the Lib Dems are “exceeding expectations” in local election results so far.

“We are the party of middle England now, and I’m really proud of what our councillors have achieved and what they’re going to achieve as they work hard for their local communities,” the Lib Dem leader told Sky News, speaking from a garden party in Oxfordshire.

Asked if Reform UK was taking seats from the Tories that the Lib Dems otherwise might have, he said: “I’m expecting that we will take control of one or more councils from the Conservatives when all the votes are counted.

“I’m not going to predict … but I can say that we’re really confident.”

With both Labour and the Tories struggling, Farage now claims Reform is poised to replace the Conservatives as the main opposition.

In a live Q&A for The Independent, chief political commentator John Rentoul answered your questions on Reform’s rise, what it means for the more traditional parties, and whether Farage’s success can last.

Topics ranged from Reform’s long-term prospects and Starmer’s strategy, to the risks of Farage’s leadership and the broader implications for British politics.