Thanks for joining us for what has been a truly historic day for local politics in Sussex and Surrey.

We've seen a huge number of Conservative and Labour councillors lose their seats to Reform UK and the Green Party right across Sussex, while in Surrey, the Lib Dems will take control of both new unitary councils.

Even though there are still seats to be announced, we now know who will run what. But can this new batch of councillors really deliver on the promises they've made? Only time will tell.

Our political editor Helen Catt will bring you full analysis in the morning.

You can read more on the results in Sussex here, in Surrey here and in Kent here - and if you want the wider political picture you can find more here.

Goodnight.

Reform UK has done very well in Sussex today, picking up 55 seats across both county councils.

Peter Griffiths, representing Uckfield South with Framfield, said: "We didn't have a party a year ago, and so we have made enormous strides in that time. I hope we can carry on making enormous strides."

Martin Kenward, representing Bexhill East, was previously in the Conservative party. When asked if he thinks he made the right move, he simply said: "I think I did."

The Liberal Democrats are set for a majority on East Surrey Council.

It means the party will have a majority on both of the county's new unitary authorities when they launch in April next year.

Bryan Turner, chairman of East Worthing & Shoreham Conservative Association, has criticised the winning parties in his area after his own party had major losses today.

"I think it's doubly disappointing, because for the first time in our local political history we've got quite significant representation from parties who really have a divisive philosophy," he said.

"I look forward with interest to see how they get on now they actually have to take some decisions."

Surrey County Council and the 11 borough and district councils will be abolished from April 2027.

They are being replaced by a council in the east and another in the west.

The winners of the elections will take up their posts on the new councils from 1 April next year. In the meantime, they will be "shadow authorities".

Special committees have been set up to help prepare for the transfer of powers and responsibilities from the old councils to the new ones.

Surrey County Council and the borough and districts councils will continue to provide services until then.

The Liberal Democrats are set to take control of the new West Surrey Council when it launches in April next year.

Results on the Surrey local government reorganisation hub show the Lib Dems with 46 seats, with some still left to declare.

A party needs 45 seats to have a majority on the council.

The Green Party has made history in Hastings today. It is the first time it has run a majority council in the South East.

Glenn Haffenden, leader of the council, said: "To get a majority today, I don't even know how to actually even explain that in words.

"We are the third only Green Party in the country to have a majority council, so to have that here in Hastings is just beyond words at the moment."

Peter Lamb, the Labour MP for Crawley, has just renewed calls for Sir Keir Starmer to resign as prime minister.

"I called for Keir Starmer to go two months ago, I said he should set out a timetable," Lamb said.

"Had he done so at the time, many more of my local government colleagues could be here today."

Speaking at a count in Redhill, Lib Dem MP Chris Coghlan told the BBC: "We can already say it's a historic day for Surrey. We've had a Conservative county council for decades. We're doing incredibly strongly in west Surrey and we're feeling pretty confident here in east Surrey as well.

"If we do take the council here in east Surrey we know there's a huge amount of responsibility on us, particularly on special educational needs and disabilities.

"In some ways we've had a five-way fight - I'm really proud that it looks like the Liberal Democrats are coming out on top of that, and that people in Surrey have rejected the politics of division, they're going for the politics of hope."

Tom Rutland, MP for East Worthing, has told BBC South East Today that Labour's losses in Worthing today do not reflect the work of local councillors.

"It was very frustrating to fall just short in a number of seats in Worthing, but I'm very confident we can come back from that with fantastic plans to restore our lido and having already saved our pier," he said.

"Because of those very narrow losses in those seats I'm very confident there. And in Adur, we've had a fantastic set of results. We were campaigning really hard in five seats and we've won those five seats. We've maintained a fantastic majority there, as well as winning two county seats off the Conservatives.

"I think that pays tribute to the fantastic work the council's done there."

Asked if Labour's grip on Worthing was loosening, Rutland said: "I don't think so, this is a set of midterm elections, it was always going to be challenging and the national environment has been challenging. I don't think it's a reflection on the councillors who have done fantastic work.

"I want us to win those seats back at the soonest opportunity."

As we wait for the results from Crawley, here are the views of some people we spoke to in the town before the polls opened.

Voters have had their say on who they want to represent them on the town's borough council and on West Sussex County Council.

Oliver Whitfield-Miocic
BBC South East, in Bexhill

It's clear that Reform UK is the big winner with all of the results now declared for Rother's districts in the East Sussex County Council elections.

Out of nine seats up for grabs, Reform UK gained seven. The Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats held one seat each.

In some cases, Reform won by the slimmest of majorities, such as in Rother North West where the party won over the Conservatives by just 27 votes.

The results are undoubtedly going to change the composition of the county council.

We've just told you the Conservatives have lost their majority on West Sussex County Council. Here's what happened.

The Conservatives have lost 31 seats. Reform UK has gained 14 seats and the Lib Dems 13.

The Green Party wins six seats, Labour lose one and independents lose one.

The Green Party has secured a majority on Hastings Borough Council, the BBC understands. It will be the first time the party has ever run a majority council in the South East of England.

There are still a couple of wards to declare.

When the party ran Brighton & Hove City Council, it did so as a minority administration.