Labour is mired in another weekend of election misery after the Tories demolished a Red Wall brick to claim a stunning victory in the Hartlepool by-election.
Keir Starmer’s party suffered losses in a swathe of English council seats as voters shrugged off Tory sleaze revelations to back Boris Johnson.
And in the Tees Valley mayoral contest, Conservative incumbent Ben Houchen trounced his Labour rival by a landslide, with 73% of votes to 27%.
The West Midlands mayoral result, due on Saturday, could pile on the agony for Labour as Tory strategists are confident of victory for reigning mayor Andy Street.
Even London’s mayor race, where Sadiq Khan had been set to romp home by a wide margin, is “definitely closer” than people thought, sources admit.
A fresh ballot box meltdown across England saw electors switch to the Conservatives following 11 years of Tory rule from Westminster – prompting another round of Labour soul-searching and tough questions for Mr Starmer’s 13-month premiership.
But the results are not all rosy for the Tories – whose vote share in Scotland was actually down in early counting.
With the SNP gaining three Holyrood seats in early results, Nicola Sturgeon appeared to be inching close to a majority in the Scottish Parliament.
That would allow her to launch a fresh and brutal push for independence – which could split the UK apart within just a few years.
Results were also mixed for Labour, who appeared to be doing better in the Welsh Parliament election than they were in England.
Labour held key Tory target seat Wrexham with a slightly increased vote share, while the party raised its vote share in Gower by 7% compared to the Tories’ 1%.
(Image: PA)
With 24 out of 60 Welsh Parliament seats declared Labour had upped its vote share by 4.3% – though the Tories’ was also up by 4.6%.
That suggests Labour may still have to seek a coalition or other arrangement with smaller parties to govern in Wales.
Results will continue to pour in until Sunday including for the Welsh and Scottish Parliaments, which are only starting to count this morning.
But so you can keep track, we’re publishing all the results so far on this article which you can return to and refresh to see what’s what.
Please note that while our interactive tools should show full detailed results, our text service only includes highlights or seats changing hands in order to make this article easier to navigate.
Text last updated 7pm Friday. Graphics update automatically.
Big elections 2021 at-a-glance
HARTLEPOOL BY-ELECTION: The blockbuster Westminster ballot. The Tories wiped out Labour ’s 3,595 majority in the Brexit-backing northern seat – which has been red since its creation in 1974. The Tory majority is now almost double what Labour’s was before in a historic upset. Result now declared.
143 ENGLISH COUNCILS: More than 5,000 seats were up for grabs on 21 county, 28 unitary, 35 metropolitan and 59 district councils in England. Results across the country showed the Tories doing very well at Labour’s expense – despite many of the seats that were up for election being lost by Labour last time. Labour lost a whopping 10 seats in traditional bellwether Nuneaton and Bedworth. The Tories snatched Harlow in Essex from Labour after seven seats changed hands and took Northumberland from no overall control. Dudley – where Labour and the Tories were practically neck and neck before – went to the Tories with a massive cull of red seats. Conservatives now have 46 seats, almost double Labour’s 24. Labour was stripped of control in Sheffield as the council leader lost his seat and the Conservatives won their first on the authority for 20 years. Labour also lost nine councillors in Sunderland. Results Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
SCOTTISH PARLIAMENT: All 129 seats are being chosen and Nicola Sturgeon was hoping to win an overall majority to push for independence – which she was just short of before. Early results showed SNP gains in key seats including Ayr, East Lothian and Edinburgh Central and a vote share up by 1.55%. It’s not a landslide and was still too close to call on Friday night if there would be an SNP majority. Nicola Sturgeon won in her seat but on a slightly reduced vote share, as Labour leader Anas Sarwar notched up more than 10,000 votes standing against her. Results Friday afternoon through to Saturday night.
WELSH PARLIAMENT: All 60 seats were up for grabs and polls suggested Labour – while the biggest party – had an uphill struggle to win an overall majority. But the party was not suffering the collapse many feared, or that was seen in England. Only one of Wales’ so-called red wall seats, the Vale of Clwyd, fell to the Welsh Conservatives in early counting while Labour held Wrexham. Labour sources were also confident of unseating the former Plaid Cymru leader Leanne Wood in Rhondda. Results Friday afternoon and evening.
13 ENGLISH MAYORS: The biggest battles were over Tory-held West Midlands, Tees Valley and West of England, but Labour’s hopes of making in-roads were fading fast. Tory Ben Houchen scored a massive victory in Tees Valley while Tory sources were confident of taking West Midlands. Even in London, where Sadiq Khan had been expected to easily romp home, Labour sources said the margin was closer than most people thought.West Midlands, West of England and London declare Saturday.
LONDON ASSEMBLY: All 25 seats were up for election and Labour was straining for an overall majority. Results Friday and Saturday.
39 POLICE COMMISSIONERS: The oft-forgotten jobs in England and Wales were up for election for the third time since they were created in 2012. Results through to Monday.
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RESULTS IN DETAIL
HARTLEPOOL BY-ELECTION
Tory Jill Mortimer thrashed Labour’s Paul Williams with 15,529 votes to his 8,589, declaring: “The people have spoken and they’ve made clear it’s time for change.”
Jill Mortimer (C) 15,529 (51.88%, +22.96%), Paul Williams (Lab) 8,589 (28.69%, -8.99%), Sam Lee (Ind) 2,904 (9.70%), Claire Martin (Heritage) 468 (1.56%), John Prescott (Reform) 368 (1.23%), Rachel Featherstone (Green) 358 (1.20%), Andrew Hagon (LD) 349 (1.17%, -2.97%), Thelma Walker (Ind) 250 (0.84%), Chris Killick (ND) 248 (0.83%), Hilton Dawson (NE Party) 163 (0.54%), W Ralph Ward-Jackson (Ind) 157 (0.52%), Gemma Evans (Women) 140 (0.47%), Adam Gaines (Ind) 126 (0.42%), The Incredible Flying Brick (Loony) 108 (0.36%), David Bettney (Soc Dem) 104 (0.35%), Steve Jack (FA) 72 (0.24%)
C maj 6,940 (23.19%). 15.97% swing Lab to C. Turnout 29,933 (42.30%, -15.62%)
SCOTTISH PARLIAMENT
Results are beginning to emerge from the Holyrood elections. We will highlight any seats which change hands in the text of this article – for full results see the interactive tools below.
SNP GAINS
Ayr: SNP gain from Con. Siobhan Brown won 18,881, defeating incumbent John Scott, who took 18,711 with a turnout of 68%. Mr Scott has held the seat since 2000.
East Lothian: SNP gain from Lab. Paul McLennan (SNP) 17,968 (39.25%, +4.42%) Martin Whitfield (Lab) 16,789 (36.67%, -1.12%) Craig Hoy (C) 9,470 (20.68%, -3.17%) Euan Davidson (LD) 1,556 (3.40%, -0.13%).
Edinburgh Central: SNP gain from Con. Angus Robertson (SNP) 16,276 (39.02%, +10.37%) Scott Douglas (C) 11,544 (27.67%, -2.76%) Maddy Kirkman (Lab) 6,839 (16.40%, -5.69%) +Alison Johnstone (Green) 3,921 (9.40%, -4.19%) Bruce Wilson (LD) 2,555 (6.13%, +1.23%) Bonnie Prince Bob (Ind) 363 (0.87%) Tam Laird (SLP) 137 (0.33%, -0.02%) Donald MacKay (UKIP) 78 (0.19%)
WELSH PARLIAMENT
Results are beginning to emerge from the Senedd elections. We will highlight any seats which change hands in the text of this article – for full results see the interactive tools below.
LABOUR GAINS
Rhondda: Lab gain from PC. Buffy Williams (Lab) 12,832 (54.70%, +18.80%) *Leanne Wood (PC) 7,335 (31.27%, -19.36%) Tom Parkhill (C) 1,490 (6.35%, +4.10%) Jeff Gregory (Propel) 525 (2.24%) Ian McLean (Abolish) 430 (1.83%) Steve Bayliss (Reform) 355 (1.51%) Steven Phillips (FA) 291 (1.24%) Jackie Charlton (LD) 200 (0.85%, +0.12%)
CONSERVATIVE GAINS
Vale of Clwyd: C gain from Lab. Gareth Davies (C) 10,792 (41.42%, +5.07%) Jason McLellan (Lab) 10,426 (40.02%, +0.49%) Glenn Swingler (PC) 2,972 (11.41%, +2.73%) Lisa Davies (LD) 782 (3.00%, -0.13%) Peter Dain (Reform) 552 (2.12%) David Thomas (Ind) 529 (2.03%)
Monmouth: C gain from Ind. Peter Fox (C) 15,332 (42.73%, -0.54%) Catrin Maby (Lab) 11,487 (32.01%, +5.14%) Hugh Kocan (PC) 2,085 (5.81%, +0.00%) Ian Chandler (Green) 2,000 (5.57%, +2.68%) Jo Watkins (LD) 1,892 (5.27%, +0.58%) *Nick Ramsay (Ind) 1,293 (3.60%) +Mark Reckless (Abolish) 1,174 (3.27%) Susan Boucher (Reform) 349 (0.97%)Elspeth Hill (FA) 181 (0.50%) Laurence Williams (Gwlad) 90 (0.25%)
PLAID CYMRU GAINS
Dwyfor Meirionnydd: PC gain from Ind Mabon ap Gwynfor. (PC) 11,490 (48.25%, +0.98%) Charlie Evans (C) 4,394 (18.45%, +2.84%) Cian Ireland (Lab) 3,702 (15.55%, +3.47%) Peter Read (Propel) 1,314 (5.52%) Glyn Daniels (Llais) 1,136 (4.77%) Stephen Churchman (LD) 916 (3.85%, -0.68%) Louise Hughes (Reform) 710 (2.98%) Michelle Murray (FA) 152 (0.64%)
MAYORS
- London: TBC, Awaiting results.
- West Midlands: TBC, Awaiting results.
- Tees Valley: Ben Houchen (Con) 121,964 (72.77%, +33.32%) Jessie Jacobs (Lab) 45,641 (27.23%, -11.75%).
- Greater Manchester: TBC, Awaiting results.
- Liverpool City Region: TBC, Awaiting results.
- West of England: TBC, Awaiting results.
- Cambridgeshire & Peterborough: TBC, Awaiting results.
- West Yorkshire: TBC, Awaiting results.
- Bristol: TBC, Awaiting results.
- Liverpool: Joanne Anderson (Lab) 38,958 (38.51%, -14.10%) Stephen Yip (Ind) 22,047 (21.79%) Richard Kemp (LD) 17,156 (16.96%, -4.15%) Tom Crone (Green) 8,768 (8.67%, -2.21%) Steve Radford (Lib) 7,135 (7.05%) Katie Burgess (C) 4,187 (4.14%, +0.52%) Roger Bannister (TUSC) 2,912 (2.88%, -2.19%).
- Salford: TBC, Awaiting results.
- Doncaster: Ros Jones (Lab) 31,232 James Hart (C) 21,019. First count: Ros Jones (Lab) 27,669 (43.79%, -7.13%). James Hart (C) 17,980 (28.46%, +7.27%). Frank Calladine (Ind) 5,166 (8.18%). Andy Budden (Yorkshire) 4,079 (6.46%, +1.41%). Joan Briggs (ND) 3,907 (6.18%). Warren Draper (Green) 3,370 (5.33%, +5.33%). Surjit Duhre (Reform) 1,012 (1.60%).
- North Tyneside: TBC, Awaiting results.
ENGLISH COUNCILS
LABOUR GAINS
Awaiting any Labour gains.
LABOUR LOSSES
Harlow: C gain 7, Lab lose 7. New council: C 20, Lab 12, Vacant 1
Plymouth: C gain 9, Lab lose 6, Ind lose 3. New council: C 25, Lab 24, Ind 8. No overall control
Rossendale: Lab 7, C 5, Ind 1 C gain 3, Lab lose 2, Ind lose 1. New council: Lab 17, C 16, Ind 3. No overall control
Sheffield: Green gain 5, LD gain 3, C gain 1, Lab lose 8, Ind lose 1. New council: Lab 41, LD 29, Green 13, C 1. No overall control
LABOUR – NO CHANGE
Barnsley: LD gain 3, Ind lose 3. New council: Lab 49, LD 7, Ind 4, C 3
Blackburn with Darwen: C gain 1, Lab gain 1, LD lose 1, Ind lose 1 New council: Lab 35, C 14, LD 1, Ind 1
Chorley: C up 5, Lab down 8, Ind down 2. New council: Lab 29, C 13
Coventry: C gain 2, Lab lose 1, Ind lose 1. New council: Lab 39, C 15
Doncaster: C gain 4, Lab gain 1, Ind lose 3, Green lose 1, Yorkshire lose 1. New council: Lab 40, C 11, Ind 4
Exeter: Green gain 1, Ind lose 1. New council: Lab 28, C 6, Green 2, LD 2, Ind 1
Gateshead: LD gain 1, Ind lose 1. New council: Lab 52, LD 13, Ind 1
Hastings C gain 4, Green gain 1, Lab lose 4, Ind lose 1. New council: Lab 19, C 12, Green 1
Halton: Boundary change. Green up 1, Lab down 3. New council: Lab 48, LD 3, C 2, Green 1
Kingston-upon-Hull: LD gain 2, Lab lose 1, Ind lose 1 New council: Lab 30, LD 26, C 1
Lincoln: C gain 1, LD gain 1, Lab lose 2. New council: Lab 22, C 10, LD 1
Liverpool: LD gain 2, Lab lose 1, Ind lose 1. New council: Lab 70, LD 12, Green 4, Lib 3, Ind 1
Manchester: Lab gain 1, Green gain 1, LD lose 1, Ind lose 1. New council: Lab 94, LD 1, Green 1
Newcastle: Ind gain 1, Lab lose 1. New council: Lab 52, LD 20, Ind 6
Oldham: C gain 4, Ind gain 2, Lab lose 6. New council: Lab 40, C 8, LD 8, Ind 4
Reading: Green gain 1, Lab lose 1. New council: Lab 29, C 10, Green 5, LD 2
Rochdale: Lab gain 1, Ind lose 1. New council: Lab 45, C 9, Ind 3, LD 3
Salford: Lab up 2, LD up 1, C down 2, Ind down 1. New council: Lab 52, C 7, LD 1
Sandwell: C gain 9, Ind lose 5, Lab lose 3, Reform lose 1 New council: Lab 58, C 9, Ind 4, Vacant 1
Sefton: Lab gain 5, C gain 2, LD lose 4, Ind lose 3. New council: Lab 48, C 8, LD 8, Ind 2
South Tyneside: Green gain 2, C gain 1, Ind gain 1, Lab lose 4. New council: Lab 44, Ind 6, Green 3, C 1
St Helens: Green gain 1, Ind lose 1. New council: Lab 35, LD 4, Green 3, Ind 3, C 3
Sunderland: C gain 6, LD gain 4, Lab lose 9, Green lose 1. New council: Lab 42, C 18, LD 12, UKIP 3
Wigan: No change. New council: Lab 57, Ind 10, C 8
Wolverhampton: C gain 4, Lab lose 4. New council: Lab 44, C 15, Ind 1
TORY GAINS
Basildon: C gain 4, Lab lose 3, Ind lose 1 New council: C 22, Lab 12, Ind 8
Cornwall: C up 3, Lab up 1, Green up 1, Meb Ker up 1, Ind down 24, LD down 18. New council: C 47, Ind 16, LD 13, Lab 5, Meb Ker 5, Green 1
Dudley: C gain 12, Lab lose 12. New council: C 46, Lab 24, Ind 2
Harlow: C gain 7, Lab lose 7. New council: C 20, Lab 12, Vacant 1
Maidstone: C gain 5, LD lose 4, Ind lose 1. New council: C 29, LD 17, Ind 5, Lab 4
Northumberland: Green gain 2, C gain 1, Ind lose 2, Lab lose 1. New council: C 34, Lab 21, Ind 7, LD 3, Green 2.
Nottinghamshire C gain 5, Ind gain 2, Lab lose 7 New council: C 37, Lab 15, Ind 13, LD 1
Nuneaton and Bedworth: C gain 11, Lab lose 10, Ind lose 1. New council: C 24, Lab 7, Ind 2, Green 1
Pendle: Lab down 6, LD down 5, C down 4, Ind down 1 New council: C 18, Lab 10, LD 5.
TORY LOSSES
Cambridgeshire: No overall control. LD up 4, Lab up 3, C down 7 New council: C 28, LD 20, Lab 9, Ind 4
TORY – NO CHANGE
Brentwood: C gain 2, Lab lose 1, Ind lose 1. New council: C 22, LD 13, Lab 2
Broxbourne: Lab gain 1, Ind lose 1. New council: C 27, Lab 3
Derbyshire: C gain 9, LD gain 1, Green gain 1, Lab lose 11. New council: C 45, Lab 14, LD 4, Green 1
Essex: R gain 2, C lose 1, Lab lose 1. New council: C 52, LD 8, Ind 6, Lab 5, R 3, Green 1
Epping Forest: LD gain 1, C lose 1 New council: C 36, R 13, LD 4, Green 3, Ind 2
Kent: Green up 3, Lab up 2, C down 2, Ind down 2, LD down 1. New council: C 61, Lab 7, LD 6, Green 4, Ind 1, R 1, Vacant 1
Leicestershire: C gain 6, LD lose 4, Lab lose 2 New council: C 42, LD 9, Lab 4
Lincolnshire: LD gain 2, C lose 1, Lab lose 1. New council: C 54, Ind 9, Lab 4, LD 3
North East Lincolnshire: C gain 8, Lab lose 6, LD lose 1, UKIP lose 1. New council: C 31, Lab 8, LD 3
Redditch: C gain 7, Lab lose 7. New council: C 25, Lab 4
Rochford: R gain 2, C gain 1, Green lose 2, Ind lose 1. New council: C 27, R 6, LD 3, Ind 2, Green 1
Solihull: C gain 4, Green gain 1, LD lose 3, Lab lose 1, Ind lose 1. New council: C 30, Green 15, LD 3, Lab 2, Ind 1
Swindon: C gain 6, Lab lose 3, LD lose 2, Ind lose 1. New council: C 36, Lab 20, Ind 1
Thurrock: C gain 1, Ind lose 1. New council: C 29, Lab 16, Ind 4
Warwickshire: C gain 8, Green gain 1, R gain 1, Lab lose 4, LD lose 3, Ind lose 3. New council: C 42, Lab 6, LD 5, Green 3, R 1
LIB DEM GAINS
Awaiting any Lib Dem gains.
LIB DEM LOSSES
Awaiting any Lib Dem losses.
NO OVERALL CONTROL – NO CHANGE
Bolton: C gain 2, Lab gain 1, LD lose 1, UKIP lose 1, Ind lose 1. New council: C 21, Lab 19, Ind 14, LD 5, UKIP 1
Burnley: C gain 3, Green gain 3, Lab lose 4, Ind lose 2. New council: Lab 18, C 9, LD 8, Green 5, Ind 5
Colchester: Green gain 1, LD lose 1. New council: C 23, LD 12, Lab 11, Ind 3, Green 2
Peterborough: C gain 1, Lab gain 1, Green gain 1, LD lose 1, Ind lose 1, Lib lose 1. New council: C 29, Ind 11, Lab 9, LD 8, Green 3
Southend: C gain 3, Lab gain 1, Ind lose 4. New council: C 23, Lab 13, Ind 10, LD 5
Stockport: Green gain 1, R gain 1, Lab lose 1, Ind lose 1. New council: LD 26, Lab 25, C 8, Ind 2, Green 1, R 1
Wirral: Green gain 3, C gain 1, Lab lose 2, Ind lose 2. New council: Lab 30, C 23, LD 6, Green 5, Ind 2
LONDON ASSEMBLY
TBC: Awaiting results.
POLICE COMMISSIONERS
- Avon & Somerset: TBC: Awaiting results.
- Bedfordshire: Festus Akinbusoye (Con) 59,793, David Michael (Lab) 50,815 (second count).
- Cambridgeshire : TBC: Awaiting results.
- Cheshire : TBC: Awaiting results.
- Cleveland : Steve Turner (Con) 74,023 (54.15%, +31.36%) Matthew Storey (Lab) 39,467 (28.87%, -12.13%) Barrie Cooper (Ind) 16,667 (12.19%) Christopher Jones (LD) 6,540 (4.78%, +4.78%)
- Cumbria : TBC: Awaiting results.
- Derbyshire : TBC: Awaiting results.
- Devon & Cornwall : TBC: Awaiting results.
- Dorset : David Sidwick (Con) 70,353 Dan Hardy (Ind) 43,427 (second count)
- Durham : TBC: Awaiting results.
- Dyfed-Powys : TBC: Awaiting results.
- Essex : TBC: Awaiting results.
- Gloucestershire : TBC: Awaiting results.
- Gwent : TBC: Awaiting results.
- Hampshire : TBC: Awaiting results.
- Hertfordshire : TBC: Awaiting results.
- Humberside : TBC: Awaiting results.
- Kent : TBC: Awaiting results.
- Lancashire : TBC: Awaiting results.
- Leicestershire : TBC: Awaiting results.
- Lincolnshire : TBC: Awaiting results.
- Merseyside : TBC: Awaiting results.
- Norfolk : TBC: Awaiting results.
- North Wales : TBC: Awaiting results.
- North Yorkshire: Philip Allott (Con) 84,737 Alison Hume (Lab) 53,442 (second count)
- Northamptonshire : TBC: Awaiting results.
- Northumbria: Kim McGuinness (Lab) 206,467 Duncan Crute (C) 139,875 (second round)
- Nottinghamshire : TBC: Awaiting results.
- South Wales : TBC: Awaiting results.
- South Yorkshire : TBC: Awaiting results.
- Staffordshire : TBC: Awaiting results.
- Suffolk : TBC: Awaiting results.
- Surrey : TBC: Awaiting results.
- Sussex : TBC: Awaiting results.
- Thames Valley : TBC: Awaiting results.
- Warwickshire : TBC: Awaiting results.
- West Mercia : TBC: Awaiting results.
- West Midlands : TBC: Awaiting results.
- Wiltshire : TBC: Awaiting results.
