Cities reject elected mayors
The Government's plans to replace local council cabinets with directly elected mayors have been rejected by voters in Manchester, Nottingham, Bradford and Coventry, though Bristol has voted in favour of the move.
Doncaster has also voted in favour of a mayor with 62% of the vote. It was the only location that already had a mayor and was voting on whether or not to keep the system.
Housing Minister Grant Shapps said "no-one was forcing" mayors on cities, despite comments by the Prime Minister earlier in the week that he wanted a "Boris Johnson in every city".
London will find out later today who has been elected mayor, with the final pre-vote polls suggesting Boris Johnson will return to City Hall for another four years.
Mr Johnson was carrying a six-point lead over Labour's Ken Livingstone according to some surveys, although with the result not due until this evening the candidates will face an anxious wait.