2012 election results liveblog

00:32:MF – So after 26 hours of the liveblog, it’s all over. And to end on a positive note, Tom Copley took the final London Assembly seat for Labour. Congratulations Tom. And good morning.

00:10:MF – So Boris beat Ken by 60,000 on second preferences as we predicted at 21.31. We’re just waiting for the London Assembly vote now.

22.29MF – We are now over 24 hours into the LabourList liveblog. And still not finished…

21.35:MF – The only thing we dot know for sure now is how many list places Labour will pick up for the London Assembly. We’re almost certain to have 3 (so 11 AMs in total), but there’s the chance we could pick up one more. Our senior Labour source says it’s “knife-edge”.

21.31:MF – We believe Ken has lost by 80,000 first preference votes, could narrow a big on second preferences, but it won’t be enough. But the final 3000 votes are being hand counted after a counting machine broke – delaying the inevitable.

20:27:MF – Ken looks set to lose out by 2 or 3%

20:10:MF – The agents from across London are now getting the results. Soon we’ll know the exact result too.

20:03:MF – Loads of people getting in touch asking why I haven’t been reporting on Ken closing in on Boris as we come to the end of the count. I’ve been staring at the London elects bar charts all day, and the truth is Ken has never at any point been close enough to Boris for second preferences to matter. At the moment we think Boris leads by 4% on first preferences – and based on the potential voting behaviour of the supporters of Paddick, Jones and Benita, Ken would need to be much closer to Boris for this race to still be on. Don’t bet anything on Ken to win. It’ll be far closer than most suggested (including me (see 22.52)) leaving many (me included) with egg on our faces, but Boris is still winning this.

19:45:MF – at City Hall now where every hack in the country is circling the media room, as is Siobhan Benita. No indication as yet of what the final result might be.

18:15:MF – Now we’re told that Brian Coleman IS coming to give a speech. That will be worth listening to…

18:05:MF – Meanwhile in Ealing & Hillingdon Onlar Singh Sahota has won for labour. Another London assembly gain for Labour.

18:00:MF – I’ve spent all afternoon at the Alexandra Palace counting centre in North London. Tory Brian Coleman has lost his London Assembly seat to Labour’s Andrew Dismore (which I’m obviously delighted about). But seemingly Briqn Coleman won’t be turning up to make a concession speech. What a shame.

17:00:MF – LABOUR WINS GLASGOW – majority on the council.

16:00:MF – Overall majority in Glasgow all but confirmed. Remarkable.

15:40: MF – Hearing positive noises from Glasgow. An overall majority for Labour isn’t out of the question.

14:00: MF – Glasgow Labour leader Gordon Matheson has held his seat. Labour get to drop a councillor yet in Glasgow.

13:35: MF – And 12 Labour gains in Wakefield too (including the Tory leader)

13:35: MF – The South has had some pretty good results for Labour – but the North is having a good time of it too. 8 gains for Labour in Leeds and 9 in Sheffield. And that councillor gains number is still ticking up.

13:15: MF – Right everyone – the liveblog will be a bit quieter for the next few hours as I’m on my way to the London count. Will be bringing you details from there – and elsewhere – as the afternoon progresses.

12.42: MF – Now mathematically impossible for SNP to be the biggest party in Glasgow. Labour cautiously optimistic about forming a majority administration. Reports on the ground suggest SNP Deputy Leader Nicola Sturgeon’s “face has hit the floor”.

12:05: MF – According to the BBC Labour has crossed the symbolic 500 councillor gains mark. As for the London Mayoral election – the latest is Boris 45% Ken 39%.

11:52: MF – Laura Wilkes, what a star. Thanks to Laura for all of her help – and knowledge – over the last 14 hours (!). I’ll be staying with you until the final London results are in. And of course, we’ll be keeping an eye on Glasgow.

11.46: LW – time for me to head off. Sleep calls. Labour has had a set of great results today, and I hope they continue in Scotland this afternoon. Will also be watching for news of the other mayoral referendums; looking more and more likely that it’ll be a clean ‘no’ sweep. Thanks for having me!

11.26: LW – Glasgow council finally catches up and starts announcing results on their website.

11.22: LW – Labour holds Wolverhampton.

11.21: MF – Just spoken to a Labour person at the Glasgow count who says it is “almost impossible” for the SNP to win a majority there.

11.07: LW – 9 Labour gains in Barnsley. Will hold council.

10.59: LW – hear that the current running tally is now SNP 3, Labour 4 in Glasgow.

10.53: LW – Labour currently doing really well in Wolverhampton – as expected.

10:49: LW – Ed and Albert greeting Labour supporters in Birmingham. Jubilant scenes.

10:48: MF – Members on the ground suggesting Newlands / Auldburn is 2 Labour and 1 SNP – no change from 2007.

10.43: LW – Nothing confirmed but sounds like Newlands / Auldburn has been declared for SNP in Glasgow.

10.37: LW – Hearing that Glasgow has started declaring.

10.33: LW – First Labour seat results announced in Health Town and St Peter’s wards, Wolverhampton.

10.23: LW – Counting has started in Wolverhampton. Labour should hold here.

10:10: MF – Ed Miliband isn’t doing a victory lap today. Quite the opposite. Seemingly the Labour leader is off to Worcester, where Labour didn’t win, to talk about how much further the party has to go.

10.02: LW – Hearing that Wakefield has a 29% voter turnout. Mayoral referendum expected here later.

09.58: LW – Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council’s count has started. Key council for Labour to watch. Currently a Conservative (20 seats) / Lib Dem (13 seats) administration. Labour is a very close second with 20 seats and should the Conservative or Lib Dem vote swing to Labour they could take control.

09:54: MF – Here’s something that might slow down the London Mayoral result. There was a power cut at one of the counting centres this morning (Alexandra Palace), which means the Barnet and Camden GLA seat hasn’t started counting yet. That’s a possible gain for Labour from Tory Brian Coleman.

09.50: LW – count has started in Leeds. Election by thirds and Labour expected to hold the council. One to watch for Mayoral result, where all three main parties have been campaigning hard for a ‘no’ vote.

09:47: MF – Counting is now under way across London. London Elects have a live updating bar chart of the results which you can see here.

09:46: MF – Ed Miliband has put out a statement on the results so far. You can read it here.

09:19: MF – I’m back on the liveblog again through to the end of the day. Absolutely fantastic work through the night by Laura, who (remarkably) is going to be staying with us for the rest of the day. Onwards…

08.48: LW – Now hoping for my ‘second wind’ as the next wave of results start to trickle in from Scotland (who don’t start their counts until the morning) and elsewhere in the country. Been going since 11pm – so am hoping you’ll help me out by tweeting me with results you see: @laurawilkes Thank you!

08.45: LW – Doing nicely in Wales.

08.41: LW – Labour gains Torfaen in Wales. Final result Labour 30 seats, Conservative 4, Plaid 2 and others 8. Labour was in minority control before the result today.

08.37: LW – Labour gains Merthyr Tydfil from Independents. Labour 23, Independents 9, UKIP 1.

08.30: LW – Amazing final result in Cardiff: Labour 39, Lib Dems 15, Conservatives 7, Independents 4, Plaid 2. Labour should be very proud in Cardiff today.

08.25: LW – Here was my prediction on Cardiff two weeks ago: ‘Currently a Lib Dem (35 seats) / Plaid coalition; the Lib Dems are braced for losses, and Labour (14 seats) are currently doing well in Wales. It is a long shot, but if Labour do exceptionally well on the night, they could take the council.’

08.15: LW – Another Cardiff update: Labour have 34 seats, with 20 of those being gains. Amazing result and still counting.

08.10: LW – Onwards – next big one for Labour to watch. Glasgow.

08.00: LW – Vote share being reported as: Conservatives 31%, Labour 39%, Lib Dems 16%, others 14% (based on English results)

07.55: LW – Hearing that Salford mayoral election result could be in shortly.

07.48: LW – Bradford mayoral result in: it’s a ‘no’ from them.

07.44: LW – Situation in Torfaen Council is that Labour have taken control of the council; 1 seat won by drawing lots from a hat after a dead heat (unconfirmed).

07.43: LW – Getting news from Torfaen – apparently they are picking names from hats.

07.30: LW – Expecting lots of councils to start counting again between 8-9am. Remember that Scotland don’t start their counts until today, and some big results are expected there. Glasgow is definitely one to watch; voter turnout reported as being low and SNP widely expected to perform well.

07.23: LW – Lots of positive looking headlines for Labour this morning – though some choosing to focus on Bradford result. Stay with us; we are still waiting for around half of the councils up for election to declare. Still a lot to play for.

06.56: LW – Labour has done well so far – with only half results declared. We’ve won big seats that were expected, and there have also been some unexpected gains in places like Cardiff (though full Cardiff result still pending) and Dudley. Labour has gained ground in every part of England and Wales and Ed Miliband will take particular satisfaction from progress in the South of England, where there are councils with key parliamentary marginals. The worry is that half of the councils that are counting are yet to declare and with talks of an SNP surge in Glasgow and a Boris victory in London, this could take a shine from the performance. Full story of the election is still to unfold today.

06: 50 LW – Thoughts to start rounding up for now…

06.33: LW – Looks like we have confirmation that Welsh Labour has taken Caerphilly. Was a Plaid / Independent minority administration.

06.30: LW – I speak too soon. Hearing that Labour have taken Torfaen.

06.21: LW – Results dried up for now it would appear.

06.08: LW – A (very) brief summary for those who are just joining us: overall picture is that Labour has performed very well. Big wins in Birmingham, Plymouth, Southampton, Thurrock and more. ‘No’ to Mayors in Birmingham, Coventry and Nottingham (others still to count). Disappointing result in Bradford, where the Labour Leader Ian Greenwood was ousted by Respect candidate; leaving Labour missing a majority by 1 vote.

06:00: LW – seat count so far (via BBC):

Labour+453

Conservative -267

Liberal Democrat -133

Good night for Labour then.

06.00: LW – Morning TV news reports saying it has been a ‘bleak’ night for the coalition.

05.55: LW – Labour now gained 16 seats. Lib Dems lost 11. 30 seats left to count. Hearing though that they may have taken a break until later on in the day.

05.54: LW – Meanwhile in Cardiff…

05.46: LW – What does this mean for power in Bradford council? Will Labour go with a coalition or minority administration?

05.40: LW – To take control of the council in Bradford, Labour needed 46 seats; we got 45. Here is a full breakdown of all Bradford results:

Labour, 45 seats

Conservative, 24 seats

Liberal Democrats, 8 seats

Independent, 5 seats

Respect, 5 seats

Green Party, 3 seats

05.38: LW – Earlier prediction correct, Labour have lost this seat by just 17 votes.

05.36: LW – Final result for the Little Horton seat in Bradford:

Alyas Karmani, Respect, 2191

Ian Greenwood, Labour, 2174

Andrea Taylor, Conservative, 120

Shabir Ahmed Butt, Lib Dem, 96

05.33: LW – Hear that Ian Greenwood may have lost his seat by just 17 votes. This leaves the council in no overall control.

05.28: LW – Confirmation. Respect have ousted current Labour Leader Ian Greenwood in Bradford.

05.27: LW – Yet again, Respect are calling Ian Greenwood’s seat.

05.23: LW – Things still very tense in Bradford. If Respect take Ian Greenwood’s Little Horton seat, Labour will be denied the council majority by one vote.

05.15: LW – Update for the last hour:

Blaenau Gwent: Labour gain. Was in Independent control.

Bridgend: Labour gain. Was Labour minority control.

05.13: LW – Don’t want to speak too soon; but things are looking pretty good in Cardiff. This would be unexpected.

05.07 LW – Local journalist in Cardiff saying that Lib Dems expecting Labour to take the majority.

05.02: LW – More Labour gains in Cardiff – now 12 seats gained. Lib Dems down 7 seats. Could this be one to watch?

04.58: LW – Unconfirmed, but hearing that there is now a 4th re-count on Ian Greenwood’s (current Labour leader) seat in Bradford; Respect are calling it.

04.58: LW – Respect now have 4 seats in Bradford. Hearing that Ian Greenwood may be out (unconfirmed)

04:55: LW – Cardiff update. Labour currently gained 10 seats. Count still going.

04.51: LW – Confirmed. Labour has taken control of Bridgend.

04.46: LW – Hearing that Labour has taken Caerphilly from a Plaid / Independent minority administration.

04.39: LW – Down to the wire in Bradford. Apparently they are on the 3rd re-count of current Labour Leader, Ian Greenwood’s seat.

04.34: LW – on the edge of my seat. Labour now just need 2 seats to take Bradford.

04.32: LW – Sounds like drama in Bradford. Currently re-counting Ian Greenwood’s seat.

04.27: LW – Labour just need 3 seats to take control of Bradford.

04.17: LW – Reports coming in that Labour is about to take Bridgend Council. We currently have minority control here.

04.12: LW – Confirmed. Respect have 3 seats in Bradford.

04.08: LW – Joe Anderson has become Liverpool Mayor with 57% of the vote.

04:04: MF – So much for all of those parliamentary by-elections we might have been facing. The backlash against elected mayors means that isn’t much of a problem anymore…

04.03: LW – Blaenau Gwent, Wales, Labour gain from Independents

03.56: LW – Labour now gained 7 seats in Cardiff. It’s currently a Plaid/Lib Dem coalition but too early to tell whether it’s a possibility.

03.52: LW – hearing that Respect now have 3 Bradford seats (unconfirmed)

03:51: MF – According to the BBC, if today was a general election, Labour would have a majority of 86

03:47: MF – In Slough Labour is looking at a clean sweep – 14 seats from 14 so far

03.41: LW – Labour now gained 5 seats in Cardiff. Lots of wards still to count

03.40: LW – sounds like Coventry also say ‘no’ to an elected mayor

03.35: LW – another short round-up: Dudley: Labour gain. Previously Tory control
Harlow: Labour gain. Previously Tory control.
Reading: Labour gain. Previously NOC.

03.23: LW – Labour gain Dudley from Tory control.

03:21: MF – Manchester votes No on the Mayoral referendum

03.18: LW – could we have the mayoral referendum result in Manchester shortly?

03.14: LW – Labour’s Ali Ahmed gains Lib Dem seat in Butetown ward, Cardiff

03.09 LW – BBC reporting that Respect expecting to take some of the 12 seats they fielded candidates in – but no official announcement yet.

03.05: LW – Labour easily hold Tong ward in Bradford – Respect not made any inroads in this ward.

03.02: LW – Looks like we are starting to hear results from Bradford and Cardiff.

02.44: LW – another check of the Labour stock: Also gained Carlisle, which was previously a Tory minority; and Great Yarmouth which was previously Conservative.

02.30: LW – let’s take stock for a minute. From the councils we thought Labour should watch, here is how Labour have done:
Birmingham: Labour gain. Previously Tory / Lib Dem coalition.
Cannock Chase: Labour gain. Previously labour minority.
Chorley: Labour gain. Previously Tory / Lib Dem coalition.
Derby: Labour gain. Previously Tory / Lib Dem coalition.
Exeter: Labour gain. Previously NOC.
Newport: Labour gain. Previously Tory / Lib Dem coalition.
North East Lincolnshire: Labour gain. Previously minority Labour control.
Norwich: Labour gain. Previously labour minority.
Nuneaton and Bedworth: Labour gain. Previously NOC.
Plymouth: Labour gain. Previously Tory control.
Sefton: Labour gain. Was hung.
Southampton: Labour gain. Was in Tory control.
Thurrock: Labour gain. Previously NOC.
Wirral: Labour gain. Previously Tory / Lib Dem coalition.

02.20: LW – Not good news I’m afraid. Looks like it’s not going so well in Hartlepool.

02.19: MF – Correction (we were always going to have one tonight) We of course did win Wirral (1:56).

02.10: LW – Labour gains Newport

02.10: LW – Labour gains Norwich

02.08: LW – Labour has Reading – previously no overall control

02.06: LW – Bradford already Labour, but worries about Respect after Bradford West result.

02.04: LW – Apparently Tory group leader in Bradford is tweeting that Labour may have overall majority on the council.

01.56: LW – Wirral remains no overall control. Maybe next time…

01.46: MF – Labour win in Derby confirmed.

01.46: LW – Plymouth goes to Labour.

01.40: LW – Labour must have Derby by now?

01.38: MF – Labour gain Sefton Council (on a personal note – well done to Sefton MP Bill Esterson and team – one of the real nice guys of the PLP). Sefton has been NOC since 1986!

01.35: LW – North East Lincs called for Labour from minority control.

01.35: MF – Labour takes the second city – Birmingham goes red.

01.33: LW – Looks like Chorley is about to go to Labour

01.32: MF – Target council of Reading also expected to be gained by Labour from NOC

01.31: MF – Nottingham rejects elected mayor – 57% of voters against

01.30: MF – Labour takes Thurrock. Labour surge in the South and East continues.

01.22: LW – Is Labour about to take Wirral? This council has been back and forth recently but Labour hoping for gains to get control back.

00.19: LW – Has Labour gained Carlisle from no overall control?

00.18: LW – Labour gains Paston ward in Peterborough

01.12: MF – Looks like Labour has taken Southampton. That’s a big one.

01.10: MF – Oh my – “Lib dem leader in St Helen’s was thrown out by police after losing his seat & trying to punch labour candidate”

01.07: MF– Labour takes overall control of Cannock Chase council – home of the infamous Aidan Burley MP.

01.04: LW – Update from a Norwich insider – Labour taken 2 seats.

01.02: LW – Labour gain Orton Loungeville, Bretton North and East in Peterborough.

01.02: MF – Albert Bore (Labour leader on Birmingham Council) is on the BBC now. Strange night for him, he’s on track to become leader of the council, but had backed Liam Byrne for Birmingham Mayor and backed a Yes vote for Birmingham Mayor. He has all but admitted that there will be a No vote in Birmingham.

01.00: LW – Labour gain Oscott ward in Birmingham. Very much on track to take the council.

00.58: MF – Exeter, Harlow, Plymouth, Basildon – some important gains for Labour in the South.

00.58: LW – Great Yarmouth called for Labour.

00.57: LW – Labour taken overall control of Exeter.

00.55: MF – Labour gain in David Cameron’s seat of Witney, which at my count is two Labour councillors now in Witney. (And Chipping Norton too)…

00.53:LW – Nuneaton and Bedworth called for Labour with 8 gains. (Previously No Overall Control)

00.51: LW – Labour doing well in Chorley – making gains.

00.48: LW – Is Labour poised to take Derby? Results coming in…

00.45: LW – Labour has Sandwell. Full results

00:45: MF – Labour takes 10 out of 11 seats in Lincoln – and the deputy leader of the Tories lost their seat.

00.42: LW – Reports from the inside say that Labour are due to gain 8 seats in Liverpool. Looks like Joe Anderson will have the mayoralty too.

00:42: MF – Labour takes Harlow.

00.25: LW – Margaret Godfrey takes seat from BNP in Maltby ward, Rotherham.

00.21: LW – Confirmed. Jess Phillips has taken Longbridge ward for Labour in Birmingham. If these results keep coming Labour will be on track to take control here.

00.18: LW – BBC reporting that Labour are about to take Harlow.

00.17: MF – On the BBC Sayeeda Warsi says Boris fought on “9 very clear points” – what were they? Can anyone remember them? I’m guessing Warsi can’t…

00.14: LW – Labour now has ALL seats on Knowsley council.

00.08: LW – Labour hold three seats in Chorley. 2 in Adlington and Anderton and 1 in Chorley North East.

00.05: MF – The Only Way is Essex? Not quite. Lots of excitement from the BBC tonight (and here) about big swings to Labour. I’m hearing turnout is low (like everywhere else) and in places like Basildon, Thurrock and Harlow, it’s still tight. Let’s not get carried awat just yet – but sign are encouraging.

00.05: LW – Hopefully we’ll be expecting results in the next hour from Exeter, Nuneaton and Bedworth, Rochdale and Walsall. All councils to watch.

00.01: LW – Whispers from Birmingham that Labour may take Longbridge from Tories. Unconfirmed.

00.00: LW – Full Sunderland results in – solid Labour hold.

23.55: LW – BBC suggesting that Labour will take Plymouth. This is a key council for Labour.

23.52: LW – Sandwell results coming in. So far – Labour hold Friar Park ward. Full results here: http://www.sandwell.gov.uk/elections2012

23.49: LW – On the Sefton results: Carol Gustafson elected in Derby ward with 81% and James Mahon elected in St Oswald ward with 91%.

23.31: LW – Quick average on turnout so far – 6 councils in, it’s looking like a turnout of around 30%. This would be down on last year.

23.46: LW – Labour hold two wards in Sefton: St Oswald and Derby wards

23.36: LW – Lots of wards now declaring in Sunderland. Check full results out here: http://www.sunderlandcitycouncil.com/elections/

23.29: LW – Reported swings to Labour in Basildon.

23.18: LW – News from Rochdale – one of the councils Labour should be watching – they are experiencing a power cut! Expect delays on expected time of results.

23.09: LW – Hearing that 3 Sunderland results are in; including Susan Watson winning in St Anne’s ward on a turnout of 28%.

23:08: MF– Well that was distinctly depressing to type (22.50). Onwards and upwards – expecting some good results from around the UK for Labour tonight – and tomorrow in London Labour could pick up a couple of London Assembly seats. However early reports suggest that Birmingham could (somewhat surprisingly) reject moving to a mayoral system. If so, Liam Byrne stays in the shadow cabinet – and lots of rows over the Birmingham Mayoral selection have happened for nothing…

23.00: LW – First up; seeing lots of reports that we are expecting voter turnout to be low – especially in Scotland. This could be difficult for Labour, particularly as the SNP are expected to perform well. Glasgow will be a key council to watch but we aren’t expecting results there until Friday after 10am.

22.52: MF – We probably won’t know the results of the London Mayoral election for almost 24 hours – so tonight will be all about the locals. However as I’ve been campaigning there all day I feel I should cover it briefly before we move on. I said this morning that turnout would be key. From what I’ve seen myself today, and from what I’ve heard from across London, turnout just won’t be enough. It’ll be lower than last time, and that means that Boris Johnson will be the Mayor of London for the next 4 years. I’d imagine that Boris will probably win by 6-8%, from what I’ve heard so far. I won’t comment much more on the London Mayoral race tonight – and it’s not over until the votes are counted – but I just can’t see how Ken could have won today.

One thing is for sure, the party will need to take a serious look at itself over what has happened in London – and how we campaign – especially if some of the low turnout figures we’re hearing are to be believed.

But for now – on with the results in the rest of the country. Keep an eye out for Southampton, Reading, Harlow, Thurrock, Birmingham – and of course, Glasgow.

22.50: LW – Hi All. Aiming to keep updating throughout the night with election results from across the country. I’ll be concentrating on the 50 councils Labour should watch (see below) but it would be great to get all your intelligence from the ground, so please tweet me @laurawilkes with any news – big or small – and I’ll post it.

22.13: MF -Good evening everyone. I’m just back in from my committee room this evening, and have skipped the traditional post-election pint to bring you the start of the 2012 election results liveblog – which will power right through until there are no more results left to announce (or at least until we fall asleep/you stop reading.

We’ll try to be comprehensive – but we promise we’ll be here for as long as we can.

I’ve got help this evening from a special guest – Laura Wilkes from LGiU (writing in a personal capacity). She’ll be helping us stay updated on the local election results from around the country. All posts from me will be marked “MF” and all posts from Laura will be marked “LW”.

As an appetiser – read Laura’s post on when the key Labour council results will be announced. And get comfy ready for a long set of results.