Lib Dems hail wins in Surrey amid Tory losses

Summary

Lib Dems made big gains from the Tories including in Dorking and Horley, Surrey Heath, Esher & Walton, Woking, Epsom and Ewell and Guildford
Jeremy Hunt wins Godalming and Ash, while the Conservatives also hold East Surrey and Reigate
Live results and reaction from across the UK

Live Reporting

Written by Dan Sexton, edited by Hamish Mureddu-Reid & Tom Pugh

Verification checks ongoing in Epsom and Ewellpublished at 00:35 British Summer Time 5 July
Fiona McCarthy
BBC Radio Surrey
Image source, BBC/Fiona McCarthy
At the Epsom and Ewell constituency count, ballot papers have arrived at Epsom Racecourse, and are being checked.
Nervous tellers are watching on, to see if their candidate will make it to the front of the field. Some are in high spirits, some not so much.
The former Conservative MP for this seat, Chris Grayling, has had good news this evening. He’s been awarded a peerage in the dissolution honours list.
Guildford a key Lib Dem targetpublished at 00:20 British Summer Time 5 July
Adrian Harms
BBC Surrey, in Guildford
Image source, BBC/Adrian Harms
The final ballot boxes have arrived at Guildford Spectrum and counting is under way. Early indications are that there has been a high turnout. This has been a safe Conservative seat since 2005, but a majority of over 22,000 in 2015 had dwindled to just over 3,000 in 2019. This is a key target seat for the Liberal Democrats and if the national exit polls are correct the Conservatives are very likely to be beaten into second place.
How are you spending election night?published at 00:15 British Summer Time 5 July
If you're in Surrey and eager enough to still be up and following the coverage on election night, we'd love to hear from you.
Are you nervous or hotly anticipating results? Do you plan to be up until the early hours to find out who will take your local seat? And just how many cups of coffee in are you?
WhatsApp, external us on 08081 002250.
Lots of eyes on Godalming & Ash countpublished at 23:56 British Summer Time 4 July
Jack Fiehn
BBC Surrey political reporter
Image source, BBC/Jack Fiehn
There are lots of eyes on the count at Godalming and Ash.
That is because this is where the Chancellor Jeremy Hunt is standing.
The Liberal Democrats have been targeting the seat and the result has been described as on "a knife edge".
This is "the room where it happens", by which I mean this is where Mr Hunt will learn his fate, at a declaration in the early hours.
Postpublished at 23:53 British Summer Time 4 July
The new Farnham and Bordon constituencypublished at 23:34 British Summer Time 4 July
Jack Fiehn
BBC Surrey political reporter
Image source, BBC/Jack Fiehn
It has probably never been so apt that Farnham has its very own “Downing Street”.
The town is at the heart of the new Farnham and Bordon constituency, which has been created because of boundary changes.
It is thought that this could be a close contest between the Liberal Democrats and the Conservatives.
The result is not expected for a while though, with one prediction that it will not be announced until 5am in the morning.
Ballot boxes arriving at Epsom & Ewell countpublished at 23:33 British Summer Time 4 July
Fiona McCarthy
BBC Radio Surrey
Image source, BBC/Fiona McCarthy
Counting for this constituency is taking place at Epsom Racecourse.
Candidates are aiming to replace Chris Grayling, who has been the MP for Epsom & Ewell since 2001.
The former Transport Minister chose to stand down following a prostate cancer diagnosis.
Watch: A guide to the general election in Surreypublished at 23:10 British Summer Time 4 July
Charlotte Wright
Political Editor, BBC South East
Media caption,
A guide to the general election in Surrey
At the last general election in 2019, the Conservative party returned 51 out of the 55 MPs in Sussex, Surrey and Kent.
Since then, party leaders have changed, there are new priorities and big changes have been made to the political map.
Boundaries have been redrawn and many constituencies will be new or different for millions of people.
Could Hunt be first chancellor in modern history to lose seat?published at 22:50 British Summer Time 4 July
Image source, PA Video/PA Wire
BBC chief economics correspondent Dharshini David is at a leisure centre in Godalming and Ash, the seat of Chancellor Jeremy Hunt.
She tells Radio 4 the exit poll suggests there is only a 19% chance of him keeping his seat. He would be the first chancellor in modern history to lose his seat, if that is right.
There are some "pretty shocked faces" from Hunt's camp in the leisure centre this evening, she adds.
Analysis: The early south east viewpublished at 22:37 British Summer Time 4 July
Charlotte Wright
Political Editor, BBC South East
Image source, BBC/Sophia Cobby
It’s hard to overstate just how Tory the South East of England has been in recent years.
At the 2019 election, 51 out of the 55 MPs elected in Kent, Sussex and Surrey were Conservative.
All but one seat in Surrey has only elected Conservative MPs for decades (Guildford elected a Lib Dem for one term in 2001).
But in recent years we’ve seen voters turning away from the Tories in the local council elections.
Not a single district or borough council in Sussex or Surrey has a Conservative majority.
While people often vote differently in local elections to general ones, it’s clear the Conservatives don’t have such a tight grip on the region as they once did.
Opposition parties have been targeting a number of South East seats during the course of the campaign.
And if tonight’s exit poll is accurate, it looks like we'll see a more colourful map of the region’s constituencies by the morning.
When will the results be declared in my part of Surrey?published at 22:29 British Summer Time 4 July
Image source, EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock
Here’s a list of estimated declaration times in Surrey (in alphabetical order)…
- Dorking & Horley: 4.15am
- Surrey East: 3.30am
- Epsom & Ewell: 3am
- Esher & Walton: 3.30am
- Farnham & Bordon: 6.30am
- Godalming & Ash: 3.30am
- Guildford: 4am
- Woking: 3.15am
- Reigate: 3.30am
- Surrey Heath: 4.30am
- Runnymede & Weybridge: 4.30am
- Spelthorne: 5am
Labour set for general election landslide - exit pollpublished at 22:18 British Summer Time 4 July
Labour is set to win a general election landslide with a majority of 170, according to an exit poll for the BBC, ITV and Sky.
If the forecast is accurate, it means Sir Keir Starmer will become prime minister with 410 Labour MPs – just short of Tony Blair's 1997 total.
The Conservatives are predicted to slump to 131 MPs, their lowest number in post-war history.
The Liberal Democrats are projected to come third with 61 MPs.
The Scottish National Party will see its number of MPs fall to 10 and Reform UK is forecast to get 13 MPs, according to the exit poll.
The Green Party of England and Wales is predicted to double its number of MPs to two and Plaid Cymru are set to get four MPs. Others are forecast to get 19 seats.
The exit poll, overseen by Sir John Curtice and a team of statisticians, is based on data from voters at about 130 polling stations in England, Scotland and Wales. The poll does not cover Northern Ireland.
At the past five general elections, the exit poll has been accurate to within a range of 1.5 and 7.5 seats.
Welcome to our general election coveragepublished at 20:23 British Summer Time 4 July
Image source, PA Media
Voting has been taking place throughout the day across the UK in the 2024 General Election.
Join us after 10pm for coverage of all the results and reaction across Surrey.BBC Surrey will have reporters at the counts and you can follow all the election developments as they happen here on the BBC News website and app.You can find out more about how to follow the election on the BBC here.