here in redditch, labour made big gains to win control of the council. they'll be hoping it's a sign they can win back parliamentary seats like this too at the general election. and there was a massive swing of over 26% to labour in the blackpool south by—election. but some cheer for tories, as ben houchen holds on to the mayor's office in tees valley. and i'll be here looking at some of the results in more detail to see what it might mean for the parties at the general election. also tonight, a former post office lawyer is accused of lying over are you going to tell the truth today? jarnail singh was involved in prosecuting an innocent woman. he says he didn't lie. william perry me? on newsnight at half ten...

the tees valley mayoral win for the conservatives appears to buy time for the prime minister with his own party. but is he running out of time with the country? we'll have in—depth analysis of the votes. good evening. two very different moods tonight in the conservative and labour camps after the local and mayoral elections. rishi sunak says it's "disappointing to lose good, hardworking councillors", after what's been a painful set of results so far for his party — some of the worst tory losses in england for decades. on the other side, labour arejubilant, cock—a—whoop at their gains across the country, including in the blackpool south by—election, overturning a conservative majority with a colossal 26% swing. well, this the latest state of play, with the conservatives having

lost a36 councillors, and labour gaining 169 so far. we'll dig deep into the numbers and look at what the results could mean for the coming general election. as ever, to guide us through it all, chris mason. chris, it has been a long night, and it's not over. it chris, it has been a long night, and it's not over-— it's not over. it isn't over, and when rishi sunak _ it's not over. it isn't over, and when rishi sunak came - it's not over. it isn't over, and when rishi sunak came into . it's not over. it isn't over, and - when rishi sunak came into power, he had two aims, the first was to steady the ship after borisjohnson and liz truss, and arguably he has done that. but he has said that failure, and consistent failure, you look at most of the by—elections of the last 12 months, pretty dire, and then today the results of the last 24—hour is, really pretty desperate for the conservatives. as far as

labour are concerned, not only are they doing pretty well, they've discovered the knack of efficiency when it comes to votes. what i mean by that? i mean they are managing to win in areas that they need to win if they are going to win the general election. as opposed to piling up votes in places that they were winning already, effectively inefficient votes. then there are the other parties, they are chipper too. so lots of details to get into, but here is the story of the last 24—hour is. applause. northallerton in north yorkshire this afternoon. the prime minister lives a few miles away, and look who's turned up to rub his nose in it. york and north yorkshire, the wider county so often rock—solid conservative, has elected a labour mayor. we've had really good results across the country all day long, but this is a very, very special moment, david, to become the mayor here.

and thank you to the team for all the fantastic work they have done. because through the the villages of the towns of north yorkshire, people have voted for change. there have been smiles and red rosettes all over the place, taking the council in the military town of aldershot in hampshire, taking nine police and crime commissioner roles from the conservatives, including here in cumbria. and on the south coast in adur in west sussex, where they've never won before. but five independent candidates standing on a pro—gaza platform cost labour control in oldham in greater manchester. there's evidence labour's stance on gaza has had an impact, particularly in places with a significant muslim population. earlier, keir starmer was in blackpool to celebrate winning a westminster seat there. winning wasn't surprising. the scale of labour's victory was. band plays.

what's the mood music for the prime minister? pretty dire, then. rishi sunak was in catterick garrison in north yorkshire. obviously it's disappointing to lose good, hardworking conservative councillors, and i'm grateful to them for all their service in local government, keeping council tax low and delivering services for local people. but we've still got lots of results to come. one of their few islands of optimism in a sea of gloom, the tees valley. the conservative ben houchen wearing victory but not a tory rosette. he won by a million miles last time. it was much closer this time, and he had this message for the prime minister. the people i am hearing that may not be thinking about voting conservative are currently thinking whether they want to vote conservative at the next general election. they want more progress. they want to give... we need to give them the excuse to vote for us, and we haven't quite given them that excuse yet. and in classic marginal harlow in essex, the conservatives managed to cling on — just.

the liberal democrats delight in the less than subtle photo opportunity. here they are in winchester in hampshire. let's make this conservative government history. they're suggesting here the conservatives are soon to be as dead as, yes, the dinosaurs, and point to gains they're making at the tories�* expense. in so many parts of the country, it'll be conservative mps worried about liberal democrats. across the south—east, the blue wall, the south—west. in many other parts of the country where we are the challengers to the conservatives, people know that if you want to get rid of this awful conservative government and make them history, they should vote liberal democrat. and tonight the lib dems took control in tunbridge wells in kent. reform uk, the successor to the brexit party, give some conservatives the colliewobbles. they came within a whisker of beating the tories in the blackpool by—election. what's rapidly becoming clear is basically as more _ people hear about reform, -

we're becoming the real opposition to the labour party in the north, in the midlands, in wales. - we're on the way up, _ and it's quite clear that the tories are on the way down. and the green party is volunteering a bow. this is hastings in east sussex. the trend of the greens�* steady rise in local politics continues. a fantastic set of results for the green party, the fifth local election in a row where we scored a record number of green councillors being elected, winning seats in all corners of the country from labour and from the conservatives in rural and urban areas alike. the democratic process comes with certain rituals, colour, stamina and sleep deprivation, and winners clutching babies. there are yet more results to come tomorrow. chris mason, bbc news. we're racing towards all the councils declaring in this year's elections.

101 of the 107 have revealed their results, with labour gaining 48 and the conservatives losing nine. let's take a closer look at redditch in worcestershire. here, labour took control from the conservatives with a huge majority, winning 21 of the 27 seats up for grabs. the incoming labour leader says he's overwhelmed by the size of the win. leila nathoo has been speaking to voters there. with the weather in redditch as bleak as the result for the tories here, it's little wonder that few braved it to the shops today. how best to breathe new life into the town centre was one of the key issues at the local elections. labour secured a resounding victory, seizing the council from the conservatives. at the three cooks cafe, business has slowed. managerjanine thinks redditch has been shortchanged by those who've been in charge. it feels like this town is rotting, and it doesn't feel like we're going forward. something needed to happen, because it's like it is stuck in a rut.

and i think change is only good when you're in that position. her customers, too, wanted to see fresh thinking. they didn't listen to people, they didn't listen to us when we said we wanted the library to stay where it is. nobody's doing nothing to help the country. - the homeless people on the streets. people are working just - to pay their bills, just to survive. here in redditch, labour had promised voters it would restore an outdoor market that used to be here and to try to stop the libraryjust down there from being demolished and relocated. this is exactly the kind of place that will decide the outcome of the next general election. it's somewhere labour will need to win back to get into government. down the road, a bit of light rain isn't knocking practice off course at the redditch bowling club. the town has had a conservative mp since 2010. labour now has its eye on that prize. redditch used to be labour many years ago, so i think that swing back is how people in this

country are feeling. and i think the challenges, the issues that we've got in redditch, mirror what is going on in the rest of the country. i think you've had 14 years of the conservatives. they've tried austerity. they've sort of almost imposed brexit. they sort of partied through covid. and i think people are just about fed up with it now, really. i will vote for who's going put this country into the strongest position it can be. so, there's still time for parties to make their case to you. yeah, i think parties have still got time, i definitely think they've still got time. the conservatives insist it's all still to play for. but as today's results show, it's proving hard to persuade voters to choose them. leila nathoo, bbc news, in redditch. labour have dominted the mayoral races declared so far, winning three out of four. they couldn't unseat the conservatives�* ben houchen, who held on in tees valley, providing a rare bright spot for rishi sunak, as danny savage reports from norton,

in stockton on tees. good afternoon, everybody. it's absolutely great to be here with your re—elected mayor of teesside! it's the patch that's provided a rare win on a bad day for the conservatives. one worthy of a visit from the prime minister. ben houchen was re—elected as mayor, a conservative mayor. so, so relieved and humbled, proud to get a third term as the tees valley mayor. ben houchen is a local lad. he was born here on teesside and has campaigned for things like improvements to local hospitals and the local airport. but the question now is, can votes for a local conservative politician stay with the party when it comes to a general election? it's a different... it's a different dynamic, isn't it? local politics a lot different to westminster. i think they forget that he's a tory. i in a local pub this afternoon, they were happy to talk politics. did you vote for ben houchen? yes, idid. does that mean that you would necessarily vote for the conservatives in a general election scenario? no, definitely not. why?

because i have different views from the conservatives - in the general election to what i do to ben. i it was a warm afternoon in the north. time for a reflective pint. do you think the people that voted conservative for ben houchen will necessarily vote conservative in a general election? almost certainly. you think they will? well, yeah, ithink they probably will. yeah, i do, as a matter of fact. the boost to the economy, in my opinion, by what he's done for the airport has been marvellous. mum and daughter gill and rebecca run a business together. when it comes to the next vote, it's going to be the economy that keeps them sweet. this the national living wage has just gone up, but then i've got to find that in my business to pay my staff. food is going up. the cost of everything is going up. petrol�*s going back up again. this is one of ben houchen's election leaflets. you can probably tell it's a tory one by the colours, but the word conservative appeared only in the very small print on the last page. look at what happened in the early 20005, the local councils...

this was a personality—led, local campaign. can the conservatives learn lessons from it? danny savage, bbc news, teesside. it's something that we's all want to see stop... so what can we read into the results we've had so far, and what do they tell us about the state of the parties�* fortunes as we approach a general election. vicki young is here with more details. there is no doubt that these local elections will affect the mood of the parties as we head towards a general election. a quick look at the vote share and the story is obvious. labour up and the conservatives down. with small increases for the other parties, too. it's useful, though, to look at some results in more detail. milton keynes has gone from a hung council to a labour majority. it's the kind of seat labour is particularly pleased to win because it's where they'll be in a direct battle with the tories at a general election. the bbc has done analysis of what the council result

here could mean in the parliamentary seat of milton keynes north. it shows a labour win which would almost certainly mean they'd be forming the government. there have, though, been two labour council losses so far, in oldham and kirklees, so how worried should keir starmer be about that? if we look at the oldham result, labour is still the largest party but not in overall control. there's no doubt some voters here are unhappy with the party's stance on gaza and have turned to independent candidates. but it's worth remembering it's much harder for an independent candidate to break through at a general election, and that could help labour. now, there is a nightmare scenario for the conservatives — battling it out with labour but with the liberal democrats also snatching their votes. look what's happened to the conservative vote in council wards where the lib dems were their main challenger. and they're also under pressure from reform. here's what happened to the tory vote in places where reform stood. so overall a bad night

for the conservatives, with their vote splintering in several directions. let's get a final word from chris. but we have got some pretty important mayoral results expected on saturday? we important mayoral results expected on saturday?— on saturday? we have, and this is not et on saturday? we have, and this is not yet even _ on saturday? we have, and this is not yet over. plenty _ on saturday? we have, and this is not yet over. plenty of _ on saturday? we have, and this is not yet over. plenty of places - on saturday? we have, and this is not yet over. plenty of places to i on saturday? we have, and this is| not yet over. plenty of places to be mayor still to be counted, liverpool, south yorkshire, greater manchester, west yorkshire, salford, the west midlands and london. a quick word about london. the conservatives reckon it could be much, much closer than some opinion polls had been suggesting. the polls have suggested that labour's sadiq khan, who has been there for some time, was well ahead. we shall see, when the counting starts tomorrow. and then in the west midlands, the conservatives appear relatively hopeful that andy street will hang on there. labour think that they

have been punished particularly by voters in birmingham over the local authority, labour run council in birmingham, they have had to crank up birmingham, they have had to crank up council tax and cut services, and they think they have been punished for that. there is also still a smattering of council results to come in and a whole load of police and crime commissioners as well. we heard vicki young analysing what these results could mean longer term, perhaps in a general election, with all of that in mind, what do you think the mood is in the conservative and labour camps tonight? conservative and labour camps toniaht? ., conservative and labour camps toniiht? ., ., , ., conservative and labour camps toniaht? ., ., , ., ., , tonight? for the conservative party, first b this tonight? for the conservative party, first by this was _ tonight? for the conservative party, first by this was always _ tonight? for the conservative party, first by this was always going - tonight? for the conservative party, first by this was always going to - tonight? for the conservative party, first by this was always going to be i first by this was always going to be key for the prime minister, where did it leave the mentality whether mindset, particularly of conservative mps, who hold his fate in the very short—term in their hands? i do not detect any sense of an insurrection amongst conservative mps thinking, my goodness, it is so bad, we have got to get rid of the prime minister. that is not to say they are not quite bleak but they don't think that that would be a good idea. one seniorfigure said to

me tonight that conservative mps are remarkably chilled. one former cabinet minister described the results as not catastrophic, whilst also tacitly accepting that he did think that the conservatives would lose the general election. labour are confident that they are on course for winning a majority at the general election. so, in summary, i think the last 24 hours has cemented the status quo. labour are buoyant. the conservatives are pretty morose. and there is the big picture that we cannot forget in the next couple of months, wherever the opinion polls ebb and flow to, and wherever the results go to tomorrow, labour faced the most almighty mountain that they have to climb and reach the summit of, if they are going to win the general election, even when it modestly. that is the core fact that should define all of the conversations about politics in the coming weeks and months. but they have grounds, on the basis of the last 24 hours, to be confident. chris, i hope you get some sleep. sr

do i! chris, i hope you get some sleep. so do i! chris mason, _ chris, i hope you get some sleep. so do i! chris mason, our _ chris, i hope you get some sleep. so do i! chris mason, our political - do i! chris mason, our political ednon a former lawyer for the post office has been accused at the inquiry into the horizon it scandal, of telling "a big fat lie" about not knowing that there was a bug in the software. jarnail singh was directly involved in prosecuting a pregnant sub—postmistress back in 2010. the bug was not disclosed at the trial of seema misra, who was wrongly convicted of theft and false accounting. mr singh denies the allegations made against him. here's emma simpson. mr singh — are you going to tell the truth today? the questions are mounting for the former post office senior lawyerjarnail singh. beginning with this one. you were covering it up in 2013 and 2015, weren't you? no, i wasn't covering it up. you were covering up your own guilty knowledge? er, no, i...i wasn't. it's all to do with the case against seema misra, which he helped to prepare. she was sent to prison in 2010, eight weeks pregnant. she'd blamed horizon for her losses.

but shortly before her trial came this report written by fujitsu engineer garethjenkins about a bug affecting branch accounts and how he could use remote access to fix it. and then here's a note about the meeting that followed, warning about the potential impact upon ongoing legal cases. the inquiry saw how it was all forwarded in this email to jarnail singh — the header showing it printed minutes later. i don't recall seeing it. don't recall printing it. this was saved in your drive, wasn't it? i don't even know what you're talking about. i don't know how to do...these things worked. you don't know how to save a document? no. this was just three days before seema's trial. the material was never disclosed. it could have stopped her wrongful conviction and many others that followed. all of this, "if i received it... "if i read it..." is a big, fat lie, isn't it? no, sir.

you know it, mr singh. sir, i didn't come here to lie. i'm at an age where i have come to assist the inquiry. he said he didn't know about the bug for anotherfew years. a hard watch for seema and her husband here today. did you believe him? no. they didn't care like they're sending an innocent - person to the prison. all they were concerned _ about the horizon name to be saved. butjarnail singh did say this. i admit mistakes were made. and i'm ever so sorry that mrs misra suffered. and i am ever so embarrassed to be here. a bruising day for a lawyer who says he can't remember many of the details. emma simpson, bbc news, at the post office inquiry. a teenager who stabbed mikey roynon who was 16 to death in bath in somerset last year has been detained for life at

bristol crown court. shane cunningham was ordered to serve a minimum of 16 years before being considered for parole. two others, cartel bushnell and leo knight, who were 15 at the time of the attack, were sentenced to nine years for manslaughter. danjohnson was in court. mikey roynon's family came here every day of the four—week trial. today they were in court to hear how long his teenage killers will serve. love you, too. love you... wait, love you. mikey was just 16 years old. he was a live wire, so he loved, you know, being out on a bike or a scooter. lastjune, he went to a party in bath with friends. there, they came across this group from wiltshire. this is the ambulance service. is the patient breathing? there was a violent confrontation, and mikey was stabbed in the neck. someone's been stabbed at a house party, please! i had loads of missed calls. i rang mikey's phone,

and his friend answered. and he said, "mikey's been stabbed." i was like, "is he ok, is he ok?" and he said, "he's gone, hayley, he's gone." and i put the phone down on him because i didn't want to... i didn't want to hear that. i didn't believe it. it was shane cunningham who stabbed mikey, he claimed, in self—defence, but he was convicted of murder. cartel bushnell and leo knight were given nine years for manslaughter for encouraging and supporting the attack. why would you take a knife to a 16—year—old's birthday party? why would you need to have a knife at a house party? yeah, that is shocking. was it you that stabbed him in the neck? - shane cunningham didn't give any answers in custody or in court, so we may never know what sparked the confrontation. thejudge passed a life sentence and said he must serve at least 16 years. bristol and its surrounding areas are in the middle of a plague of knife crime.

the plague has continued since this trial finished. the lives of young boys who carry knives continue to need to be taken at the hands of other boys who carry knives. how do you feel about the sentences that were given today? my immediate reaction was it doesn't make any difference — but it does make a difference. but mikey's life's gone for ever, and, you know, they'll get theirs back at some point. this family is campaigning now to highlight knife crime and how many children are armed and prepared to take lives. danjohnson, bbc news, at bristol crown court. the actor kevin spacey has given a television interview saying he's been "baselessly attacked" ahead of a documentary due to be released next week which appears to make new claims about his behaviour. he was found not guilty at southwark crown court last year after four men accused him of a number of sexual offences. katie razzall is here. what more did he have to say, then?

well, clive, we have known since 2022 that this documentary is being made about kevin spacey, and it starts on monday. just yesterday the actor went on to x formally twitter to complain that he had been given seven days to respond to allegations in a programme that he says date back 48 years. now he has given this lengthy interview to the former gb news presenter dan wootton, it was released just in the last few hours, and he is effectively saying he will no longer be speechless. have a listen. i no longer be speechless. have a listen. . , listen. i have been mired in litigation — listen. i have been mired in litigation for _ listen. i have been mired in litigation for years - listen. i have been mired in litigation for years and - listen. i have been mired in| litigation for years and years listen. i have been mired in - litigation for years and years and years. _ litigation for years and years and years. and — litigation for years and years and years, and wasjust unable to speak. and look. _ years, and wasjust unable to speak. and look. i_ years, and wasjust unable to speak. and look, i would also find a homely return_ and look, i would also find a homely return to _ and look, i would also find a homely return to work and be grateful without — return to work and be grateful without saying anything? i can't go through— without saying anything? i can't go through this again. allowing myself to be baseless like attacked without defending myself. ifi to be baseless like attacked without defending myself. if i was really this monster and everyone knew about it, this monster and everyone knew about it. then _ this monster and everyone knew about it, then why— this monster and everyone knew about it, then why aren't people asking questions — it, then why aren't people asking questions about the networks and studios _ questions about the networks and studios who were all too happy to monetise —

studios who were all too happy to monetise me while allowing me to roam _ monetise me while allowing me to roam the _ monetise me while allowing me to roam the streets freely?— roam the streets freely? clive, my understanding _ roam the streets freely? clive, my understanding is _ roam the streets freely? clive, my understanding is that _ roam the streets freely? clive, my understanding is that ten - roam the streets freely? clive, my understanding is that ten men, - roam the streets freely? clive, my. understanding is that ten men, nine of whom have never spoken publicly before, have given interviews to channel 4 and that the programme focuses on the men's claims of inappropriate abuse of power in the workplace by kevin spacey, so the focus is not criminality. as you said he was acquitted last year in a trial in southwark crown court, and after that, trial in southwark crown court, and afterthat, my trial in southwark crown court, and after that, my understanding is that there were discussions by the programme makers about how to proceed but they decided it was in the public interest to carry on, based on the breadth of testimony that they have gathered. but kevin spacey has clearly decided attack is the best form of defence, he is saying he has not behaved illegally and his lawyers are saying tonight that there was no public interest in the public being, as they put it, misinformed, with the publication of what they call false and unverified allegations, and they say kevin spacey has been left with little choice but to make his own public statement. choice but to make his own public statement-— statement. katie russell, our culture editor, _ statement. katie russell, our culture editor, thank - statement. katie russell, our

culture editor, thank you. - it's a big day tomorrow for ipswich town's footballers, on the brink of promotion back to the premier league. a win or draw against huddersfield, will seal the deal, with the whole of ipswich seemingly willing them on to succeed. here's laura scott. children chant. they haven't had to wait, but it seems these school children more than understand the weight of what this weekend could mean for the whole of ipswich. they haven't been in the premier league for, like, 22 years, so that would be a very good achievement. it's going to be really cool to be back in the premier league playing with all these really cool clubs. on the eve of the final promotion push, a plea from the club's chief executive in their morning assembly. and make as much noise i as you can tomorrow for us. can you do that for us? children: yes! we are trying to rebuild a monsterl of a football club that has been run down and at times neglected. but what we have found - is an incredible fan base that shocks and surprises us. and, tomorrow, we've got to go once more. i ipswich is where sir bobby robson

made his name as a manager. his triumphs here inspired the current man in charge, kieran mckenna, whose side need just one more point to reach the top flight. we know that the next step is a huge one and it will take an awful amount of work again, but, you know, that's exciting. it's exciting to be part of this project, to be leading the project, and, you know, we want to continue that. helping the club go global is local lad ed sheeran, who sponsors the front of their shirts and is actually named as a member of the playing squad. and he's not the only one bringing their star power to portman road. he does it because he loves the club, and the same with me. i represent them on my shorts and take them around the world and however i can because i'm a hometown boy, same as him, and we all support our own. as the tractor boys try to plough their way to the premier league, the players might be keeping their feet on the ground. not sure the same can be said for the rest of the town. laura scott, bbc news, ipswich. there's good news for the millions of fans of the tv

comedy gavin and stacey. one of the stars, the actor james corden, has announced there'll be one more episode of the show to be aired on christmas day. the big question of course is, will smithy accept nessa's marriage proposal? here's tomos morgan. i loves you. with all my heart. five years ago, almost 19 million watched on as nessa put it all on the line. will you marry me? a finale has been rumoured for some time. in february, though, the show�*s writer and cast member ruthjones brushed it off. today, however, in a social media post alongside fellow star james corden they confirmed that cliffhanger would be resolved. a cult favourite, it's brought viewers to this welsh seaside town. i'm so excited! i'm just excited to find out what's occurrin'. do you think it's a yes?

i hope so. and let's hope they have a nice big curry after! the success of the show has been based on not only the main characters gavin and stacey but the role of the supporting cast, the likes of nessa, smithy and uncle bryn. i wake up in the morning and think, lush, i'm in barry. i'm not going to lie, it has been lush for barry. the slot machines, ice cream parlours and the beaches have become stars in their own right. over the years the programme has won multiple awards, with that historic proposal scene winning a bafta voted for by the public in 2020. gavalar, indeedy! so those catchphrases... oh, what's occurrin'? ..and that cast will grace our screens once more for one final time. i won't lie, you're not everyone's cup of tea. but at the end of the day, when all's said and done, you're tidy. tomos morgan, bbc news, barry island.

time for a look at the weather.