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Labour remains the largest party in Coventry, but loses its outright control of the city council after strong gains from Reform UK.
Reform also takes seats in Nuneaton and Bedworth, including that of Labour council leader Steve Hey
Warwickshire county Reform leader, George Finch, wins a borough seat in Nuneaton and Bedworth, as does his father.
In Rugby, there are also three gains for Reform, but the Conservatives are the largest party, and Labour and Lib Dems - who previously ruled together - have more seats combined
Find out the story across England, Wales and Scotland here
And get local results in your area here
Simon Gilbert
Political Reporter, Coventry and Warwickshire
Labour holds all three seats in Lower Stoke.
Then Reform wins all three seats in Sherbourne.
This really is a back and forth contest so far.
Both clean sweeping the wards that have been declared and beating the other party into effective second place.
Fourteen wards to go!
The Liberal Democrats have won the last two seats on Rugby Borough Council, with all 15 seats on offer now declared.
The party now has 12 of the local authority's 42 seats - the same number as Labour, with which they have been in coalition since 2024.
Reform now also has a place at the local authority's table, having gained three seats from Labour.
But the Conservatives are the largest party with 15 seats in total following the results, having lost three.
Simon Gilbert
Political Reporter, Coventry and Warwickshire
Labour have held on in Radford. All three seats have been defended by Labour.
It looks like we could be in for an afternoon of yo-yoing!
A big boost for Labour with Pat Hetherton holding on, the cabinet member for City Services.
Mal Mutton received the fewest votes of all three winners - hanging on by just 99 votes from Reform.
Reform's candidates finished in fourth, fifth and sixth.
Hannah Griffiths
BBC CWR
A Reform UK councillor who narrowly lost in Rugby said she felt positive about the result. Belinda Garcia held the Revel and Binley Woods seat for the Conservatives by 89 votes, with Pat Ruck a close second.
Ruck, who has been a leading voice for Reform UK in the borough, said: "We are actually really pleased because Reform is virtually new to this area.
"It's very much a conservative with a small C in the rural areas, we’re getting that message across where we've campaigned on local issues, underpinned by Reform national issues.
"But where we've campaigned, we've been on the ground, we've gone into areas which have been solidly Conservative, and have completely changed them.“
Pat Ruck says she is pleased at Reform UK's progress in the area
Simon Gilbert
Political Reporter, Coventry and Warwickshire
Binley and Willenhall's new ward councillors celebrate their wins - the first for Reform UK in Coventry today.
Jennifer Odje, Marcus Fogden and Paul Cowley have all dethroned sitting Labour opponents.
What do we know about how many people have been turning out to vote across Coventry and Warwickshire?
In Coventry the official turnout across the city is recorded as 38.4%.
That's almost exactly 10% up on the 28.5% recorded in 2024.
In Nuneaton the figure is slightly lower, at 37%.
Meanwhile, 42.24% of voters put their X in the box in Rugby.
It's all above average - when you consider between 2015 and 2025 the average turnout in local elections in England hovered between 30% and 35%.
Simon Gilbert
Political Reporter, Coventry and Warwickshire
The three Reform candidates in Binley & Willenhall have won - dethroning Labour. Ram Lahka is among those to lose his seat. He has been a councillor since 1989.
We're waiting for the first results from Coventry City Council - and we're told they should be with us shortly.
Stick with us!
Hannah Griffiths
BBC CWR
There’s a slight sense of relief for the Labour party in Rugby with councillor Maggie O’Rourke telling me the borough is bucking the trend here.
But all things are relative. Labour has lost three of its five seats up for election to Reform UK.
However, with Reform having no previous seats on the council, it still give them just three seats overall, out of 42 on the local authority. Labour has held two seats giving them 12. The Lib Dems have held their four seats which were up for election, so they will have 10 seats in total.
That will probably be enough for the Labour-Lib Dem coalition to hold on to power. That pact has been in place since 2024.
The Conservatives also holding on to four seats means they’ll have 14 seats.
There are two seats left to declare, external here.
Phil Upton
BBC CWR
Coventry University politics lecturer Mark Goodwin told BBC CWR results so far reflected the continuation of a trend towards a “more authentic multi-party politics”.
He described the political landscape as “much more volatile, much more unpredictable".
“But certainly so far, Reform are the big winners," he said.
Regarding Reform UK's domination in Nuneaton and Bedworth, he reflected how it was once a bellwether seat as Labour-Conservative marginal.
But Reform had "performed very strongly there as they have in other places with a similar profile around the country so far", he added.
Kyle Stewart, a newly-elected Reform UK councillor on Rugby Borough Council, said there was support for the party on the campaign trail.
“The reaction on the door was really positive broadly," he said.
"You know, people are ready for change and I'm looking forward to delivering for my constituents.
“There's a lot of distraction with what's going on, you know, nationally at the minute and I didn't want that to detract from the importance of the local issues.”
Stewart took the Newbold and Brownsover ward, pushing previous holders Labour into third place.
The gains we've seen for Reform in Nuneaton & Bedworth and Rugby boroughs has been mirrored to a greater or lesser extent in other parts of the West Midlands.
For details, check out our coverage for Birmingham and the Black Country, Staffordshire and Redditch in Worcestershire.
Simon Gilbert
Political Reporter, Coventry and Warwickshire
Julie Nugent, chief executive of Coventry City Council, has been telling me about the chance today's count runs into tomorrow.
Asked when we might expect to know all the results, she told me: "I wasn't sure coming in at the start of the day, I'm even less sure now."
The chief executive said many voters had shared their votes between parties (most voters had three here) and that could mean counting taking longer.
Remember, there's an 8pm cut off here today. If we don't have a result by then, counting will resume tomorrow.
Reform UK has also been making ground in Rugby, where the count is continuing.
There are 15 seats to be filled, as a third of the borough council's seats are up for election.
With nine seats declared, the results so far , externalshow that Reform UK, which had no seats previously on the council, has taken three.
These include a gain in the Coton and Boughton Ward, a seat previously held by Labour cabinet member Alison Livesey.
The Liberal Democrats have held all their four seats which were up for election. The Conservatives have held Wolvey and Shilton ward.
Reform can’t win an outright majority because only a third of the council's seats are up for grabs - but they could change who leads the authority.
Turnout in Rugby is 42.24%
However you want to digest this afternoon's results, the BBC has got it covered:
While some might have a lucky tie, or pair of socks, councillor Noreen New has had a little yellow teddy at her side for the last 21 years.
She celebrated holding the Paddox ward in Rugby for the Lib Dems with the good luck charm tucked inside her breast pocket.
Simon Gilbert
Political Reporter, Coventry and Warwickshire
We think we're still a couple of hours away from the first result here in Coventry.
The high voter turnout is making the process longer than predicted.
The official turnout across the city has now been recorded as 38.4%. Almost exactly 10% up on the 28.5% recorded in 2024.
There is even a chance this count rolls into a second day.
Whatever happens, the hall will be vacated by 8pm this evening. That means even a few recounts could send this count into Saturday.
And that's a wrap in Nuneaton and Bedworth.
Of the 19 seats contested, there have been a total of 15 wins for Reform UK, two for the Greens and two for Labour.
It means the new make-up of the council is Reform 15, Labour 11 (seven less than previously), Conservative nine, (that's eight down) and greens on three (that's one more than they had).
Notable Reform wins include county councillor leader George Finch, in Bede, and his dad Stuart in Stockingford East.
The former Labour council leader Steve Hey has lost his seat, and Reform's majorities in many seats have been decisive.
With turnout high - more than 50% in St Nicolas ward - Nuneaton and Bedworth's voters made their feelings clear.
Finch has called it a "political earthquake" towards Reform.
However, the party does not have overall control of the council, with 20 seats needed for a majority.
Lorna Bailey
BBC Coventry and Warwickshire
BBC CWR has been hearing regularly from a panel of four people from Coventry ahead of the city council’s election.
First-time voter Ben, 18, from Walsgrave, told me his experience yesterday had been "very relaxed".
He went to vote with his girlfriend, but said it was a bit of an anti-climax.
"There was like basically no-one else in there, which made it almost feel like it wasn't like a massive significant thing."
"It is just such a big thing though, this could decide how the city is run and it, yeah, it does feel very downplayed when you're actually in there."
He did his research locally before heading to the ballot box, but said he was still influenced by national politics and "wouldn't want to vote for a person that represented a party I didn't agree with".
The media, history and drama student said he would be following the result closely.
Simon Gilbert
Political Reporter, Coventry and Warwickshire
There are 54 seats up for grabs with 270 candidates contesting them.
250 ballot boxes have been emptied at the Coventry Building Society Arena to be sorted by 310 counters. There are an additional 90 support staff at the count and 994 staff were working at polling stations yesterday.
With a higher than usual turnout, they'll have a busy afternoon.
Counting has started in Coventry, where all seats are up for re-election for the first time since 2004
