Here is a guide to when to expect the key results and events after polls close in the local elections on Thursday 5 May.
All declaration times are estimates and could change.
Thursday 5 May, 10pm: Polls close in the 200 local authorities across Britain holding elections. Counting begins for 75 councils in England.
Friday 6 May, from 12am: First results expected. Labour is hoping to do well in Conservative-run Bolton in Greater Manchester. The Tories could make gains in Basildon in Essex. Results from Newcastle-upon-Tyne, South Tyneside and Wigan will indicate if Labour’s vote is holding up in its northern strongholds.
From 2am: Sunderland has been run by Labour since 1973 but the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats are hoping to make enough gains to leave the council in no overall control. Both Labour and the Tories are battling for control of Hartlepool and Peterborough. Stevenage in Hertfordshire could show if Labour is making gains in commuter territory.
From 3am: First key results from London. Westminster is a Labour longshot and has been run by the Conservatives continuously since 1964. In both Hammersmith & Fulham and Redbridge the Tories are fighting to hold on to a dwindling number of councillors. Elsewhere Hull is a two-way fight between Labour and the Liberal Democrats.
From 4am: Two crucial results are due from the West Midlands. The Conservatives are defending a slim majority in Dudley and a larger one in Nuneaton & Bedworth; Labour hopes to make progress on both councils. Hillingdon is another Labour longshot in London and contains within its boundary the constituency of Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
From 5am: Labour is hoping to retake Southampton from Conservative control and make gains in Derby. The Conservatives are defending Wandsworth in London which they have held since 1978.
By 7am: The final result is due from Conservative-run Barnet, Labour’s top target in London. All outstanding overnight results are also due.
Around 9am: Counting begins for a further 71 councils in England and all councils in Scotland and Wales.
From 12pm: Results likely to resume in England. The Green party is hoping to make gains in Conservative-controlled Solihull. Labour is hoping to do likewise in Tory-run Walsall. First results are also due from Scotland and for the mayoral elections in Hackney, Lewisham, Newham and Watford.
From 2pm: Two key councils in West Sussex are due to declare: Worthing, a top Labour target; and Crawley, where both the Tories and Labour are hoping to gain control. The Liberal Democrats could make gains in West Oxfordshire. East Renfrewshire is a three-way battle between the Conservatives, Labour and the SNP. First results are due from Wales.
From 3pm: Another key Conservative-Labour battleground, Newcastle-under-Lyme in Staffordshire, is due to finish counting. In Wales, Labour is looking to take control of Blaenau Gwent from a group of Independents, while Flintshire is a test of Tory popularity in an area in which they did well at the 2019 general election. Aberdeenshire will be a measure of Conservative support in Scotland, while all parties hope to pick up seats in Edinburgh.
From 4pm: The Conservatives and Liberal Democrats are fighting for control of the new unitary authority in Somerset. In Glasgow, the SNP is looking to hold off any sign of a Labour resurgence. The Lib Dems hope to strengthen control of St Albans and the Tories want to keep control of Pendle in Lancashire. The result of the South Yorkshire mayoral election is also due.
From 5pm: The Lib Dems hope to cause an upset in Tory-run Gosport in Hampshire. Labour is defending a slim majority in Cardiff. The result in Labour-run Wakefield could offer clues to the outcome of the expected parliamentary by-election in the city later this year, after Conservative MP Imran Khan was convicted of sexual assault. Tower Hamlets in London is due to declare the result of its mayoral election. Renfrewshire is the last result due from Scotland.
Friday evening: North Hertfordshire could see both Labour and the Lib Dems gaining from the Conservatives. Labour is hoping to improve its majority in Bury in Greater Manchester. Vale of Glamorgan is the final result due from Wales. In London, the Croydon mayoral result is expected.
Saturday 7 May, around 9am: Counting continues for the council election in Tower Hamlets in London.
Around 5pm: Final result due from Tower Hamlets.
