Results from the local elections will be trickling in throughout the day on Friday after voters took to the polls this week.
Voters had from 7am until 10pm on Thursday, May 4, to cast their votes in this year's local elections, which are taking place across counties in England. The votes will decide who will run the local authority for each area, providing vital public services.
Some councils will begin counting up the votes as soon as polls close on Thursday night, while others will wait until the morning to begin tallying up the ballot papers. That means that the first results will likely be declared shortly after midnight on Friday, but the final results might not be known until much later in the evening.
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This year was the first time voters had to show photo ID at polling stations in order to be allowed to cast their vote. Whether or not this will have had an impact on turnout - with some people being turned away for not knowing the new rules - is yet to be seen.
If you did manage to vote in the local elections, you'll likely want to know when you can expect to hear the final outcome for your area. Luckily, we can take a good guess at when this will be based on when the count started and how many votes will likely need counting.
The PA news agency has come up with a list of estimated declaration times for every council in England. However, this is only a rough guide and times could change.
Here's our guide to the key counts to look out for, and when each results will likely be declared.
Thursday night
Every single polling station will close at 10pm on Thursday night. A total of 63 councils - including Salford, Bolton and Tameside in Greater Manchester - will begin adding up the results straight away, while the majority will wait until Friday to start the count.
Early hours of Friday
The first results are expected shortly after midnight. The key results to look for in the first couple of hours include Hartlepool, which is a target for both Labour and the Conservatives, and Castle Point in Essex which was controlled by independent councillors ahead of the election.
The result of the Middlesbrough mayoral election is also due, with the independent Andy Preston seeking a second term in office.
The Conservatives will be looking to defend their slim majority in Brentwood, facing a strong challenge from the Liberal Democrats, who are hoping to take control. Meanwhile, Labour will be hoping for signs of a recovery in Thurrock, where there could be major upset if the Tories lose control.
Over in Colchester, the Tories, Labour and Lib Dems have almost been level-pegging in recent years and the outcome of this year’s contest – with a third of its seats in play – could impact the current Labour-Lib Dem-Green coalition.
12.30am: Broxbourne
1.00am: Castle Point, Rushmoor and South Tyneside
1.30am: Basildon, Halton, Harlow, Hartlepool and Sunderland
2.00am: Brentwood, Chorley, Havant, Ipswich, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Portsmouth, Redditch, Rochford, Tamworth and Thurrock
2.30am: Exeter, Hart, Lincoln, North East Lincolnshire, Sandwell, Sefton and Stevenage
2.45am: Kingston-upon-Hull and Worcester
3.00am: Boston, Eastleigh, North Lincolnshire, North West Leicestershire, Peterborough and South Holland
3.15am: Colchester and Salford
3.30am: Cotswold, Dudley, Hertsmere and Reading
Friday morning
As the sunrise approaches on Friday morning, there will likely be another flurry of results coming in. Greater Manchester's key battleground is Bolton, where every council seat is up for grabs - and both Labour and the Conservatives are hoping to win overall control.
Plymouth is another Labour target and was visited early in the campaign by Sir Keir Starmer, while the Lib Dems have their sights on Dacorum, where leader Sir Ed Davey launched his party’s campaign by driving a yellow tractor through a “blue wall” of painted hay bales.
Stoke-on-Trent will be another big measure of Labour’s fortunes, with the party hoping to become the largest party in what was once a stronghold.
By the mid-morning, most of the results from the overnight counts should be in, and counting will start for the remaining 167 councils in England, as well as the mayoral contests in Bedford, Leicester and Mansfield.
4.00am: Bolton, Braintree, Coventry, North Devon, North Norfolk, Plymouth and Southend-on-Sea
4.30am: Bassetlaw, Dacorum and Hinckley & Bosworth
5.00am: Ashfield, Bath & North East Somerset, East Hertfordshire, Telford & Wrekin, Tendring and Windsor & Maidenhead Royal
5.30am: West Lindsey
6.00am: South Gloucestershire, South Kesteven, Stoke-on-Trent and Tameside
6.30am: Medway
9.00am: East Lindsey
Friday lunchtime
The first results from Friday's counts are likely to come at around noon.
Worthing could be one to watch closely, as Labour will want to increase its majority, and in Solihull, the Tories will be hoping to see off the Greens and Lib Dems to keep their slender majority. Labour will be looking for a comfortable win in Manchester, as well as places such as Gateshead and North Tyneside, while over in the ultra-marginal council of Crawley, both Labour and the Tories will be hoping to gain seats.
The result of the Mansfield mayoral election is also due around lunchtime, with Labour’s Andy Abrahams looking for a second term.
12.00pm: Herefordshire and Rossendale
12.30pm: Gateshead, Manchester and Worthing
1.00pm: Bracknell Forest, Broadland, Cannock Chase, North Tyneside, Runnymede, Solihull, South Norfolk and Stratford-on-Avon
1.30pm: Blackburn with Darwen, Burnley, Folkestone & Hythe, Maidstone, North Warwickshire, Teignbridge and Walsall
2.00pm: Crawley, East Devon, East Staffordshire, Fenland, Hyndburn, Knowsley, Lichfield, Maldon, Mansfield, Newark & Sherwood, Rugby, South Staffordshire, Tewkesbury, Torbay, Torridge, Warwick, Watford and Welwyn Hatfield
2.30pm: Blackpool, East Cambridgeshire, Norwich, Preston and Reigate & Banstead
Friday afternoon
Dozens of results will be coming in throughout Friday afternoon.
In Middlesbrough, Labour will be keen to retake control and needs only two gains. Both the Conservatives and Labour hope to make progress in Milton Keynes, which is currently run by a Labour-Lib Dem coalition despite the Tories having the most seats.
The Greens could become the largest party in Mid-Suffolk, which would be the first time the party has taken majority control of a local council. Meanwhile, there may be signs of a Lib Dem advance in places like Surrey Heath and Wokingham.
Derbyshire is home to several key contests, including Bolsover, where Labour is defending a slender majority, and Derby, where every seat is up for grabs and where Labour is hoping to oust the minority Tory administration.
The results of the Bedford and Leicester mayoral contests are also due on Friday afternoon, with the Lib Dems’ Dave Hodgson and Labour’s Peter Soulsby respectively hoping to stay in office.
3.00pm: Barnsley, Breckland, Calderdale, Canterbury, Darlington, Derbyshire Dales, Epping Forest, Erewash, Forest of Dean, Kirklees, Middlesbrough, Milton Keynes, Sevenoaks, Slough, Stafford, Surrey Heath, Tandridge, Tunbridge Wells, Wealden, West Devon, West Suffolk, Wokingham and Wychavon
3.30pm: North Hertfordshire, Oadby & Wigston, Pendle and West Lancashire
4.00pm: Ashford, Blaby, Bromsgrove, Cambridge, Chesterfield, Dover, Gravesham, Great Yarmouth, Harborough, Malvern Hills, Melton, Mid Suffolk, North East Derbyshire, North Somerset, Nottingham, Oldham, Redcar & Cleveland, Ribble Valley, Rochdale, Rutland, Sheffield, South Hams, St Albans, Three Rivers, Tonbridge & Malling, Vale of White Horse, West Oxfordshire, Wigan, Wirral and Woking
4.30pm: Arun, Bradford, Broxtowe, Chichester, Elmbridge, Rushcliffe, South Oxfordshire, Stockport and Swindon
5.00pm: Babergh, Basingstoke & Deane, Bolsover, Brighton & Hove, Bury, Central Bedfordshire, Charnwood, Chelmsford, Cherwell, Dartford, Derby, Eastbourne, Epsom & Ewell, Fylde, Horsham, Leeds, Leicester, Lewes, Liverpool, Luton, Mole Valley, North Kesteven, Southampton, Stockton-on-Tees, Swale, Uttlesford, Wolverhampton, Wyre Forest and Wyre
5.30pm: East Hampshire, Gedling, High Peak, Staffordshire Moorlands and Wakefield
5.45pm: Spelthorne
Friday evening
The last few results will come in on Friday evening. The final result could come from York, where all seats are in play and Labour is hoping to do enough to end the current Lib Dem-Green coalition, while the Tories will want to increase their tally of just two seats.
6.00pm: Bournemouth, Christchurch & Poole , Cheshire West & Chester, East Riding of Yorkshire, East Suffolk, Guildford, King’s Lynn & West Norfolk, Lancaster, Mid Devon, New Forest, Rother, South Derbyshire, South Ribble, Test Valley, Thanet, Trafford, Waverley, West Berkshire and Winchester
7.00pm: Amber Valley, Bedford and Mid Sussex
7.30pm: Cheshire East
8.00pm: York
You can find full coverage of the local elections on the Manchester Evening News here.
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