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Election Live: Conservatives secure major wins in local and mayor elections

Last updated: 15:53 05 May 2017 BST, First published: 07:51 05 May 2017 BST

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  • Conservatives in the lead in local elections

  • Labour's Steve Rotheram elected Liverpool Mayor

  • YouGov says local elections a poor indicator for 8 June

  • Labour loses control of Glagow for first time since 1980

 

This concludes our coverage of the election until next week

 

3.53pm...Lib Dems expect "scores of gains" at general election

The Lib Dems have said based on the local election results so far they are on track to make “scores of gains” at the general election as the “real opposition” to the Conservatives.

The party said in a statement: “Seats as diverse as Bath, Cambridge, Cardiff Central, Cheltenham, Eastleigh, Eastbourne, Edinburgh West, St Albans and Watford would fall to the Liberal Democrats on the basis of the results so far. This would more than double the size of the Liberal Democrat parliamentary party.

"The Liberal Democrats topped the polls in Eastbourne despite Theresa May’s visit, and early signs are they are surging ahead in Scottish seats such as East Dunbartonshire and NE Fife.”

However, the Lib Dems lost 35 council seats across Britain as a whole, according to the latest figures.

 

 

3.35pm...Labour's Andy Burnham voted Major of Greater Manchester

Labour’s former health secretary, Andy Burnham, has been voted the first Mayor of Greater Manchester.

Burnham, who received 63% of the vote, was regarded as the favourite to win and will work alongside the leaders of the 10 local authorities in deciding policy.

 

 

2.58pm...Conservatives win Tees Valley mayoral contest

The Conservatives have won the Tees Valley mayoral contest in an area widely expected to back Labour by a majority.

Ben Houchen received 51.1% of the vote to Labour candidate Sue Jeffrey’s 48.9%.

 

 

 

This compares to a Labour vote of 42% and Tory vote of 30% in the 2015 general election, according to Political Studies Association analysis.

 

2.44pm...Tories expected to knock Labour out of the Park

Here is the projected share of votes in England’s local elections, according to the BBC. 

Conservative - 38%
Labour - 27%
Lib Dem - 18%
UKIP - 5%
Others - 12%

The figures mark the highest estimate of Conservative performance in the annual round of English local elections since 2008.

 

2.31pm...Conservatives gain majority in Lancashire and Derbyshire

The Conservative Party has gained an overall majority in the Lancashire local elections with 45 seats.

They needed 43 for a majority of the 84 seats in the council.

The party has also taken over control of Derbyshire County Council from Labour with 36 seats. The council has 64 seats and 33 were needed to gain a majority.

Labour secured 22 seats while the Lib Dems had two.

 

2.06pm...Andy Street wins first round of West Midlands Mayoral contest

Tory candidate Andy Street has won the first round of the West Midlands Mayoral contest, according to PolitcsHome’s John Ashmore.

 

 

1.40pm...Labour's Steve Rotheram elected Liverpool city Mayor

Labour’s Steve Rotheram has been elected Liverpool city Mayor with 59% of the vote.

His main rival Conservative Tony Caldeira secured 20.37% of votes.

However, on a broader spectrum the Conservatives gained 189 council seats in England while the Labour party has lost 82, UKIP has lost 76, the Lib Dems are down by 25 and the Greens are up by three. 

In Wales, Labour has lost 97 seats, independents have secured an extra 14, the Conservatives has gained 72, Plaid Cymru has another 29 and the Lib Dems have lost 10.

 

1.20pm...UKIP gains first seat

UKIP has gained its first seat in the country in Lancashire County Council's Padiham and Burnley West ward.

Alan Hosker won with a majority vote of 228 out of 1,234 votes, taking the seat from Labour. 

 

12.47pm...Labour loses overall control of Glagow 

Labour has lost overall control of Glasgow for the first time since 1980.

Counting is still ongoing in Glasgow but Labour’s early losses meant it will not win another majority.

The Scottish National Party is hoping to take over as the biggest party in Glasgow.

Orkney was the first to announce its early results, followed by Clackmannanshire, Scottish Borders, Argyll, Renfrewshire, and Bute and South Ayrshire.

The Conservatives have been winning seats in areas which had previously been unreachable - including and Ferguslie Park in Paisley and Shettleston in Glasgow.

The full national results are expected this afternoon

 

11.30am... Tory advance a price worth paying for Brexit, says UKIP’s Paul Nuttall

UKIP leader, Paul Nuttall, has conceded that it had been a “difficult night” for the party in the local elections.

However, Nuttall said there was a silver lining as Brexit will go ahead regardless.

“If the price of Britain leaving the EU is a Tory advance after taking up this patriotic cause then it is a price UKIP is prepared to pay.”

 

 

11.07am... Conservatives take full control of Warwickshire 

The Conservatives have won an extra nine seats to take full control in the Warwickshire County Council while Labour lost half of their numbers.

The Tories now hold 36 seats and Labour holds 10. The Liberal Democrtas have seven and the Greens have two, while Stratford First and Whitnash Residents Association each have one.  

 

 

10.45am... Independents dominate Wrexham council

In the Wrexham council, independents have won the most seats.

Independents won 25 in Wrexham but lost three councillors.

Labour secured 12 seats, the Conservatives nine, Plaid Cymru three, and the Liberal Democrats two.

In Flintshire, Labour retained 34 seats but failed to achieve a majority. the independents won 23 seats, up one.

The Conservatives have six councillors, down one, while the Lib Dems have five. 

 

10.33am...Local elections a poor indicator for general elections, says YouGov

 

10.10am... Goldman says Brexit will stall London’s financial centre 

As a side to the local elections, the chief executive of Goldman Sachs, Lloyd Blankfein, has warned that London’s financial centre will “stall” as a result of Brexit. The UK's withdrawl from the European Union is what prompted Prime Minister Theresa May to call a snap general election on 8 June.

Blankfein told the BBC: “It will stall, it might backtrack a bit, it just depends on a lot of things about which we are uncertain, and I know there isn’t certainty at the moment.”

Blankfein said it will take companies a couple of years to adjust after the UK leaves the European Union in 2019.

“We are talking about the long-term stability of huge economies with hundreds of millions of people and livelihoods at stake, and huge gross domestic product,” he said. “So, if it takes a little while, I’d rather get it right than do things quickly.”

Goldman, which employs more than 6,000 people in the UK, is transferring hundreds of staff out of London ahead of Brexit. A major concern for banks is losing access to Europe’s single market and Goldman is just one of many lenders making contingency plans. Lloyds Banking Group is setting up a German sUBSidiary while HSBC, JP Morgan and UBS plan to move staff from the UK to the continent. 

 

09.40am...Tories make headway in local elections

Across the 23 English and Welsh counties that have fully declared results, the Tories have control of 10 authorities and 561 seats, a net gain of 155.

Labour has control of five authorities and 404 seats, a net loss of 125.

The Lib Dems have 143 seats, losing a net 28. UKIP has failed to win any seats, down 41, while the Greens have secured five. 

 

08.00am... Local elections to provide insight into general election, says analyst

On the local elections, Mike van Dulken, head of research at Accendo Markets, said: "Continuing the political theme, incoming results from the UK local elections will provide an interesting insight into next month’s general election, with early indications showing the Conservatives doing well (as expected) but Labour not performing quite as badly as had been expected, while the Lib Dems fail to capitalise on Tory Remainer defections and UKIP support all but diverted to the ruling party now flying the banner for Brexit."

 

7.56am…Tim Bowles elected West of England Mayor

Tory politician Tim Bowles has been elected as the first West of England combined authority mayor, beating Labour candidate Lesley Ann Mansell after second preference votes were counted.

Bowles secured a total of 70,300 votes, compared to Mansell's 65,923.

Turnout was 29.7% with 199,519 voting out of a possible 671,280.

The metro mayor role looks after the Bath, Bristol, South Gloucestershire and North East Somerset council areas.

 

07.05am…Conservatives take the lead

The Conservatives have made major wins in the first set of results of the local and mayoral elections, gaining five councils, including Lincolnshire.

Labour has lost two seats including Blaenau Gwent and Bridgend.

A total of 4,851 council seats are being contested in England, Scotland and Wales.

At 6.00am, the Tories had control of 10 authorities and 523 seats, a net gain of 138 while Labour had control of two authorities and 349 seats, a net loss of 121.  The Liberal Democrats won 132 seats, a net loss of 24. UKIP failed to win any seats, a net loss of 41.

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