Summary

  1. Party workers watch verification like hawkspublished at 00:43 British Summer Time 5 July

    Rebecca Broxton
    BBC News, Wiltshire

    Like a bird homing in on it's prey, party workers are closely watching the verification of ballot papers at County Hall in Trowbridge.

    There's been a steady stream of ballot boxes from across the Melksham & Devizes and South West Wiltshire constituencies for the past hour.

    About 144 ,000 people were eligible to vote here. Most of the votes cast have now been verified. We expect the counts to get under way around midnight.

    Party workers watching verification of ballots cast
    Image caption,

    Watching verification

  2. Robert Buckland: 'Political system at crossroads'published at 00:33 British Summer Time 5 July

    Leigh Boobyer
    BBC News, West of England

    After giving his thanks to residents in his speech, the former Justice Secretary Robert Buckland said "our very political system is at crossroads".

    He said: "Do we value those who work to bring together and who come into politics to do something rather than be someone.

    "Or do we shrug our shoulders and accept that politics is a mere circus where people compete for attention by saying things that they either know to be untrue or which raise hopes and expectations in a way that further erodes trust?

    "I know what side I'm on, and I know what choice I would make. I believe with sincere and fierce conviction that my party has to make the right choice too If we are to inspire a new generation with a real promise of a better future.

    "Thank you Swindon, for giving me the opportunity of my life to make a positive difference to our town and nation."

    Media caption,

    Robert Buckland speech's in full

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  3. Swindon South's new MP thanks voterspublished at 00:32 British Summer Time 5 July

    Heidi Alexander, Swindon South's new Labour MP said it was the "honour of my life to have been elected to represent my home town".

    She also paid tribute to her predecessor, former Conservative MP Sir Robert Buckland, who she said was a "gentleman...and an ardent campaigner".

  4. Chippenham: Intrigue from the Lib Demspublished at 00:31 British Summer Time 5 July

    Kelly Morgan
    BBC News, Wiltshire

    A Lib Dem source has told me that it's "still very early but results are looking interesting".

    In other news, as verification continues Conservative candidate, Nic Puntis, keeps a beady eye on the count.

    Liberal democrat rosettes
  5. Swindon South result in fullpublished at 00:20 British Summer Time 5 July

    Heidi Alexander (Labour): 21,676

    Robert Buckland (Conservative): 12,070

    Catherine Kosidowski (Reform UK): 6,194

    Rob Hebden (Green): 2,539

    Matt McCabe (Liberal Democrat): 1,843

    Martin Costello (Independent): 472

  6. Labour gains Swindon South from the Conservativespublished at 00:19 British Summer Time 5 July
    Breaking

    Former justice secretary Robert Buckland has lost Swindon South to Labour's Heidi Alexander.

    She won with 21,676 votes, Buckland came in second with 12,070.

    He's the first Conservative to lose his seat tonight, having held the seat since 2010.

    Graphic showing Labour gains Swindon South from the Conservatives. The winning candidate was Heidi Alexander.
  7. Result: Swindon South Labour gainpublished at 00:17 British Summer Time 5 July
    Breaking

    Former Justice Secretary Robert Buckland has lost his seat to Labour's Heidi Alexander.

  8. What the exit polls say about Wiltshire & Swindonpublished at 23:57 British Summer Time 4 July

    Chippenham – Liberal Democrat Gain

    East Wiltshire – Conservative Hold

    South West Wiltshire – Conservative Hold

    Salisbury – Conservative Hold

    Melksham & Devizes – Conservative Hold

    Swindon South – Labour Gain

    Swindon North – Labour Gain

  9. East Wiltshire gets to workpublished at 23:53 British Summer Time 4 July

    Counting continues

    Andrew Hawes
    BBC News, Wiltshire

    The count is under way in East Wiltshire, but with ballot boxes arriving from across the county, it's going at a measured pace.

    The Lib Dems have made themselves impossible to miss here, but if the exit poll holds up this will be a win for the Conservatives and David Cameron's former speechwriter Danny Kruger.

    Liberal Democrats in Orange T-shirts at the East Wiltshire count
  10. Labour candidate arrives - South Swindon result due shortlypublished at 23:52 British Summer Time 4 July

    Dan O'Brien
    Political reporter, BBC Wiltshire

    Candidates tend to stay away until not long before the result is declared.

    South Swindon's Labour hopeful Heidi Alexander has just entered the hall to a big cheer from her supporters.

    Labour are sounding confident, as they have been throughout, they will win South Swindon from the Conservatives.

    They think it's all over? It will be in the next twenty minutes, we think.

    Swindon count arrival
  11. Tension rising fast in Swindonpublished at 23:40 British Summer Time 4 July

    Karen Gardner
    BBC Wiltshire

    First ballot box arrived within 10 minutes of the polls closing. Counting now well under way.

    Very tense atmosphere pervades the hall. I'm surrounded by strained faces and tense shoulders. No sign of Conservative Justin Tomlinson yet. He's held the seat since 2010 and should know the vote this time before 2am.

    Part members at Swindon count
  12. South Cotswolds: All change .... or is it?published at 23:39 British Summer Time 4 July

    Charlotte Lewis
    BBC Radio Gloucestershire news editor

    The South Cotswolds might bring to mind bucolic villages and charming market towns.

    But is life there really a rural idyll? And is it still a Conservative stronghold?

    The seat is one of the newly-formed constituencies being fought for the first time this general election.

    So what is the South Cotswolds constituency and what will the changes mean?

    More from Charlotte here.

  13. Raring to go in Chippenhampublished at 23:37 British Summer Time 4 July

    We're at the Olympiad waiting for the ballot boxes to arrive.

    Due to a boundary change this is officially a new seat but the area has become a key Conservative - Lib Dem battle ground in recent years.

    Former MP, Michelle Donelan's, now standing for Melksham and Devizes so all eyes on Nic Puntis for the Conservatives and Sarah Gibson for the Lib Dems.

    Stick with us for all the drama and the emotion throughout the night.

    Results are expected around 4am.

    Kelly Morgan and Carl Humphries from BBC Radio Wiltshire taking a selfie over the leisure centre banister with the count behind
  14. Over 120 black boxes trickling inpublished at 23:32 British Summer Time 4 July

    Sophie Parker
    BBC News, Wiltshire

    At the count in Trowbridge, people have been verifying ballot papers and bringing in a steady trickle of black boxes from across what is a huge geographical area, with scattered rural villages.

    There are over 120 boxes due in, which is for two constituencies, South West Wiltshire and Melksham & Devizes.

    There was a moment of jeopardy in the atmosphere, when the lights briefly went out.

    Everyone is fully illuminated again however.

    Media caption,

    A view of the count in Trowbridge

  15. Welcome to East Wiltshirepublished at 23:28 British Summer Time 4 July

    Andrew Hawes
    BBC News, Wiltshire

    I'm Andrew Hawes, covering the new seat of East Wiltshire.

    This is mostly the former Devizes constituency, but parts of South Swindon and Salisbury have been added to the mix of Marlborough and areas like Tidworth with traditional military connections.

    In theory, this is among the 100 safest Conservative seats in the country.

    The announcement of the BBC's exit poll predicting a handsome Labour win was met with enthusiastic cheers by their contingent here.

    Grab a coffee, we're not expecting a result before 4am.

    Andrew Hawes
  16. Wager on Swindon's bedtimepublished at 23:19 British Summer Time 4 July

    Swindon's counters will be "tucked up in bed" before any of the rest of Wiltshire's constituencies have even declared - so goes the wager.

    A bit of fun between the officials in charge of the counts - the Returning Officers - with Swindon's Sam Mowbray joking she "has a wager" with her Wiltshire equivalent Terence Herbert.

    Wiltshire's other constituencies take longer in part due to the largely rural geography - it takes longer to get the boxes to the counts.

    Sam smiles at the Swindon count
    Image caption,

    Sam Mowbray, Swindon Council's Chief Executive and Returning Officer jokes she has a wager with her Wiltshire equivalent that her team will be in bed by the time his declare.

  17. Good evening from Salisburypublished at 23:15 British Summer Time 4 July

    I’m Marie Lennon, I’ll be covering the Salisbury constituency:

    When did Salisbury elect anyone other than a Conservative candidate? 1923. And even then it was a former Conservative who defected to Liberal.

    This is, in theory, one of the safest Tory seats in the country and John Glen has campaigned on his record of supporting this city through some of its most challenging times.

    But Labour and Lib Dems have had an air of confidence in recent weeks, thanks to polls that suggest it could be closer than this city has ever known.

    Result due at 4am. We have snacks. Sadly the pool is closed.

    Marie Lennon
  18. The first ballot boxes arrive in Swindonpublished at 23:01 British Summer Time 4 July

    The first few ballot boxes have arrived at the count for the North and South Swindon constituencies. The count is being held at STEAM, the Museum of the Great Western Railway. A result here could come as early as midnight.

    Media caption,

    Ballot boxes have been rushed into the counting hall in Swindon

  19. Estimated declaration times for Wiltshire and Swindonpublished at 22:59 British Summer Time 4 July

    If you want to work out what time you might get to bed, or if you want to make sure you don't eat your snacks too quickly, here are some estimated declaration times.

    Results could come in really early for two constituencies in Wiltshire: South Swindon could see a declaration at around midnight while North Swindon's is expected at 01:30 BST. For the rest of the county it's a long wait.

    In the South Cotswolds, a new constituency that swallowed parts of Wiltshire in the latest boundary review, a result is expected at around 04:00 BST.

    00:00 BST South Swindon

    01:30 BST North Swindon

    04:00 BST Chippenham, East Wiltshire, South West Wiltshire, Salisbury, Melksham & Devizes

  20. Who will be the first MP to represent Melksham & Devizes?published at 22:53 British Summer Time 4 July

    Verification of ballots is underway

    Rebecca Broxton
    BBC News, Wiltshire

    I'm Rebecca Broxton your reporter at the count for the Melksham & Devizes Constituency at County Hall in Trowbridge.

    It's a new constituency and we expect to find out around 4am who will become it's first MP.

    Image of Rebecca Broxton
    Image caption,

    Rebecca Broxton