Lib Dem wears the crown in Shakespeare's birthplace

Manuela Perteghella said she was “humbled” to win in Stratford-on-Avon

The Liberal Democrats have won the traditionally Conservative stronghold of Stratford-on-Avon in a general election that has seen the party make gains in many parts of the UK.

The Lib Dems' Manuela Perteghella said she was “humbled” to take the Warwickshire constituency - Shakespeare's birthplace and an area that has been almost entirely in Conservative hands since 1950.

Labour won three seats from the Tories across the wider Coventry and Warwickshire region, bringing its tally to seven out of the 10 constituencies up for grabs locally and contributing to the party's national landslide win.

Ms Perteghella overturned a Tory majority of 13,395 to win the seat, which had been held by former chancellor Nadhim Zahawi since 2010. He announced in May he would step down at this election.

Ms Perteghella won 23,450 votes in total, giving her a majority of 7,122 over Conservative candidate Chris Clarkson.

"I'm very humbled to have been elected to represent my home," Ms Perteghella said.

She added residents wanted change after 14 years of "this chaotic government", saying she wanted to tackle sewage dumping in rivers and the cost-of-living crisis.

Sewage pollution, a key topic for the Lib Dems, had emerged as one of the big local issues for voters in the lead-up to polling on Thursday.

Labour’s win in Nuneaton was also significant as the seat has long been a bellwether for the national mood

The election saw the Conservatives lose more than half their six MPs in Coventry and Warwickshire.

In the ten seats that were up for grabs, Labour now have seven seats compared to the four with which they began the campaign. The Lib Dems have one seat and the Tories have two.

Labour’s win in Nuneaton overnight was particularly significant as the seat has long been a bellwether for the national mood.

At every election since 1997, the party that won the Nuneaton seat has also won nationally.

Nursery worker Jodie Gosling won 15,216 votes, giving her a 3,479 majority over Conservative candidate Marcus Jones, who had been in place since 2010.

“I’m really happy and can’t wait to start work,” Ms Gosling said.

Mr Jones said his loss was a “very difficult result” and the party had to consider at a national level “what went wrong in this last Parliament”.

Labour also won seats from the Tories in two further constituencies in the region, Rugby, and North Warwickshire and Bedworth.

Warwick and Leamington was a Labour hold, while Kenilworth and Southam was held by the Tories who also won Meriden and Solihull East, a new constituency in the wake of boundary changes although with a Conservative MP in the previous Meriden form.

Labour held its three seats in Coventry, with wins for candidates including Taiwo Owatemi

Labour held on to its three seats in Coventry, with wins for Zarah Sultana, Mary Creagh and Taiwo Owatemi who stood in Coventry South, East and North West respectively.

Ms Owatemi said she had won despite "a limited amount of sleep" due to having a six-month-old daughter.

It was her first general election as a new mum and she praised her husband's support, saying "it has taken a lot of teamwork".

Reform UK came in third place in most of the constituencies in Coventry and Warwickshire, with the party widely seen as having taken votes from the Tories at a national level.

When asked whether Reform UK had given Labour its win in Nuneaton, Ms Gosling said she did not think thar was the case and instead pointed to “the hard work of our campaigners”.