The Telegraph’s Christopher Hope is predicting a Labour victory in Wandsworth tonight, citing a “local Labour source”. If that’s the case it would be the first time since 1974. Results are not expected until around 5 or 6am. The BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg is also reporting that the Tories seem “pretty sure” they have lost the council. Labour were downplaying expectations of huge gains when polls closed but made the case that the party would show “steady progress”. Anneliese Dodds, chair of the Labour party, said: We are proud of the positive campaign we have run, based on a practical plan to tackle the cost of living crisis and the crime blighting our communities. Because we believe Britain deserves better. It’s going to be a long night and there will be ups and downs - we hold the majority of the seats up for election in England, so never expected big gains. These results will show the progress we have made thanks to Keir’s leadership since the disastrous 2019 election result. Labour is a renewed and confident party, making headway in England, Scotland and Wales. Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey meanwhile said he was “optimistic” that the party would gain ground in areas across the blue wall, “where voters are fed up of being taken for granted by the Conservatives”. After knocking on hundreds of doors this election one thing is clear: people are sick of Boris Johnson’s Conservatives. They have had enough of seeing their taxes hiked, sewage dumped in their rivers and local health services run into the ground. People deserve a strong local champion who will stand up for their community, and a government that helps them with the cost of living emergency. As votes are being counted, here’s some insight from the Guardian’s chief political correspondent, Jessica Elgot, who says Westminster, controlled by the Conservatives since its creation in the 1960s, is looking “a bit dicey for the Tories”. Another London council that is being closely watched is Wandsworth, where the Tory majority shrank to six in the last elections in 2018, the smallest it’s been since 1982. “Neither side prepared to call Wandsworth but key ward was teeming with activists from both sides trying to get out the vote. Both were hoping for late turn out surge,” Jessica says. Labour winning Wandsworth would be “very symbolic” but doesn’t mean a lot in terms of the next general election. It’s Barnet and Westminster where they don’t hold the parliamentary seats where the data is more interesting - as well as wards in eg Chingford Meanwhile Labour are “feeling good” about Barnet but Croydon is on a “knife-edge for the mayoralty”, with Tories expecting gains and things are “not great” for Labour in Tower Hamlets, where activists think that the party of former mayor Luftur Rahman may lose them seats. The Conservatives are meanwhile saying they their vote is holding up in places like Bolton although they may not take Sunderland, while Labour is hoping to take some Tory seats in Bury but also expecting to lose some to independents. In conclusion, says Jessica: The main theme I’ve heard from almost everyone I’ve talked to during the day is that turnout has been a big issue - but we’ll see what the figures really tell us. First results aren’t expected until about 2am but some of the key seats are likely to be among the first to report. From 2am we should start seeing some interesting results trickle through, including in Bolton, which should give a good early indicator as to whether Labour is making any comeback in the north of England. Wandsworth, in London, is expected to report between 5am and 7am. For a closer look at which councils to watch out for, read this explainer from my colleagues Jessica Elgot and Antonio Voce: As mentioned earlier, Worthing is one of the seats experts will keep a close eye on to see how well the local elections are going for Labour or whether the Conservatives really do need to worry. My colleague Heather Stewart went to West Sussex to speak to voters and campaigners on the ground and found an optimistic Labour party amid signs Partygate has taken a toll on Tory support in the ‘blue sea wall’. Here’s an excerpt from her report: Margaret Howard, standing for re-election in the Broadwater ward in the east of the town, said. “This morning I had a Tory say he had voted Conservative for 40 years, but it’s time for a change. We have had lots of switchers,” she says. “Some are because of the local picture, because they know about the community work that’s being done locally, and some it’s because they don’t like what’s happening nationally – but we don’t mind either way.” Cooper, who leads the Labour group on the council, explains that they have put together a local manifesto, based on conversations with voters over five years. It includes everything from bringing the lido back into use to consulting on providing more dog-poo bins. “It’s about people wanting green spaces for them and their families, and a town to be proud of. It’s not really rocket science, but it’s things that everybody can get onboard with,” says Cooper. Going into these local elections, Labour was level pegging with the Conservatives, on 17 seats apiece. The Tories have been running a minority administration in Worthing since Labour deprived them of their majority in a byelection last December – triggered by the resignation of a Conservative councillor, Tim Wills, who was accused by the anti-fascist campaign group Hope Not Hate of privately supporting the far-right group Patriotic Alternative. With 14 seats up for grabs on Thursday, Labour has high hopes of taking control. Peter Kellner, the former president of YouGov, wrote a piece for the Guardian earlier this week looking at the key councils to watch in this year’s local elections. He explained how strategists will focus on a handful of councils - including Wakefield, Wandsworth and Worthing - to gauge the depth of Boris Johnson’s woes, and the actual probability of a Keir Starmer victory. Polls close in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland The polls have just closed in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Counting now begins to elect over 4,300 councillors in more than 140 local authorities. In Scotland all 32 councils and in Wales all 22 councils also held elections. It could be a long night for local Conservatives amid criticism of the government’s handling of the cost of living crisis and renewed scrutiny over Partygate. Some candidates styled themselves “local Conservatives”, and in some cases they urged voters not to punish them for “mistakes made in Westminster”. Leaflets delivered in Hartlepool said: “This Thursday, please don’t punish local Conservatives for the mistakes made in Westminster. We are local, and proud of where we live.” In many parts of the country, including Birmingham, St Albans, and in the Esher and Walton constituency of the justice secretary, Dominic Raab, Tories were listed as “local Conservative”, even on the ballot paper. Labour on the other hand is hoping to take a number of council seats from the Tories - with Conservative jewels Wandsworth and Westminster in London looking on a knife edge. And in Scotland, Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar is confident of gains in the May elections, amid earlier predictions the party could come second to SNP. We’ll bring you all the results as they come in, with latest reactions and analysis.