Counting starts in Scotland’s local elections

Counting has started in Scotland’s council elections, with the first results expected within hours.

Unlike in some places in the rest of the UK where votes were counted overnight, ballots are being tallied up in Scotland throughout Friday and the final results are due to be announced in the early evening.

Results in England have so far been positive for Labour, with the party increasing its number of seats by 34 – while the Tories dropped 122.

Senior figures in the Scottish Conservatives have told The Times they are expecting “heavy losses” due to the partygate saga, which saw the Prime Minister, his wife and Chancellor Rishi Sunak fined by police.

But former Tory MSP Adam Tomkins described that comment as “nonsense”.

He highlighted that Scottish Tory leader Douglas Ross had backed Boris Johnson to remain in post at Number 10.

On Twitter, Mr Tomkins said: “Whatever today’s results show Douglas Ross owns this, not Boris.

“It was Douglas who U-turned, Douglas who flipped, and Douglas who backed the PM. He and his team need to own the consequences, not pass the buck.”