Local elections - as it happened: Corbyn insists Labour ‘ready for an election', despite missing top London targets

All the latest updates, as they happened

Local Elections 2018: The results so far

Labour has urged the government to scrap controversial ID pilots, which saw some voters turned away during local elections in England.

Parties faced mixed results at the polls, although Jeremy Corbyn insisted Labour was "absolutely ready" for a general election, despite failing to deliver on its pledge to snatch key councils from the Tory clutches.

While Labour made gains in areas like Plymouth and Trafford, it was unable to win the Tory "crown jewels" in London, such as Wandsworth and Westminster.

The party had hoped to seize Kensington and Chelsea from the Tories in the wake of public outcry over the Grenfell Tower tragedy but failed to do so, while its chances in Barnet - which has a large Jewish population - may have been damaged by the recent antisemitism row.

The Conservatives capitalised on the near-collapse of Ukip, and gained control of councils in Peterborough, Southend and Basildon, with a small swing in their favour outside London.

Elsewhere, the Liberal Democrats won several councils - including target seats of Richmond-upon-Thames and Kingston-upon-Thames - while the Greens elected a string of new councillors.

Key Points

• Jeremy Corbyn says Labour is 'absolutely ready' for election despite failing to win Tory 'crown jewels'
• Tories snatch key target Barnet Council from under Labour's nose
• Labour admits it must 'rebuild trust' amid antisemitism scandal
• Ukip general secretary compares party to the 'Black Death' after near wipeout
• Ken Livingstone admits allegations he called Hitler a Zionist damaged Labour's chances

[3 May 2018 12:25 · Kristin Hugo]

One area where Labour is hopeful of winning the council is in the north London borough of Barnet, despite fears among the local Jewish community about left-wing antisemitism. Here's our feature on Labour's top target in today's elections: 

It is a perfect spring morning in late April when an upbeat Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of London, bounds into a park in Barnet to address a large crowd of activists.

[3 May 2018 13:13 · Kristin Hugo]

During Brexit questions in the Commons this morning, Eurosceptic Tory MP Peter Bone drew laughs by saying he would have arranged for a statue of David Cameron had he "kept his promise" and remained in office following the referendum.

He said people are "fed up" with how long Brexit is taking and suggested Mr Cameron should have stayed on as prime minister and implemented Article 50 himself.

Mr Bone asked Brexit Secretary David Davis: "Has the Secretary of State ever reflected on the fact that if David Cameron had kept his promise of after the referendum staying in office, implementing the views of the British people and triggering Article 50 immediately after the referendum, we would nearly be coming out of the EU now?

"And I, sir, would probably be arranging a statue to David Cameron in my constituency."

He added: "Does the Secretary of State get the feeling that the public are fed up of how long this process is taking and wish we could get on with it a bit quicker?"

Mr David Davis responded: "Had we triggered Article 50 immediately after the referendum we would have had to absorb 40 years of European Union law into British law in an almost geological nanosecond, a very, very short time.

"It would not have been easy to do and although he is right about the departure date it might have been a lot more uncomfortable than it's going to be."

Mr Bone's remarks follow an outburst during Prime Minister's Questions in which he hailed Theresa May the "Brexit Queen".

He joked that the prime minister would be "carried shoulder high through the streets to the echoing of cheering crowds" if she visited his constituency after Brexit.

He also promised show her "the sight where a statue to the Brexit Queen will be erected".

[3 May 2018 13:45 · Kristin Hugo]

Some voters have told of their fury at being denied a vote because they were unable to prove their identity. New voter ID rules are being trialled in five areas and have led to some people being refused a ballot.

[3 May 2018 14:24 · Kristin Hugo]

Jean-Claude Juncker has asked Belgium to offer citizenship to British EU officials working in Brussels. Around 800 of them are believed to be facing an uncertain future amid wranglings over the mutual rights of citizens after Brexit. 

[3 May 2018 15:13 · Kristin Hugo]

Bradford Council has apologised after some people were denied a vote because they had not brought photo identification. The area is not one of those trialling new voter ID rules, but some polling station staff still demanded to see ID.

A spokesman for Bradford Council said: "We apologise to the very small number of voters concerned who were asked to provide ID to vote in one Shipley polling station today.

"We were alerted to the matter early this morning and it was dealt with immediately.

"To confirm, there is no requirement for voters to provide ID to cast a vote and a further message has been issued to all polling staff."

[3 May 2018 16:00 · Lizzy Buchan]

John Bercow is facing mounting pressure over allegations of bullying after one of Parliament's most senior former officials said his behaviour "terrified" staff and was "unworthy of someone in such public office".

David Leakey, who retired as Black Rod last year, said the Speaker had subjected him to "intolerable" rudeness while in office and accused him of "explosive and intemperate behaviour" towards his colleagues.

More here:

[3 May 2018 16:16 · Kristin Hugo]

Exclusive: Peers are pushing for Donald Trump to be allowed to speak in Parliament - against the wishes of the House of Commons Speaker, John Bercow. Full story: 

[3 May 2018 17:40 · Jon Sharman]

Downing Street has weighed in on the controversial voter ID pilots in five areas that have sparked fury among people who were unable to vote.

A spokesman said: "The facts are that local authorities told all voters that they need to bring a form of ID in these pilot areas. ID can be things like a bus pass, a driver's licence.

"The overwhelming majority of people are casting their vote without a problem. A great deal of work has been done in these pilot areas to prepare the public.

"In places like Bromley, people will have had six pieces of direct mail about the pilot and there's been a widespread poster campaign."

[3 May 2018 18:10 · Jon Sharman]

Sadiq Khan, the mayor of London, tells The Independent that he and Labour are confident of winning in Barnet, a flagship Conservative borough.

[3 May 2018 18:35 · Jon Sharman]

Here we have set out everything you need to know about today's controversy over voter ID.