There was a slight increase in turnout compared to 2000

Tories have most to cheer

Labour lost some ground but on a night of little overall change, the Conservatives did not get the clear breakthrough they had hoped for. The BBC's latest projection of each party's share of the vote puts the Conservatives on 34% with Labour on 33%, with the Liberal Democrats on 27%.

 The BBC's Peter Snow reports

 Labour Party Chairman Charles Clarke "We held major councils like Birmingham, Leeds, Rochdale"

 Conservative shadow cabinet member Theresa May: "We took the largest share of the popular vote"

 Liberal Democrat spokesman Matthew Taylor says the party is up in terms of councils

The BNP wins three seats in Burnley

BNP in surprise win

The extremist British National Party wins its first seats for nine years in the English local elections.The party failed to win any seats in Oldham but civil engineer David John Edwards did triumph in Burnley and was later joined by his party colleague, Carol Hughes.

 The BBC's Ben Geoghegan reports

 BNP leader Nick Griffin: "There is going to be a voice on the council for the white majority"

 Labour Party NEC member in Burnley Sahid Malik calls the BNP racist thugs

  The BBC's Nick Robinson says fringe parties are gaining at the expense of established parties

Ray Mallon's no nonsense approach is set to continue

'Robocop' elected Mayor

Out-of-favour former Chief Superintendent of Cleveland Police Ray Mallon, famed for his zero-tolerance style of policing, says he will approach his new role as Middlesbrough's Mayor in an equally robust manner.

 Mayor of Middlesbrough Ray Mallon

The mascot's slogan was "free bananas for schoolchildren"

Monkey mascot elected mayor

The success of a football mascot in Hartlepool may have made a monkey out of Labour's flagship idea of elected mayors.

 Mayor of Hartlepool Stuart Drummond: "I've used monkey solely for promotional purposes"

Texting is one way of attracting young voters

New voting methods

For the first time thousands of people have been able to vote on the internet, on the phone or even by text message, extra methods to encourage more people to vote.

 The BBC's Richard Bilton reports