Final result in England sees Reform win fifth seat

Reform UK's James McMurdock takes the South Basildon and East Thurrock from the Tories

Reform UK has won a fifth seat as the final election result in England was declared at South Basildon and East Thurrock, following a recount.

James McMurdock narrowly beat the Labour candidate by 98 votes to replace Conservative Stephen Metcalfe.

He joins leader Nigel Farage as the second Reform UK MP in Essex after Mr Farage was elected in Clacton.

Mr McMurdock said: "It’s an absolute privilege and the gravity of responsibility is not lost on me."

A full recount for South Basildon and East Thurrock was held at the Civic Centre in Grays

Across Essex the Tories lost eight seats as Labour won five, while Reform UK gained two and the Liberal Democrats, one.

The race in South Basildon and East Thurrock was so close, a recount was held.

Mr McMurdock received 12,178 votes compared to 12,080 for Labour candidate Jack Ferguson.

It put the Conservatives into third place as Stephen Metcalfe got 25% of the vote – a huge fall from his 2019 election victory of 65.4%.

Mr Metcalfe said he was "very disappointed" at the result but was "proud of the 14 years of service that I've given".

Eight candidates stood in 2024, including two independents. It was a poor showing for the Liberal Democrats who took 2.71% of the vote, behind the Greens on 4.34%.

Stephen Metcalfe was the Conservative MP for 14 years but came third in this election

When asked about the future of the Conservatives, Mr Metcalfe told the BBC "it's too early to speculate about what direction we go in".

He added: "I've been a Conservative for 50 years, and we will find a way forward."

Voting breakdown

• James McMurdock (Reform) 12,178 (30.79%)

• Jack Ferguson (Labour) 12,080 (30.54%)

• Stephen Metcalfe (Conservative) 10,159 (25.69%)

• Neil Speight (Independent) 1,928 (4.87%)

• Elizabeth Grant (Green) 1,718 (4.34%)

• Dave Thomas (Liberal Democrats) 1,071 (2.71%)

• Steven Burnett (Independent) 275 (0.70%)

• Simon Breedon (Social Democratic Party candidate) 140 (0.35%)

Voter turn out in the constituency was 52.7%.