Local election results across the south of England

There are some concerned looks among senior Conservative figures in Dorset where it looks like the Lib Dems may have won enough votes to take control.

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Conservative leader of Havant Borough Council Alex Rennie has lost his West Leigh seat.

The results will see a major shake-up at the authority.

The Lib Dems fell just one councillor short of getting their much-craved majority in Wokingham.

They have controlled the council for the past two years with no overall control but earlier their leader had expressed some cautious optimism for a better result.

It finished up with the Lib Dems on 27, the Conservatives on 19 and Labour with eight.

BBC South’s Alex Meakin reports... "One ward to go here, Lib Dems need one more seat to take overall control..."

As we wait for the final few ward results to be called, the mood is flat among Labour councillors who have struggled to clinch back their previously held majority (from 2010-2023).

We can say with certainty now that a Labour minority administration will continue.

The resignation of Labour councillors in October, in protest to Keir Starmer not calling for a ceasefire in Gaza, has continued to impact the political structure of Oxford City Council for another year.

The ongoing count at Wokingham is a window on the world of that strangest of beasts, the local council election.

While a group of hyperactive five and six-year-olds throw themselves around a softplay area at the London Valley leisure centre, the sports hall right next door is watching something very different play out.

The tables here groan under the weight of the big black ballot boxes which contain the votes that will decide the fate of the borough council and who runs it.

There’s no cake on offer here but coffee cups are everywhere as the Lib Dems nervously sip their drinks, hoping they’ll secure enough votes to give them overall control of the council.

They need 28 of the 54 seats available to get them over the line and give them what they crave most.

It’s looking a tough ask but there’s a way to go yet. The birthday boy next door couldn’t care less, face smeared in cream, he’s just trying to avoid his mum and the wet wipe heading his way.

Good luck to him, he’s had a long day but then so too have the men and women hoping their time in the spotlight has arrived as well.

It's been a bruising day for the Conservatives here in Cherwell.

This had been the very last council that the Tories were running in Oxfordshire - albeit as a minority administration.

Compare that to a few years ago - up to 2019 - Oxfordshire was a real Tory stronghold across local government. They held power in all the districts outside Oxford - and ran the county council as well.

Now - it doesn't look like they'll have the numbers to continue running things here in Cherwell even as a minority.

That's a big moment for Oxfordshire - no more councils run by the Conservatives.

It's the Liberal Democrats that made significant gains here.

No-one's going to have an overall majority here at the end of the day. That means there will be discussions going on in the next few hours, days and weeks as parties work out if they can work together to take power.

But the Liberal Democrats having made those gains will certainly be looking to be a leading force in any coalition going forward.

Labour councillors in Oxford are looking incredibly glum and disappointed. So far they have failed to gain any seats and lost two to the newly formed Independent Oxford Alliance, in Littlemore and Lye Valley.

After a long wait - the first results are coming in at Cherwell District Council.

It’s been a nervous few hours in particular for the Conservatives.

They’re defending 11 of the 16 seats available and so certainly have the most to lose.

They currently run the authority as a minority administration but it’s likely by the end of the day they won’t have the numbers to do that.

Anxious faces at Wokingham, with counting underway.

BBCCopyright: BBC