More than 1,600 council seats are up for grabs across 23 local authorities, while four regional mayors and two local mayors will be elected.
In Runcorn and Helsby voters are choosing a new MP after Labour’s Mike Amesbury resigned following his conviction for punching a constituent.
Betting odds had Reform ahead of the incumbent party in the by-election, and government parties tend to do poorly in by-elections.
Politics latest: Follow the results live
Already, the Labour Party is managing expectations that they may lose the seat.
Speaking about the by-election and polls more widely, Ellie Reeves, the party’s chair, said: “These elections were always going to be a challenge, being held largely in areas dominated by the Conservatives, often for decades. That’s why Labour candidates stood on a promise to bring change right across our country.
“There are promising signs that the Labour government’s plan for change is already starting to turn around 14 years of Tory failure.
“NHS waiting lists have fallen consistently. Free breakfast clubs are starting to roll out in every primary school. Some 3.5 million workers got a pay rise with the minimum wage increase this month, with pensions rising thanks to Labour’s commitment to the triple lock.
“But we know people aren’t yet fully feeling the benefit and we are just as impatient for change as the rest of the country. However the results turn out this evening, this Labour government will go further and faster in turning our country around and giving Britain the future it deserves.”
A Reform UK spokesperson said: “We have fought a strong campaign. The two major parties are more fearful of the results tonight than we are.”
Sky News interviews party leaders:
Sir Keir Starmer
Kemi Badenoch
Nigel Farage
Sir Ed Davey
Carla Denyer
Torrid for the Tories?
Because of the way local elections work, there were a large number of Conservative councillors up for election, compared to the other parties.
With their favourability ratings still low, it is likely many will lose their seats.
However, they are pinning their hopes on Labour doing badly, with murmurings of disquiet about Ms Badenoch’s leadership.
A Conservative spokesperson said: “Tonight will be the first real test of Keir Starmer’s Labour government, ten months after they won an unprecedented majority at the general election.
“The Conservatives have started on the process of renewing our party under Kemi Badenoch’s leadership. But we also have always been clear that these would be tough elections for the party – defending an incredibly high watermark from 2021 when we took two-thirds of all seats.
“If the 2024 general election was replicated on today’s battleground, we would lose control of almost every single council.”
According to Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey, the party is expecting “big gains” off the Tories in the Conservative’s “former middle England heartlands”.
The Greens are also anticipating a good set of elections.
In the first result of the night, Labour held on to the North Tyneside mayoralty by just 444 votes.
Five other mayoralties are also up grabs: Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, West of England, Greater Lincolnshire, Hull and East Yorkshire, and Doncaster.
Mr Farage told Sky News political editor Beth Rigby his party have a good chance in Hull, Lincolnshire and perhaps Doncaster.
Join Sky News presenter Jonathan Samuels and deputy political editor Sam Coates to follow the results. Lead politics presenter Sophy Ridge, political editor Beth Rigby, and data and economics editor Ed Conway will take over on Friday morning to report and explain what has happened.
