ENGLAND
The Conservatives made big gains in local council elections and captured the Westminster seat of Hartlepool from Labour in a byelection. Labour lost council seats and failed to topple Conservative mayors in the West Midlands and Tees Valley but held mayoralties in London and Manchester and took the mayoralty of the West of England from the Conservatives. The Greens made advances but the Liberal Democrats did not.
SCOTLAND
Nicola Sturgeon's Scottish National Party (SNP) won a fourth term in power with 64 seats in the Scottish parliament, one short of an overall majority. The Greens, who won eight seats, also favour Scottish independence so there is a comfortable majority in favour of a second referendum within the next five years. The Conservatives remain the second largest party with 31 seats, followed by Labour with 22 and the Liberal Democrats with four. Alex Salmond's Alba party failed to win a single seat.
WALES
Welsh first minister Mark Drakeford led Labour to its best result since 2011 with 30 seats, one short of an overall majority. The party held seats in parts of Wales that the Conservatives won in the 2019 general election and captured a seat from Plaid Cymru. The Conservative gained seats, all but one at the expense of Ukip, who were wiped out, and the Liberal Democrats returned with just one seat. Drakeford will be able to govern alone if he chooses, making deals with opposition parties issue by issue.
