Labour and Tories feared 'disastrous' results as the night wore on, with Reform UK predicting a surge in votes
Scroll down to read results and reactions from the two counts in Kettering and Northampton
We're wrapping up our coverage of the elections across Northamptonshire now
It's proved to be a huge night for Reform UK
seizing control of both North Northamptonshire Council and West Northamptonshire Council
who had led the county's political landscape for two decades
Our reporting doesn't stop here though - with full analysis and reaction to follow on the BBC Northamptonshire website
That should be live via this link soon
once our reporters on the ground have had the chance to come up for air
Shareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingHow does West Northamptonshire Council look now?published at 21:49 British Summer Time 2 May21:49 BST 2 MayHere's how it looks at West Northamptonshire Council after a momentous day for Reform UK
Shareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingWest Northants capped off with wins for Reform and Lib Demspublished at 21:47 British Summer Time 2 May21:47 BST 2 MayBreakingImage source
Oliver Conopo/BBCWe've now got the final results of the night
coming from the Towcester ward in West Northants
The Lib Dems' Steward Tolley and David Tarbun win two seats
with a third taken by Reform UK's Adrian Little
Shareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharing'Bitter blows' suffered by the Tories and Labourpublished at 21:41 British Summer Time 2 May21:41 BST 2 MayLaura CoffeyPolitical reporter
reporting from the North Northamptonshire count
It's a historic night for Reform UK and a bitter blow for Labour and the Conservatives on both councils
After 20 years of Tory control in Northamptonshire
both unitary authorities will be led by Reform
The Tories had controlled the former county council since 2005 and led both unitaries following their creation in 2021
Shareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingReform and Tories are among the final winners of the nightpublished at 21:40 British Summer Time 2 May21:40 BST 2 MayBreakingWe've now got the penultimate result of the night
coming in the West Northants ward of Hunsbury
It has been won by Glenn Butcher and Ronald Firman
This means the last result of the night will come from Towcester
Shareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingMarried couple 'really chuffed' to be electedpublished at 21:34 British Summer Time 2 May21:34 BST 2 MayImage source
Martin Heath/BBCWe've just caught up with Dave and Sue Gaskell
who have been elected for Reform UK in West Northants
really chuffed for both of us - I've got a tear in my eye
but I just didn't think it would happen; there's a lot of good competition about."
Mrs Gaskell adds: "We've worked so hard
We want to put the people of Northampton first
and we've got to make this work."
Mr Gaskell says they have only argued once in their 29-year marriage
Shareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingHow does North Northamptonshire Council look now?published at 21:27 British Summer Time 2 May21:27 BST 2 MayHere's how we look in North Northamptonshire in what proved to be an historic night for Reform UK
Shareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingReform caps off the night in style by winning three seatspublished at 21:26 British Summer Time 2 May21:26 BST 2 MayBreakingThe final results for North Northamptonshire Council are in
It's Reform UK who cap off their huge night in style
Elections for Higham Ferrers ward will be carried out before 23 June. They had to be postponed after the death of Lib Dem candidate John Ratcliffe
Shareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingReform take control of West Northamptonshire Councilpublished at 21:15 British Summer Time 2 May21:15 BST 2 MayBreakingImage source
West Northamptonshire CouncilIt's a momentous night for Reform UK
as they prepare to take control of West Northamptonshire Council from the Conservatives
They've got over the line by winning three seats in Headlands
Adrian Cartwright and Cameron Emery pumping the air on stage
It's a historic moment for Northamptonshire
as both its unitary authorities are no longer Conservative-run and are instead now led by Reform
Shareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingNewly-engaged councillor celebrates winning seatpublished at 21:08 British Summer Time 2 May21:08 BST 2 MayBack in North Northants now
where the results for Rushden South have been declared
Reform UK candidate Steve Clark takes one seat
with Conservative Barbara Jenney taking the other
In Oundle ward, the Conservatives win two seats through Jon Humberstone and Helen Harrison, who announced her engagement to ex-Wellingborough MP Peter Bone earlier
Shareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingCouncillors make 'important' decisions, chief executive sayspublished at 21:07 British Summer Time 2 May21:07 BST 2 MayImage source, Nadia Lincoln/LDRSNadia Lincoln, from the Local Democracy Reporting Service
the chief executive of West Northamptonshire Council
She says the turnout of 32.16% was about the norm for local elections
"These are the councillors that are going to make decisions every single day about our roads
"[These are] lots of really important decisions and I’d have liked residents to have a say."
Shareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingReform on the brink of controlling West Northantspublished at 21:06 British Summer Time 2 May21:06 BST 2 MayBreakingImage source
Martin Heath/BBCThree more wins for Reform UK in West Northants leave them needing just another trio of seats to control the council
Trefor Hughes and Craig Morris who are elected for the party
Shareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingHusband of jailed councillor loses his seatpublished at 21:05 British Summer Time 2 May21:05 BST 2 MayBreakingImage source
Sam Read/BBCThe latest news coming in is that Conservative councillor Ray Connolly has lost his Far Cotton
Delapre and Briar Hill seat in West Northants
He faced calls to resign last year after his wife, Lucy Connolly, was jailed for 31 months after calling for hotels housing asylum seekers to be set on fire
Reform UK's Anthony Owen and James Petter have won two of the available seats
with Independent Julie Davenport taking the third
has declined to speak to our reporters at the count
Shareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingGreens and Labour among the latest winnerspublished at 21:04 British Summer Time 2 May21:04 BST 2 MayBreakingImage source
Laura Coffey/BBCDeclarations are continuing at the North Northants count where
Reform UK are set to take over the council
winning Victoria ward with Kelly Duddridge and David Baker
The Green Party's Steve Geary then takes St Peter ward
before fellow Greens Emily Fedorowycz and Dez Dell win Kettering North
Shareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingReform and Labour take more seats in West Northantspublished at 21:01 British Summer Time 2 May21:01 BST 2 MayWe've just had two more Labour wins in West Northants
with Robert Purser and Zoe Smith taking the Abington and Phippsville ward
Shareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingWest Northants facing the country's latest wait for resultspublished at 21:00 British Summer Time 2 May21:00 BST 2 MayLewis AdamsLive reporter
West Northamptonshire Council is the only count in the country where we still don't know who will have overall control
every other region with elections knows which party has ultimate power
Now we're hearing rumours of a possible recount too
It's not quite hit the point of energy drinks being cracked open
but we've certainly seen quieter days
Shareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingRegrets
anger and euphoria at country's latest countpublished at 20:54 British Summer Time 2 May20:54 BST 2 MayMartin HeathReporting from the West Northamptonshire count
More than seven hours into the country's latest count
many of the candidates and agents have wandered off into the night
The football crowd-style cheers have largely been replaced by more refined solitary murmurs of approval - even though we still do not know how the council will look when all of this is over
Labour's staff have been working hard to make sure their candidates do not speak to the media
an unusual move at an election count where it is impossible to influence the vote one way or the other
Some of the wannabe councillors who never expected to have a chance of getting in have been allowing themselves a small smile when their tally of votes goes into three figures
Shareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingWins for three parties in West Northantspublished at 20:46 British Summer Time 2 May20:46 BST 2 MayBreakingTurning back to West Northants now
where the results are coming in thick and fast
Fiona Cole has taken Hackleton and Roade ward for the Conservatives
Then Labour's Farzana Aldridge and Reform's Nicholas Humphreys share the spoils in Kingsley and Semilong ward
Reform win two seats with Richard Butler and Andrew Last
two for the Conservatives and one for Labour
Shareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingReform seize control of North Northamptonshire Councilpublished at 20:23 British Summer Time 2 May20:23 BST 2 MayBreakingA huge moment for Reform UK as they win two seats in Pemberton and one in Finedon
Chris McGiffen and Andy Sims' victories across those wards take the party's total number of councillors to 35
It means Reform now have overall control of North Northamptonshire Council
Shareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingFormer Labour MP makes political comeback with winpublished at 20:19 British Summer Time 2 May20:19 BST 2 MayBreakingImage source
Martin Heath/BBCThe former Northampton North MP Sally Keeble has just made her political comeback by winning for Labour in the Dallington Spencer ward
where Keeble is joined by fellow Labour winner Rufia Ashraf and Reform UK's John East
the results in Hackleton and Roade come in
with Fiona Cole winning for the Conservatives and Adam Smith for Reform UK
So this quick flurry sees Labour and Reform win two seats