Local Elections: The results keep coming - where we stand in the Midlands as counting continues

We're most of the way through a momentous day in the election calendar and the picture in the Midlands is clearly emerging. 

The famous 'Red Wall' is being reassembled by Labour in key target areas. 

An impressive 17 seat gain in Stoke-on-Trent means they now have control of the council taking over from the Conservatives who lost eight seats and they also squeezed out nine Independents. The former Labour MP Ruth Smeeth - now Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent, said she felt "humbled that local people are trusting Labour once again."  

Conservative Stoke-on-Trent North MP, Jonathan Gullis, reflects on a disappointing night for his party:

Likewise Labour have gained Erewash from the Conservatives for the first time in 20 years. With the count still going on, they've managed to secure enough seats to take power.

Labour is also now the biggest party in North West Leicestershire after the Tories lost control of the council for the first time in sixteen years. Might that be the result of a backlash against Andrew Bridgen - expelled by the Conservative Party for insensitive remarks linking his campaign against the covid vaccine to the holocaust?

The Liberal Democrats managed a surprise win from the Conservatives in Stratford-upon-Avon, gaining 13 seats. The Tories lost seven, and Labour lost their only seat too.

In Lincolnshire, three Conservative Party group leaders all lost their seats. Boston Council is now in the hands of the Boston Independents. In South Kesteven power has switched from Tory to No Overall Control. As it has in Bromsgrove, where the Tories lost seven seats, and Labour gaining five.

But the Prime Minster Rishi Sunak has been keen to highlight the stronger showings overnight. His party gained three seats in Labour controlled Bassetlaw, and two seats in the Metropolitan Borough of Sandwell. The Tories also retain power in Dudley and in Redditch. 

In Leicester, Labour's Sir Peter Soulsby will remain the City Mayor, but with a reduced majority, after a 17% swing to the Conservatives. It meant Sir Peter's majority was reduced from 36,925 in 2019, to 8,580.

The other mayoral election was in Mansfield, where Labour's Andy Abrahams was re-elected. It capped off a great day for them, as in the council election, the party also secured control, replacing Mansfield Independents.

It has certainly been a buoyant set of results for Labour in the Midlands but there are still more results to come. And as indicated in places like Ashfield and Boston, voters sometimes prefer to go for Independents instead of the mainstream parties. 

Will it convert to victory for the Labour Party at the next General Election? It's fair to say there is no guarantee at this stage. The swing may result in Labour becoming the biggest party at Westminster but the figures so far are not matching the Tony Blair landslide promise of 1997. 

The Labour MP for Birmingham Edgbaston, Shabana Mahmood is also the party's National Campaign Co-ordinator. She believes Labour's wins today do point to a victory at the next General Election.

Much will depend on election results due here in the Midlands in the next few hours. Key contests are happening in Derby and in Erewash. And there are also two mayoral results to come in Mansfield and in Leicester.