Labour have taken overall control of Norwich City Council after a good night for them at the ballot box.
After running City Hall as a minority administration since 2004, Labour are celebrating taking overall control following the city council elections.
Fifteen seats were up for grabs in all 13 of the city's wards and Labour's key gains were in Bowthorpe, Lakenham and Catton Grove.
The first result, which came through just before 12.30pm, saw Labour's Deborah Gihawi comfortably hold onto her Mile Cross seat.
She garnered 1,019 votes, well ahead of second placed Green Richard Edwards. But it was the Green Party celebrating in Mancroft, where Lucy Howard saw off the challenge of Labour's Marion Maxwell to retain that ward.
Labour have held onto Sewell, through Kevin Barker, while the Greens easily kept hold of Nelson ward through David Rogers.
The Greens also retained Thorpe Hamlet, with Ben Price more than 200 votes ahead of Labour's Tony Waring in a ward rocked by the defection of Phil Hardy, the former leader of the Green group at Norfolk County Council to the Conservatives.
The Greens held onto both the seats in Wensum, one of which was triggered by the resignation of Green councillor Steve Altman, who was jailed for arson.
But Labour made a gain in Lakenham at the expense of the Liberal Democrats and in Catton Grove at the expense of the Conservatives.
They also took Bowthorpe from the Conservatives, with Sally Button way ahead of second placed Conservative Stuart Taylor.
Long-serving Crome Labour councillor David Bradford comfortably kept his seat and leader Brenda Arthur did likewise in University ward.
The one bright spot on a difficult evening for the Liberal Democrats was that Judith Lubbock retained her Eaton ward.
Ahead of these elections – and the two by-elections in Catton Grove and Wensum triggered by resignations – the make-up of the city council was Labour (18), Green Party (15), Liberal Democrats (four), Conservatives (two).
With the two Conservative loses wiping them out of City Hall completely, the make-up now is Labour (21), Greens (15), Liberal Democrats (3).
Labour also had a good night in Great Yarmouth, where they painted the town red, taking control of the borough council.
They took key seats from the Conservatives, including that of the council leader Steve Ames.
Polling stations closed at 10pm, with the wet and windy weather leading to a low turn-out for the elections across the UK.
Nationwide, where about 5,000 seats are at stake at 181 councils, the coalition parties have endured a rough ride.
But Prime Minister David Cameron will be hoping that Boris Johnson can buck the trend by securing re-election as London Mayor.
An eve-of-poll survey for the Evening Standard suggested that Mr Johnson - who gave a confident thumbs-up as he arrived to cast his ballot in north London on Thursday morning - is set for victory over Labour's Ken Livingstone, by a margin of 53pc to 47pc.
While two thirds of the local election results nationally are expected in the early hours of today (Friday), the final decision of Londoners on who will be their mayor is not likely to be known until this evening.
Make sure you get the Evening News on Saturday for full analysis of the local elections.
RESULTS
Key: Conservatives - C; Labour - Lab; Lib Dem - LD; Green - G; UK Independence Party - UKIP; Independent - Ind.
Star denotes sitting councillor.
Bowthorpe:
Jean Bishop (G) 350
SALLY BUTTON (Lab) 1268
Haydn Perrett (LD) 117
Stuart Taylor (C) 585
Lab hold - Maj 683
Turnout 27.6pc
Catton Grove:
Eve Collishaw (C) 703
Alexander Findlow (LD) 111
Judith Ford (G) 331
GAIL HARRIS (L) 1036
Paul Holmes (C) 629
Tony Park (G) 312
MIKE STONARD (L) 978
Leigh Tooke (LD) 124
L hold and L gain from C
(one seat was a by-election triggered by L resignation)
Turnout 28.1pc
Crome:
Crome:*DAVID BRADFORD (L) 1272
James Cross (LD) 125
Jessica Lancod-Frost (C) 288
Christine Way (G) 273
L hold - Maj 984
Turnout 28.5pc
Eaton:
Susan Curran (G) 379
Antony Little (C) 947
*JUDITH LUBBOCK (LD) 1820
Geraldine Waring (L) 677
LD hold - Maj 1173
Turnout 52.1pc
Lakenham:
Nick Bishop (G) 361
Steve Emmens (UKIP) 215
* David Fairbairn (LD) 658
PATRICK MANNING (L) 1149
Mathew Morris (C) 135
L gain from LD - Maj 491
Turnout 34.9pc
Mancroft:
LUCY HOWARD (G) 1077
Marion Maxwell (L) 943
Simon Nobbs (LD) 207
Oliver Watson (C) 288
Greens hold - Maj 134
Turnout 31.1pc
Mile Cross:
Richard Edwards (G) 409
* DEBORAH GIHAWI (Lab) 1,019
Oscar Pinnington (C) 297
Ian Williams (LD) 134
Lab hold - Maj 610
Turnout 24.1pc
Nelson:
Kate Atkins (LD) 173
Alexandra Davies (C) 249
Stuart Goodman (Lab) 697
DAVID ROGERS (G) 1644
Greens hold - Maj 947
Turnout 36.6pc
Sewell
KEVIN BARKER (Lab) 990
Anthony Barton (C) 332
Howard Jago (G) 700
Chris Thomas (LD) 123
Lab hold - Maj 290
Turnout 27.8pc
Thorpe Hamlet:
Jeremy Hooke (LD) 260
BEN PRICE (G) 1111
Stefan Rose (C) 407
Tony Waring (L) 792
G hold - Maj 218
Turnout 31.8pc
Town Close:
Mark Johnston (LD) 254
PAUL NEALE (G) 1333
Guy Owen (C) 481
John Sailing (L) 818
G hold - Maj 515
Turnout 33.6pc
Wensum:
NEIL BLUNT (G) 1386
CAROLINE BRIMBLECOMBE (G) 1276
Samuel Earl (L) 1012
Hannah Gascoigne (C) 196
Jess Hallybone (LD) 91
Simon Harrison (C) 189
Vaughan Thomas (L) 1039
Helen Whitworth (LD) 78
G hold and G hold
(one seat was a by-election triggered by G resignation)
Turnout 33.1pc
University:
*BRENDA ARTHUR (L) 1153
Thomas Cannon (C) 247
Robert Laird (G) 493
Andrew Wright (LD) 129
Lab hold - Maj 660
Turnout 26.2pc
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