Democrats and some other smaller parties, now celebrating at the expense of the tories and labour. Well, well have analysis of all the results as the main parties suffer a brexit backlash. Also on the programme is the high street dead, and is this what will replace it . New Retail Shopping experiences out of town. One Million People are evacuated as indias biggest storm in decades, cyclone fani, brings 170 km h winds. And tributes are paid to the man in the fur suit. Peter mayhew, chewbacca in the star wars films, has died. He was 7a. And coming up on bbc news, the race that could be caster semenyas last the two time olympic champion compete in doha tonight ahead of the introduction of controversial testosterone regulations. Good evening and welcome to the bbc news at six. The two main Political Parties at westminster have suffered in the local elections in england and northern ireland, in a sign that voters are fed up with the brexit deadlock in westminster. The conservatives have lost more than 1000 seats, and labour has failed to make much progress at a time when opposition parties usually do well. Meanwhile, the liberal democrats, who want another referendum, the greens and independents all did well. Counting is still under way, and the results are changing, but so far the conservatives are down more than 1100, and labour around conservatives are down more than 1100, and labouraround 100. Conservatives are down more than 1100, and labouraround100. The main winners are the liberal democrats, who have gained 595 councillors. If these results were replicated across the country as a whole, the bbc predicts the conservatives and labour would both get about 28 of the vote with the lib dems on 19 and other parties on 25. I would deputy Political Editor john pienaar has all the details. After a tough night theresa may needed a bit of love. Thank you. She didnt need this. Why wont you resign . why dont you resign was the shout. We dont want you it only takes one to spoil the mood. How to come out, they maintain, not her. But bad results need explaining. These were always going to be difficult elections for us, and there were some challenging results for us last night, but it was a bad night for labour too, and i think people were sending a very simple message to both main parties come to us and the labour party, just get on and deliver brexit. Jeremy corbyn was trying to ignore the grey clouds today, labour did worse than many expected, it may be trying to appeal to brexiteers and remainers failed to please enough on either side. His verdict too, britain needs a brexit deal. Didnt mention a referendum, though. |j think it means there is a huge impetus on every mp, and they have all got that message, whether they are all got that message, whether they a re leave all got that message, whether they are leave or remain, an arrangement has to be made, a deal has to be done, parliament has to resolve this issue, i think that is very, very clear. How part does it feel to be pa rt of clear. How part does it feel to be part of a liberal democrat majority . it felt good for the lib dems, winning the cotswolds, Boulder Valley and bath and North East Somerset, a lot better than four yea rs somerset, a lot better than four years ago, but reason enough to celebrate, echoing their big message on brexit. I think we are winning the argument with many brexit voters who are absolutely fed up with the way the country is stagnating, and whether they are proud brexit or against it, i think they buy our argument that we now have to go back to the people. It was the big parties competing to see who would fa re parties competing to see who would fare worse than expected. Look at these tory faces in chelmsford, where they lost control. Your reaction to the result tonight . Welcome of course i am. How to ta ke welcome of course i am. How to take on an emotional night. No surprise, then, that tory misery provoked more demands for theresa may to go. Many of my constituents have said this to me, we need a change of leadership, perhaps the time has now come for that. Not all bad for labour, they took tory trafford, but labour has lost control and lost seats that they we re control and lost seats that they were expected to win. Why . Because brexit is delayed or because voters wa nt brexit is delayed or because voters want another referendum . Brexit is delayed or because voters want another referendum . Labour is split. The feeling is they have been badly let down by National Politicians and labour politicians and this is the first chance to make this protest, and unfortunately a lot of good labour councillors will lose their seats because of it. Whatever deal the conservatives can get through parliament, if they are able to, it should go to a confirmatory ballad so that we can find out from the people, is this really what you want . About as for the smaller parties, ukip has taken a battering, but the greens are upbeat. There is an element, undeniably, a disenchantment with the two big parties, people are fed up the two big parties, people are fed up with the weight they have handled brexit, there is a cry for clarity which the greens are offering. Plenty more evidence of the disintegration of traditional loyalties to the two big parties. These were local elections, and many people may simply have shown they are fed up after years of cuts and austerity. But across the country, we have also seen people as deadlocked as the parties here at westminster on the big of brexit. The results may pile pressure on the parties here to somehow break the brexit deadlock, but they have given no clear indication of how the country want that done. This was an angry election, ballot papers used to let off steam, often that it has taken so long to make so little progress with brexit. And as the ballot boxes are stacked and stowed away, there are only weeks before voters get another chance to make their views known, in the European Parliament elections may be even louder. John pienaar, bbc news. So the brexit deadlock seems to have been a significant factor in the election. In sunderland, a labour heartland, the party suffered heavy losses but still managed to hang on to control of the council. In bath, the conservatives lost control to the liberal democrats, who gained 23 seats. 0ur Political Correspondent alex forsyth reports on two cities which sent messages the main parties. Bath and North East Somerset has seen a shift in its political landscape. The conservatives did run the council, but, last night, the surge in lib dem support saw them claim victory here. In this historic city, most people voted to stay in the eu. And while local issues played a part in these elections, theres not a lot of love for how brexits been handled. I think everyones just fed up with westminster at the moment, for obvious reasons. So much has gone on in central government, its bound to have happened, really. This gym Design Business relies on trade with mainland europe. Its owner comes from a tory tradition, but used his two votes in these elections to back the lib dems and the green party. As a business person, were beginning to feel more let down by the tories whose, you know, Party Infighting and partisan issues have resulted in us careering towards this hard eu exit. So, i guess im fairly disillusioned with the traditional parties that ive come from and what were really looking for now is a new party in the centre or someone to claim that centre ground. While these were local elections, the liberal democrats anti brexit message has clearly had an impact in remain supporting areas like here in bath, but across the country, voters have turned away from the two main parties. In the north east, sunderland saw labour keep control of the council, but with a significant drop in support. I always voted labour since i left school and i was 18 and you can vote and i voted conservative because theyre against labour, because labour are not doing what people want them to do. Mps want a second referendum and we dont. From me being a boy, this has been a stronghold for labour and its gradually losing seats. I think the next time that happens at the next election youll see a big shift towards ukip, i would think. This coastal city opted to leave, but it wasntjust pro brexit parties picking up labour votes, the lib dems and greens did, too. Its not surprising people are disillusioned with the two main Political Parties, because they havent delivered on brexit. I think they realise that perhaps we need to give some of these smaller parties a chance. Back in bath, at the society cafe, local musician nick said the austerity and the economy mattered to him, but he thought this election was influenced by one thing. I think there are people who might have chosen differently at the ballot box who chose what they chose purely because of brexit. Some activists who suffered local losses have blamed the national picture. Many from both main parties hope the message from these elections will be heard loud and clear in westminster. Alex forsyth, bbc news, bath. Lets cross now to reeta chakra barti, whos been looking at some of the numbers. This she has been looking at the results from key councils which show how political allegiances have shifted. This has been a turbulent election with lots of councils changing hands, and a big story has been the resurgent liberal democrats, really big gains for them. Bath, chelmsford, both gained from the conservatives. I want to show you what happened in chelmsford, the conservatives had a majority of 47 councillors here, look, the lib dems took it with a majority of five, and ifi took it with a majority of five, and if i show you the sea to change compared to last time, the conservatives lost 31 seats, the lib dems picking up 26, so a cracking result for the lib dems in chelmsford. The conservatives also lost ground in heartlands like folkestone and howth, that was conservative, it is now in no overall control, smaller parties making advances there. Better news for the conservatives in north east lincolnshire, they took that council that was previously hung. Ashfield, in pink, that means the independents have won this council. It was in no overall control before, but labour in fact were very strong in ashfield, the independents have taken that. Lets look now at labours performance, some real disappointments during this election. Darlington has always been labour until now. Labour has lost darlington, a real heartland council. Similar case with the wirral, and let me take you into the world to just show you the pattern of what happened. Lets have a look at the share change, this is the change in the share of the vote compared to last time these seats we re compared to last time these seats were up for election, look, the labour vote going down by 13 , that will really have hurt. Lets look at the last council on the screen, trafford, a big metropolitan council that labour has gained from no overall control, they will be really pleased with that. So overall a quite chastening night, certainly for the conservatives, but also for labour, a really good performance for the liberal democrats, with independence, greens and other smaller parties coming up too. Reeta chakrabarti. Smaller parties coming up too. Reeta chakra barti. Lets talk smaller parties coming up too. Reeta chakrabarti. Lets talk to john pienaar at westminster, the results overnight, where do they leave the main parties at westminster, do you think . Well, clive, these results show the rate to match the rigidity of the brexit deadlock, without pointing the way with any clarity to any solution. Clearly, no solution capable of reuniting the country. On both sides of the brexit divide, from those who want a new referendum to those who want to leave the European Union with no deal, they have been claiming vindication from these elections, and they will go on claiming vindication is from these elections. Meanwhile, the government handicap next opposition are still groping towards some kind of compromise deal. The government and the opposition. But so far both sides seem to be looking to the other to find some way through, to give ground in a way that might lead to some sort of deal. And if you think these results have shown the sheer frustration in the country with the two party system, which again seems to be crumbling as we watch, and with the time it has taken to come up with some sort of solution, whatever it is to brexit, well, just wait until you see the european elections in about three weeks time, when change uk won one side of the spectrum and the brexit party on the other will give the country another chance to demonstrate what a discontented and divided country we have become. 0k, thank you for that, john pienaar at westminster. A coroner has called for universities to de stigmatise Mental Health issues after concluding that a First Year Student at the university of bristol took his own life. Ben murray, who was 19, is one of 12 students at the university to die in the last three years. His father has been campaigning for a change in the way universities approach student Mental Health. Frankie mccamley has more details. James murray met his son ben last may for lunch that was the last time they ever spoke. Later that day, ben, a First Year Student at Bristol University, took his own life. He was sensitive. He used to look at the things that other people might overlook, like suffering in friends and people around him. Whenjames was told about bens death, he started looking into his sons time at university. What became very clear is that little pieces of the picture were held in different places, different departments, different systems, but when you pulled together in one place, it the picture of bens crisis seemed to be so clear that youd think that he stood out. Ben was missing lectures, he hadnt paid his fees, and was on the verge of being kicked out. As a parent, the first thing is, well, i can see the crisis, why wasnt i told . Since bens death, his father has worked alongside Bristol University to bring in changes. The vice chancellor introduced a system allowing staff to contact someone if they have serious concerns about a students Mental Health notjust in the event of a death or serious physical injury. Weve probably considered it so far this year in maybe about 15 students. Weve actively used it in about five. We think its an appropriate innovation, given the scale of the Mental Health challenges affecting our students, notjust here, but across the sector. Grace kendrick now leads a weekly running club. She suffered from anxiety, but another scheme at bristol helped her by prescribing mental exercise. Her by prescribing mentored exercise. By taking some time away from my studies and putting less pressure on myself to study all the time, it had a really good impact on me. I felt like i actually focused, when i was studying in the library. Although schemes like that can help, around half of students who take their own lives are not known to university Mental Health services, which was the case with ben murray. Now education institutions are trying to come up with innovative ways to spot students struggling much sooner. Charles prince is leading a team looking at how student data can be used to spot those who dont ask for help. Theyre analysing the digital footprint left when students attend lectures, take out books at the library, or log onto campus computers. The future plan is to build that one student profile, so i can see, based on the analytics, how Mental Health is playing a role into the students experience. And that focus on Mental Health is something universities are finally getting to grips with after being criticised for being too slow to react. The hope now is they can try to intervene before its too late. Frankie mccamley, bbc news. If youve been affected by the issues raised in this story theres more Information Online go to bbc. Co. Uk actionline, or you can call 0800 066 066 forfree. It is 6 17pm. Our top story this evening voters send a clear message to westminster as conservatives and labour have a bad night in the local elections. Still to come, we assess the damage from one of the worst cyclone is to hit india in decades. Coming up on sportsday on bbc news, fast bowlerjofra archer takes his First International wicket as england impress against ireland in their one off one Day International in malahide. Its the last full day of business for seven marks and spencer stores, before shutting their doors for good. Some are in towns where m s has been trading for more than a century, but the Company Plans to close at least 100 stores by 2022. As our Business Correspondent emma simpson reports. 1929, and a new m s store in bedford, state of the art back then, today, its in its final hours. And shoppers were making the most of whats left. I am absolutely gutted, yeah. I shall miss it terribly, yeah. All the big stores are closing here now, notjust marks and spencers, we are losing so many. Its worrying. The 68 staff are saying goodbye, too, although two thirds are being redeployed. Its a building that weve extended on numerous occasions, so, its a bit of a funny shape. Its got lots of columns, which actually makes it really difficult to lay out our clothes, and therefore, really difficult for our customers to shop. Meet the man in charge of m ss shops, and all the closures, too. For this particular store, we are seeing declining sales, and were seeing rising costs. And as ive said, the building is very old, and investing in it is really not viable for the future. Closing any store is difficult, he says. But theres no alternative, as Shopping Habits change. It is absolutely essential we do this. I think every retailer has got to consider their property portfolio, but for us, where weve not taken action overa numberof years, its absolutely vital we do this now and we make sure were responding to the market challenges. But most importantly, responding to what our customers are telling us they want. So, theyve come here, a half hour drive away, to Rushton Lakes a new out of Town Shopping Centre thats pulling the punters in. Itsjust gone 10am, and this car park is already packed. Theyre streaming in, no wonder m s decided to open up here. Modern, spacious, and easy to shop. In bedford, youve got to park, youve got to drive into the multi stories, and youve got to park. Whereas here, yeah, free parkings much more attractive. Its much bigger, its much more room, and theres a lot more stock. So, what now for the bedford store . Its closing, even though m s is still liable for another nine years of rent. But this chain is confident it can be sublet, and wont sit empty for too long. Emma simpson, bbc news, bedford. A father who was given contaminated blood products, which left him at risk of developing an incurable degenerative disease, hopes the infected blood inquiry will bring justice to those infected and their families. In an emotional testimony, 38 year old matthewjohnson told the inquiry that he was given contaminated blood products, which left him exposed to the potentially fatal disease, cjd. New research has found that hiv cant be passed on. New research looked at nearly 1000 gay and male couples and found no cases of hiv transmission over eight years. A devastating cylcone has hit the east coast of india, leaving more than a Million People sheltering in relief centres. Winds of 120 miles an hour have uprooted trees and brought down power and phone lines. Cyclone fani is the most powerful to hit india for several years. Our correspondent, rahul tandon, has the latest. Such was the theory of one of indias most powerful storms in recent times. Smashing glass cyclone fani hit the eastern state of adisha with torrential rain and devastating winds of more than 125 miles an hour. It made landfall at eight in the morning in the tourist town of puri. Anticipating its impact, authorities evacuated hundreds of thousands of people. In the state capital, this crane was brought crashing down. One of indias poorest states now has a huge clean up operation on its hands. And thats not going to be easy, where many parts of it are cut off from each other. This is why1 Million People were moved into temporary shelters. Most of them are now safe, but the question they are asking is what has happened to their homes and what impact will this have on their lives . Many villages are now submerged, and flooding is a major concern. And its not over yet. Cyclone fani is now moving towards one of indias most densely populated cities calcutta. Rahultandon, bbc news, india. Rahultandon, bbc news, bhubaneswar. The funeral of the footballer billy mcneill, who led celtic to become the first british club to win the european cup, has been held in glasgow. Thousands of people lined the streets to pay tribute. Billy mcneil died last week, at the age, of 79. The south African World and olympic champion, caster semenya, has won what could be her last ever 800 metres what could be her last ever 800 m etres ra ce what could be her last ever 800 metres race at the Diamond League meeting in doha. In the past few minutes, she dominated herfellow athletes to a victory which some have suggested is a vindication after losing an appeal against world athletics governing body. The iaaf wa nted athletics governing body. The iaaf wanted her to now take medication to restrict her testosterone levels in the 800 and 1500 metres. There have been numerous tributes to the actor who played chewbacca in the star wars films, peter mayhew, whos died at the age of 7a. At 7 feet 2 inches tall, he appeared in five of the films, with his screen partner han solo, played by harrison ford, today saying theyd been friends for life. Heres our entertainment correspondent lizo mzimba. Frustration. Despair. Occasionallya hint of menace. Peter mayhews chewbacca could portray a range of emotions. It wasntjust chewbacca could portray a range of emotions. It wasnt just the millions of fans who found themselves indeed. You must be so brave. He just themselves indeed. You must be so brave. Hejust radiated happiness and warmth. He was always up for a laugh. We hit it off immediately and stayed friends for over 40 years. Laugh. We hit it off immediately and stayed friends for over 40 yearsm was back in 1976 when, thanks to his seven foot height, the former hospital porter was cast in the first movie. He was word perfect on the script, so that he could simultaneously physically portray the characters thoughts. Whatever the characters thoughts. Whatever the circumstances. Will somebody please get this big walking carpet out of the way. Laugh it up, fuzz ball he returned for 2015s the force awakens. Back to the old ways of doing things. Its great. Although being in his 70s and limited mobility meant he couldnt manage many of the action sequences. Still, for many fans, he simply was chewbacca. One of the great heroes of perhaps ons greatest Science Fiction movie. Time for a look at the weather. The bank holiday isnt looking too good. Nothing like we saw last Bank Holiday May Day in north west london, for example, record breaking temperatures of 29 celsius, well above the seasonal average. Compare that to the may day we are expecting ina that to the may day we are expecting in a couple of days, well below the average. Huge contrasts down to this cold front spreading south across the country introducing that arctic air which has been bringing wintry showers across the northern half of scotland. The cold front across the south will eventually clear through with its showers as well but temperatures holding up where we have the cloud in the south, 5 or 6 but elsewhere, the colour blue means we will see widespread frost and a risk of icy places on saturday morning. Beware of that. A chilly start but lots of sunshine through tomorrow. Plenty of blustery showers in northern and eastern areas, fed in on in northern and eastern areas, fed inona in northern and eastern areas, fed in on a strong northerly wind which will make it feel biting across the east coasts, temperatures in single figures at best. Elsewhere, highs of i3 figures at best. Elsewhere, highs of 13 or 14, not too bad in the strong may sunshine. It will be culled. An area of High Pressure moving in for sunday which will kill off the showers and reduce the wind speed. It should be lighter winds away from the north east of scotland and fewer showers but after a sunny morning, it looks like the clouds could build up it looks like the clouds could build up through the afternoon. A bit of a grey and chilly sand in sunday afternoon. Temperatures between 9 and 12. During sunday night, we will see this weeks weather front sync south as we head into the bank holiday monday. Thick cloud through central areas with one or two showers, couple of wintry showers for the north of scotland but most places should be dry with variable cloud and some sunshine. Temperatures on the cool side, not a com plete temperatures on the cool side, not a complete right off of a bank holiday weekend. Thank you for that. A reminder of our top story. Voters have sent a clear message to westminster as the conservatives and labour have a bad night in the local elections. Thats all from the bbc news at six so its goodbye from me, and on bbc one we nowjoin the bbcs news teams where you are. This is bbc news with chris rogers. Its been an interesting day. These are the latest headlines. It was a bad night for both of the main parties in the local elections, the voters sending a clear message to westminster. Conservatives lost more than a thousand seats and 36 counsels overall come with activist blaming the brexit deadlock. Labour also suffered losses at a time when they shouldve been making inroads. The partys leader, jeremy corbyn, said he admitted voters who disagreed with his backing of brexit had deserted the party. But it was a great night for the liberal democrats. The green party, and over 500 independent candidates who all gain seats. In other news, the black at her star, sir tony robinson, has said he is quitting the labour party. The blackadder star. Also later on bbc news come more than £100 million released by indias Prime Minister to help people in the east of the country affected by a huge cyclone. More than a Million People have been ordered to leave their homes to escape winds reaching speeds of 125