Follow the latest results as they happen in our live blog here.

Counting is under way in the Kent County Council election, with the first results due later this morning.

At stake are 81 seats - three fewer than 2013 owing to boundary changes - with close to 400 candidates standing.

Results are being declared at the county's 12 district and borough councils.

Scroll Down for video

While the parties are vying for control over one of the country's largest authorities, the results will inevitably also be a litmus test of how the parties are faring ahead of the general election in June.

The council has been in Conservative hands since 2013, with Ukip the formal opposition with 17 seats.

Labour is defending 13 seats while the Liberal Democrats currently have seven.

Control of the council will be determined by the party that gets 41 seats.

Most of the wards that are up for grabs are what is known as single member wards, with the winning candidate decided under the first past the post system.

However, in nine seats, two county councillors will be elected.

Kent County Council election - the seats to watch

Swale West: Former Conservative county councillor Mike Whiting is bidding to rejoin the council. He is taking on Ukip's Mike Baldock, who was one of 17 Ukip candidates elected in 2013.

Maidstone Rural North: Conservative leader Paul Carter is hoping for another term. It will be a major shock if he doesn't get the votes to do so.

Margate: Former Kent youth crime commissioner Kerry Boyd is the Conservative candidate here.

Cliftonville: The Ukip leader of Thanet council Chris Wells is hoping to return to County Hall - his last stint was under Conservative colours.

Northfleet and Gravesend West: If Labour candidate Tan Dhesi gets elected here, he may have to stand down - he is the party’s candidate in the general election for Slough, a safe seat.

Video: KCC vote count underway in Dover

Dover Town: Labour leader Gordon Cowan is the candidate here - boundary changes mean the division could be tricky to hang on to.

Cheriton, Sandgate & Hythe East Division: Liberal Democrat candidate Tim Prater, who lost his place on KCC in 2013, is hoping for a return to County Hall.

Hythe West: The Green Party candidate Martin Whybrow made a breakthrough for his party in 2013 and is bidding for a second term.

Birchington and Rural: Ukip opposition leader Roger Latchford is standing down - will it still be in the party's colours when the votes are in?

Tunbridge Wells South: Celine Thomas, of the Womens Equality Party, founded by broadcaster Sandi Toksvig, is standing here.

We'll have reporters covering counts across Kent. Follow the results as they come in via our live blog or on Twitter using #kccvote2017.