Counting underway in Exeter and Plymouth local elections
Seats on a third of each of the councils are up for grabs - with the results expected in the early hours
Counting is now underway in Exeter and Plymouth where a third of seats are up for grabs on both councils.
The results of the Devon & Cornwall Police and Crime Commissioner elections will be announced tomorrow when seperate counting takes place.
The 13 seats being contested in Exeter were last up for grabs in 2021 - of those Labour are defending 10 with the Conservatives 2, and the Green Party 1. With Labour currently holding 25 seats on the council, it means they will need to win 5 of the 13 seats to retain overall control.
In Exeter the Greens, independents and Liberal Democrats are in an alliance called the Progressive Group which forms the council’s official opposition.
Across Exeter there are approximately 90,000 electors who are eligible to vote at these elections, with approximately 18% of these voters having requested to vote by post.
The turnout in the City Council elections in May 2023 was 35.65%. The turnout for the Police & Crime Commissioner election in 2021 was 37.22%.
There are nine Exeter councillors standing down at this election.
In Plymouth there's 19 seats for or grabs - and with Labour holding 33 seats they need to win just two tonight to retain their overall control.
Of the 19 seats, the Conservatives are defending nine of them, with Labour defending six, Independents three, and the Green Party one.