Chloe Aslett
Yorkshire

Image source, Simon Thake/BBC

Olivia Blake, Labour MP for Sheffield Hallam, says the prime minister "needs to think about his position" in light of the local election results.

“I think we are kidding ourselves if we think that Keir Starmer will be leading us into the next election," she says.

“There needs to be a plan now for what comes next.”

She says it has been a “difficult and anxious night” for Labour candidates.

“My heart goes out to all the hardworking councillors… they have been punished for decisions that weren’t taken by them,” she adds.

Former leader of Sheffield City Council, Tom Hunt, had been “punished for the national party’s position”, she says.

A crumb of comfort for Labour supporters in Sheffield after Minesh Parekh holds onto his seat in Crookes and Crosspool.

Meanwhile it's another win for the Lib Dems in Dore and Totley.

With 25 of the 28 seats declared the Greens have taken 10, Reform have nine, the Lib Dems five and Labour just the one.

Lucy Ashton
South Yorkshire political reporter

The first results are in at Barnsley where Labour has held its three seats in the Central ward.

Candidates and supporters punched the air, clapped and cheered as the result was read out.

A reminder, all 63 seats on Barnsley Council are up for election for the first time in 20 years.

Image source, Lucy Ashton/BBC

Labour's Tom Hunt has lost his seat in Walkley to the Green Party's Andrew Davies.

After a recount the final result was 2,794 to 2,721.

Meanwhile the Lib Dems have won in West Ecclesfield and Beauchief and Greenhill.

The final turnout in Barnsley has now been confirmed as 37.25%.

Earlier, the council said turnout was closer to 50%, but then had to revise the figure after some "confusion" around postal votes and the number of ballot papers received.

Labour's Tom Hunt has lost his seat in Walkley to the Greens.

Like busses you wait for one Lib Dem hold and two come along.

Cliff Woodcraft retains his seat in Fulwood to add to William Sapwell's earlier result in Stannington.

The Greens have picked up Nether Edge and Sharrow, and Hillsborough.

Here's the first bit of good news for the Lib Dems today.

William Sapwell has retained his seat in Stannington.

Reform meanwhile are continuing their success, taking Woodhouse, Stocksbridge and Don, and Shiregreen and Brightside.

The Greens have picked up Eccllesall, following former Lib Dem leader Shaffaq Mohammed's decision not to stand.

Lucy Ashton
South Yorkshire political reporter

A recount is underway for the Walkley ward - that's council leader Tom Hunt's seat.

Meanwhile the Greens have won in Graves Park and Gleadless Valley, with Reform taking Birley, East Ecclesfield and Park and Arbourthorne.

That's six seats each of the 12 so far declared.

Victoria Scheer
in Barnsley

The votes are busily being counted here in Barnsley, though the first results not expected before about 14:30.

Meanwhile the council say the overall turnout figure is 49.66% - back in 2024 that figure was just 24.14.

Reform have taken two more seats in Sheffield - Richmond and Mosborough.

Elswhere the Greens have won in Burngreave and Broomhill and Sharrow Vale.

That's four seats for the Green Party and three for Reform so far and none for Labour.

The first results for Sheffield are in.

The Green Party's Maia Salman-Lord holds the City ward with a big majority, while Margaret Abbey has taken the Manor seat from Labour.

Meanwhile Reform UK have won in Southey, where Yvonne Sykes has ousted long-serving Labour councillor Jayne Dunn.

James Vincent
Yorkshire political editor

We're about to get underway with results in Sheffield with the first three seats declared.

A reminder that in Sheffield they're only electing a third of the council so there are fewer votes to count

Simon Thake
in Sheffield

We're still waiting for first declaration at the EIS in Sheffield.

There are murmurings that higher turnout than expected means the first results are now expected at around 12.30, though nothing confirmed as yet.

All eyes on returning officer, CEO of Sheffield City Council, Kate Josephs.

Lucy Ashton
South Yorkshire political reporter

The Labour leader of Barnsley Council says the party is “really worried” about the election results.

Speaking ahead of the count, Sir Stephen Houghton said: “We had a difficult time on the doorstep over the last six weeks and we've seen the results in other places as well overnight so we’re expecting this is going to be a very challenging day.”

Turnout was 37% across Barnsley, which Houghton said was “up significantly” on previous years.

“We could tell yesterday there were lots and lots of people, many of whom never vote, turning out at the ballot box and experience tells us they're not voting for Labour, they're voting for Reform.

“The Labour Party and the Labour government need a rethink. What's happening now has been building for the last 30 years. We've seen post-industrial places, seaside places, communities, all being left behind over the last 30 years and seeing their communities deteriorate, the opportunities go backwards and they've had enough.

“There needs to be a new economic deal for large parts of the North that have never recovered from what happened when those staple industries disappeared.

“If they do that and they show they're interested in doing that and changing the purpose and nature of those places, then Keir Starmer can get on with it. But if they can't, we might need someone else to do that.

“The root cause is degradation of communities over a long period of time and people have enough of it.”

Lucy Ashton
South Yorkshire political reporter

Sheffield Council has struggled to fund adult social care, transport for pupils with special educational needs and homeless services.

Council tax has also increased by the maximum 4.99% for the past few years.

There is a recruitment freeze at the council, and it had to dip into reserves to pay for a £51m equal pay settlement, but officers say the authority is not at risk of going bankrupt.

The city centre is slowly being regenerated, but for the past few years there have been seemingly endless roadworks around Pinstone Street and Fargate has been constantly dug up.

The council needs to preserve and restore landmark listed buildings, such as the town hall and Central Library, but will need to find the money to do so.

The Local Plan has also become a major election issue. The council is planning to build 3,500 new homes, secondary schools and cemeteries on 14 green belt sites. The majority of the sites are within two postcodes, which has angered residents who say the developments should be shared more equally across the city.

Ahead of the election we spoke to people in Stocksbridge to ask them what they wanted from their councillors.

Lucy Ashton
South Yorkshire political reporter

The priority for all the political parties in the Sheffield City Council election is to hold on to the seats they already have. This election could end up as a card trading game, where parties swap seats but the council remains in no overall control.

Wards to watch are Beighton, which the Lib Dems won in the last elections in 2024 by two votes, and Woodhouse, which the Lib Dems won by 10 votes.

Stocksbridge will also be interesting as it has been held by Labour, Lib Dem, Conservative, UKIP, Reform and Independent in recent years.

And, like the rest of the country, a lot of eyes will be on Reform to see how many seats they pick up.

Sheffield lags behind Manchester and Leeds in terms of its economy and investment, so will a council of so many different parties and independents be able to work together for the good of the city?

Lucy Ashton
South Yorkshire political reporter

Barnsley Council's results are expected later this afternoon.

It has been Labour for 50 years and leader Sir Stephen Houghton (below) has been at the helm for 30 of those.

Image source, Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council

As well as Labour councillors, there are 12 Liberal Democrats, three Independents and one Conservative. Currently there are no Reform UK councillors, but it is a target for them. The Greens are hoping to pick up some seats as well.

For the first time in 20 years, it's all-out elections which means all 63 seats will be up for grabs. The ballot papers will be long – some will have 13 candidates – and voters can choose up to three candidates.

Simon Thake
in Sheffield

Sheffield Council Leader Tom Hunt is currently pacing around the basketball court at the EIS.

That’s where his ward, Walkley, is being counted.

This is the point when all members of the press become body language experts.

Is he pacing because he’s nervous?

A threat from the Greens and Lib Dems? Nervous energy?

Or sizing up his three point shots?