Friday 3am to 8am: a string of Welsh and English councils
Labour dominated the local council landscape in Wales, but the Conservatives have benefitted from a collapse in support for Ukip since the Brexit vote, though perhaps not as much as they may have hoped for. Labour lost control of Blaenau Gwent and Bridgend, with the Tories gaining Monmouthshire. Critically though, Labour retained control of the big prizes: Cardiff and Swansea. Follow our live results tracker here.
3am to 8am: will the Tory heartland councils go even bluer?
A swath of Conservative-held councils were announced overnight, including, including Gloucestershire, Essex, Dorset, Lincolnshire, Somerset and Hampshire. All have stayed blue.
2pm to 3pm: the big patterns emerge
A rush of results will come in at around 2pm after a quiet period for most of the morning – 18 English, Scottish and Welsh councils are expected at this time. In Scotland, watch to see how the balance of power lands between the SNP and Labour in Inverclyde, Midlothian, East Lothian and Renfrewshire. And all eyes will be on whether the Conservatives have been right to boast about a revival in Scotland as the results come in for Dumfries and Galloway, Scottish Borders, South Ayrshire and Aberdeenshire. A little earlier, the Conservatives will be expected to comfortably hold Devon, Hertfordshire and East Sussex but there could be hints about whether the Lib Dems are recovering if they are gaining seats. The Tories lost control of Warwickshire in 2013 and want to gain it back in a straight fight against Labour that could give some clues about how the general election will go in marginals such as Nuneaton. In Cambridgeshire, it will be interesting to see whether the Lib Dems pick up any pro-EU votes in Cambridge from Labour. At 3pm, Cornwall will be one to watch as it is fairly evenly divided between independents, Lib Dems and Conservatives.
3pm: Steve Rotheram expected to be the first Liverpool region mayor
Labour is all but certain to win the mayoralty, which will probably prompt Rotheram to withdraw as a parliamentary candidate for the safe Labour seat of Liverpool Walton.
4pm: SNP could seize Glasgow off Labour
The first count has confirmed an historic loss for Labour in its former heartland council and no overall control is likely. But all parliamentary seats in the city are now held by the SNP and it is could well spread that dominance to the council.
4pm: Labour expect to keep control in Derbyshire and Lancashire
The party is dominant on Derbyshire council and will want to at least maintain its current level of councillors. The situation in Lancashire is more finely balanced, with Labour narrowly holding power. It is a key target for the Conservatives both at the local and general elections. Any retreat in Labour’s position will augur badly for the 8 June but the party’s hopes will be bolstered if it holds firm.
4pm: North Tyneside and Tees Valley mayoralties
These are pretty certain wins for Labour, providing some cheer after some potentially difficult results elsewhere. Norma Redfearn is seeking re-election in North Tyneside, while Sue Jeffrey in Teesside is expected to become the only female winner out of the new metro mayoral contests.
5pm: More Labour v Tory battlegrounds
Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn both launched their local election campaigns in the Nottinghamshire, where Labour is defending the council and the Tories hope to make gains. It is the reverse situation in Staffordshire, where Labour will want to regain control of a council it held between 1981 and 2009.
5pm: Cambridgeshire and Peterborough mayoralty
The Conservative candidate, James Palmer, is likely to win but a strong vote for the Lib Dems could make Tories standing in remain-voting areas in the general election start to sweat.
6pm: West Midlands and Greater Manchester mayoralties
West Midlands is the big one. Labour started off confident that Sion Simon would win in a heartland area for the party. But Andy Street, a former John Lewis boss, has somehow become the favourite for the Conservatives. There will be some depressed Labour general election candidates in the West Midlands if the Tories manage to pull this off. But the fight is close and by no means yet lost for Labour. Labour’s Andy Burnham, a former health secretary, is near guaranteed to win the Greater Manchester mayoral for Labour.
6pm: Kent
A traditional Tory heartland, there was an influx of Ukip councillors at the last election. It will, therefore, be a key test of whether Ukip’s support has collapsed since Theresa May fully embraced Brexit.
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