Hung council in Leicestershire as Reform UK fail to take a majority

The Conservatives have lost control of Leicestershire County Council to no overall control after losing 25 seats on the county council, with Reform UK gaining 24.

The new council sees Reform as the biggest party with 25 seats, with Conservatives on 15, Liberal Democrats 11, Labour two, Green one and one independent.

The rest of the East Midlands:

Nigel Farage has hailed Reform UK as "the main opposition party" as they take control of Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire County Council.

The party has won 40 seats in Derbyshire and 34 seats in Nottinghamshire.

Earlier, Reform UK also gained an MP in Runcorn and Helsby.

Which councils are now controlled by Reform UK?

Reform UK has won Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire, Staffordshire and Lincolnshire councils from the Conservatives and taken control of Durham County Council, where Labour was previously the biggest party.

Clacton MP Mr Farage's party has won hundreds of council seats across the country as votes continue to be counted.

The Reform leader said his party "dug very deep into the Labour vote" in the Cheshire constituency and "dug very deep into the Conservative vote" in other parts of England.

What happened in Runcorn and Helsby?

In one of the closest parliamentary contests ever, Sarah Pochin became the MP for Runcorn and Helsby, the seat that Labour won with a majority of more than 14,000 last year, by just six votes.

Meanwhile, former Conservative minister Dame Andrea Jenkyns was elected for Reform UK as the first Greater Lincolnshire mayor with a majority of almost 40,000 over her former party.

The party has also taken control of Staffordshire County Council and took 21 seats in Northumberland, which now remains under no overall control.

"We are now the opposition party to this government"

Mr Farage told the PA news agency: "It's been a big night for us.

"We've dug very deep into the Labour vote and, in other parts of England, we've dug deep into the Conservative vote, and we are now, after tonight there's no question, in most of the country, we are now the main opposition party to this Government."

Ms Pochin's victory takes Reform's number of seats in the Commons up to five. Five MPs were elected for the party last year, but the whip has since been suspended from Rupert Lowe.

"That is just not a credible comment"

Conservative co-chairman Nigel Huddleston suggested it is not "credible" for Mr Farage to suggest Reform could be the opposition.

Mr Huddleston told BBC Breakfast: "He can't even manage five MPs previously. We're (on) 121.

"In local government, we'll still have over 4,000 seats most likely after this election.

"I think that is just not a credible comment from Mr Farage."

"She's got an impossible job"

Kemi Badenoch had previously warned the local elections would be tough for the Conservatives, as the last time most of the seats up for grabs were contested was in spring 2021 when Boris Johnson's government was boosted by the Covid-19 vaccine rollout.

Asked if he had a message for Mrs Badenoch, Mr Farage said: "We want you to stay on as leader. I'll put some money if you'd like to keep you there.

"She's got an impossible job. The Conservative Party is split."