Local elections 2022: Live updates, results and reaction from the local elections across Yorkshire

The Liberal Democrats have taken Hull City Council after support for the ruling Labour group collapsed in this year’s local elections.

It comes as Labour leader Councillor Daren Hale said he felt the ruling group had come up short just over two hours after counting began after 10pm.

Mr Hale blamed the defeat on the Tory vote “collapsing” in parts of the city.

He said: “That’s effectively an anti-Labour vote so it’s gone to the Lib Dems in a number of wards.”

Read all the reaction here

A great in-depth run down from Local Government Information Unit (LGIU) here.

Jonathan Carr-West, Chief Executive, LGIU said: "With around half of councils now declared, the most dramatic results so far have been in London with Labour taking control of Barnet, Wandsworth and Westminster councils. This has huge symbolic value and losing all three of these councils in a single election will be a big blow to Conservative morale.

“At the same time, it’s part of a longer term trend in which Labour has tightened its grip on inner London. Over the last decade, we have seen an increasing polarisation with the Labour vote concentrated in large cities and university towns and Conservative support spread across the rest of the country. In that respect, Conservative losses in Southampton or West Oxfordshire might be more telling indicators.

“However, we shouldn’t forget that in those key battlegrounds, local issues are always crucial factors. Housing, financial prudence and low traffic neighbourhoods were all hugely contentious in Wandsworth for example.

“These are elections for the councils that run places, not just opinion polls on central government.

“And, as we expected, the number of councils changing hands is relatively limited. The Conservatives have lost just over a hundred council seats but gains have been split between Labour, Lib Dems and Greens.

“So far then, a bad night for the Conservatives is not yet translating into a great night for anyone else."

Vote counting for Sheffield’s local elections did not get started until the early hours of this morning, after a man reportedly threatened polling station staff.

The incident took place at the Community Room on Westminster Crescent in Fulwood, shortly after the polls had closed at 10pm last night (Thursday, May 4).

A Sheffield Council spokesperson said: “At 10.25pm on Thursday 5 May 2022, Police were called to the Community Room on Westminster Crescent in Fulwood to reports that a man had threatened polling station staff after the polling station had closed.

“The issue was resolved however the ballot box delivery to the count venue was delayed. The box has arrived and is being processed but it has caused a minor delay in the proceedings.”

The counting of votes had been due to get underway a short time after 10pm, but it did not start until 2.50am this morning as a result of the incident.

Some news from the capital.

Labour has taken control of Westminster City Council in London for the first time since its creation in 1964.

A big shift.

Liberal Democrat deputy leader Daisy Cooper said: “This is a great night for the Liberal Democrats. We’re making progress all over the country – building on our historic by-election victories last year.

“We have already taken seats off the Conservatives in Blue Wall areas like Cheadle, and taken control of Hull Council from Labour.

“From Colchester to Hull, from Wimbledon to Gosport, more and more communities are choosing Liberal Democrats to be their local champions and fight for a fair deal for them.

“People across the UK are fed up with being ignored and taken for granted by Boris Johnson and the Conservatives.

“It’s clear that, in many parts of the country, it is the Liberal Democrats who can defeat the Conservatives and get Boris Johnson out of Downing Street.”

Barnsley’s long-standing deputy leader has been unseated in the 2022 local elections.

Labour lost three seats during the course of the night, and they now have 46 seats on the council, retaining control.

The Conservative Party gained one seat, bringing them to four seats overall.

Labour now holds 46 seats, Independents hold three and Barnsley Independent Group hold one seat.

Hello and welcome to The Yorkshire Post’s live blog on the 2022 local elections.

There’s already been some results declared, but many of the council’s won’t be declaring until later in the day, so keep checking back for the latest news and reaction.

Here’s Political Editor Chris Burn with a run down of what has happened so far

Sheffield City Council has remained under no overall control as the largest party Labour ended a mixed night of seat changes with a net loss of one councillor.

Labour lost overall control of the council in 2021 and is currently in a power-sharing agreement with the Green Party.

The party needed to win five seats in this year's elections to win back control of the council but instead saw its position as the largest party slightly further eroded.

Read more here.