That ends our day of live coverage. Thank you for joining us.

We're about to conclude our live coverage of the local elections here in the north-west of England.

We have seen some hugely significant results.

In Lancashire, Labour lost control of three councils - Preston, Hyndburn, and Blackburn with Darwen.

In Greater Manchester, the Liberal Democrats won control of Stockport Council, while Labour lost its majority in Tameside.

The biggest shock, however, came in St Helens, where Labour was all but wiped out as Reform raced to a famous victory that will be talked about for years.

Reform UK swept to a stunning victory in St Helens, winning 34 of the 48 seats.

Voters spectacularly rejected the incumbent Labour Party, which went into this election with a majority of eight.

Labour now only has two councillors, one fewer than the Lib Dems and one more than the Tories.

There are six independents and two seats are vacant.

Claire Hamilton
Liverpool City Region political reporter

We’ve got one more ward left to count here in St Helens, and Labour so far has not won a single seat.

For the Liverpool City Region this decimation of Labour's traditional support base is unprecedented.

It is blowing the minds of everyone across all the political parties who are still here.

Reform has won 30 seats so far, giving them a majority on St Helens Council.

Labour might end up with zero seats.

Claire Hamilton
Liverpool City Region political reporter

Liverpool City Region's mayor Steve Rotheram said Labour "cannot afford to ignore what these results are telling us - we are haemorrhaging seats in parts of the country and losing support in different directions".

He said "pretending otherwise helps nobody - politics is about listening, learning and adapting when people speak. Today, they have. This has to be a wake-up call".

Rotheram warned: "If we don’t respond, if we don’t reconnect with the communities we were elected to represent, then we risk letting down the very people we came into politics to fight for - and creating space for voices that thrive on division, not delivery.

"Adapt or die isn’t much of a slogan – but it is the reality of modern politics. The Labour Party has always been at its best when it has been a movement rooted in working people’s lives, hopes and concerns.

"That’s where we need to be.”

Claire Hamilton
Liverpool City Region political reporter

Steve Rotheram, mayor of the Liverpool City Region, said: "It’s been a bruising set of results for Labour in many parts of the country, and we need to be honest about what that means.

"First and foremost, I want to congratulate every Labour candidate who has won or held their seat. Campaigning is never easy, and everyone who puts themselves forward deserves credit for stepping up to serve their communities.

"But my heart also goes out to the many hardworking Labour candidates and councillors who have lost their seats. Local councillors are the lifeblood of our movement. They’re the people knocking on doors in all weathers, helping residents with the issues that matter most, and putting Labour values into practice day in, day out.

"Many of them will have lost today not because they failed their communities, but because voters are sending a message about issues far beyond the town hall."

Euan Doak
North West

Reform UK has its first councillors in Trafford after victories in Davyhulme and Bucklow St Martins - both at the expense of Labour.

The Green Party continued its successful campaign with three gains - again at Labour's expense - in the north of the borough, taking Old Trafford, Gorse Hill and Cornbrook, and Longford wards.

Council Leader Tom Ross said his party had lost some incredible public servants.

He said Trafford had always been a conciliatory council , adding that he hopes to continue working well with newly elected members of the local authority.

Claire Hamilton
Liverpool City Region political reporter

Reform UK's victory here in St Helens is truly seismic - not just for the borough but for the Liverpool City Region.

The face of politics here, which has been Labour-dominated for decades, is now shifting.

Reform UK has completed a huge victory in St Helens, taking control of the council from Labour.

The final declarations have been made in Trafford.

Labour will continue to run this borough council in the south of Greater Manchester, but they've had their majority slashed from 19 to seven.

The incumbents lost six seats - two apiece for the Tories, Greens and Reform.

Labour now has 35 councilors, compared with 12 for the Conservatives, seven each for the Lib Dems and Greens, and two for Reform.

Not all of the results are in from Trafford, but Labour has done enough to retain control of the council.

Going into Thursday's election, Labour held 41 of the council's 63 seats, ahead of the Tories on 10, the Lib Dems on seven and the Green Party on five.

With only one-third of seats up for grabs this year, only a seismic change would have resulted in Labour losing power in this Greater Manchester borough

Kaleigh Watterson
Political reporter

Relief here for Labour as they retain control of Sefton Council - albeit with a reduced majority.

They’ve lost seats to the Liberal Democrats, Reform UK, independents and the Greens.

It’s also been a bad day for the Conservatives - who led Sefton when it was first formed in 1974 - as they have lost all their seats.

Labour group leader Marion Atkinson, who kept hold of her Aintree and Maghull South seat, says she was “really emotional” after the result.

It’s also worth remembering this is the first time there’s been an all-out election in Sefton in more than 20 years.

With all 66 seats up for grabs, Labour will be pleased that they have managed to keep hold of the authority, even if they have fewer councillors than before.

Claire Hamilton
Liverpool City Region political reporter

Here in St Helens, the election results are still coming in.

So far Reform UK has 21 seats, with Rainhill independents on three, the same number as Newton independents. The Conservatives have so far got one.

The local authority comprises 48 seats - so if Reform can secure four more councillors, it will have won a famous victory.

Labour has yet to win a single seat.

Gina Millson
Lancashire political reporter

It was a disastrous election for Labour in West Lancashire.

It lost all of the seats it was defending and made no gains. The Conservatives had been defending five seats and lost two of them.

Both parties lost out to Reform UK and the hyper-local party Our West Lancashire (OWL).

Today’s result leaves the council under no overall control, so discussions will soon take place about possible coalitions and other ways of working together.

Reform is refusing to be drawn on whether it will be open to this, while OWL says it is happy to talk to every party on the council since they have been "democratically elected".

It could be some days before we know exactly how this council’s administration will look.

Claire Hamilton
Liverpool City Region political reporter

Reform has so far won 15 seats in St Helens, the independents have three and the Conservatives have one.

Labour, which has controlled the council since 2010, has not won a single seat so far and we are halfway through the declarations.

We're still awaiting the final results to be declared by only two of our 21 councils.

Trafford Council is currently run by Labour, as is St Helens.

We've got reporters at both counts and we will bring you the latest as soon as we get it.

The Green Party's most recently elected MP, Hannah Spencer, has been speaking about a "complete shift" away from the traditional two-party battle that dominated British politics for decades.

"People are really angry and upset with the Labour government," the Gorton and Denton MP said.

"People voted in this Labour government in 2024 because they wanted change, and actually things have changed but they've changed for the worse.

"People here aren't daft - people will move - if people take them for granted then they will take their vote somewhere else and that is what's happened here."

Claire Hamilton
Liverpool City Region political reporter

The results are still coming in, but Labour is yet to win a single seat here in St Helens.

Going into yesterday's election, Labour held a majority of eight.

Claire Hamilton
Merseyside political reporter

Independents are celebrating winning all three seats in St Helens Council's Newton-le-Willows West ward.

“I’m pleased because we’ve stopped Reform and no-one else seems to be able to here," said the independent group leader Terry Maguire.

Image source, Claire Hamilton/BBC

As we were saying, Labour still controls Sefton Council.

But that's only part of the story, after the Lib Dems, Reform UK, Greens and independents all sent Sir Keir Starmer and his government at Westminster a loud message by winning a combined total of 19 seats.

The Tories suffered a terrible night, losing all four councillors.

The newly made up council will comprise 36 Labour representatives and 17 Lib Dems, five from Reform UK, three Greens and five independents.