Richard Edwards
BBC Political Reporter, North Yorkshire

As we wait for the results to start coming in, BBC Yorkshire political reporter Richard Edwards has highlighted a few seats to keep an eye on and why.

Can Labour win in York Outer? They have to if they have any hope of a majority.

How will Reform UK do in Scarborough & Whitby? They look strong there and are threatening to take votes off the Conservatives.

Will the Rishi Sunak keep his seat? I expect him to, but he’s being pushed very hard by Labour.

Will Labour win any previously “unwinnable” seats? Back in 2023 Labour's Keir Mather upset the apple cart and overturned a huge Conservative majority, but that was a particular set of circumstances. For me, their best chance tonight in the “mega-majority” areas would be Skipton and Ripon, but I still expect the Conservatives to hold on.

Richard Edwards
BBC Political Reporter, North Yorkshire

Image source, Getty Images

Across North Yorkshire it's been a cost-of-living campaign.

The issue has come up more than any other - and in places that might have been seen as better off - such as Ripon or Easingwold.

Public transport, especially in rural areas, has been big too.

One voter told me how on a Bank Holiday weekend buses stop from Saturday night until Tuesday morning.

“It’s like being a prisoner,” she said.

Louise Fewster
Reporter, BBC Radio York

All the ballot boxes have now been received at York racecourse from both York Central and York Outer constituencies.

Conservative candidate Richard Hudson, who is standing in York Central, said tonight's result may be something the his party "may need to regroup and learn from" if the exit polls are to be believed.

He added that he does not think people have suddenly switched to Labour, but that Reform "may have taken a share of the vote and that's actually taken quite a drastic effect for how many MP's we'll be looking to return to Parliament".

Richard Edwards
BBC Political Reporter, North Yorkshire

Inside the Richmond and Northallerton count, nothing appears that much different from most other counts - apart from the extra journalists that are here.

But, step outside and it's quickly brought home how big a deal this seat is - row after row of television satellite vans, a big police presence, sniffer dogs and even a festival-style burger van.

The reason for all of this of course is it's the seat Prime Minister Rishi Sunak hopes to retain for the Conservatives.

We'll find out at about 04:00 BST if he's pulled it off.

Meanwhile one of his challengers - Count Binface - has beamed in a message to say he's on his way.

Labour's Rachael Maskell, who is standing in York Central, has been reacting to the exit poll predicting a Labour landslide.

She told the BBC: "Obviously the county has made a decision that they want to see change and so see a Labour government.

"It looks very possible that we will see many Tory seats fall tonight and to see new MPs coming in to the house of Commons.

"This country is on its knees and it is Labour that will pick it up and people know that and today they have voted for that."

Of the 45 seats contested in 2019 across North, South and West Yorkshire, seven switched hands, and all seven turned from red to blue.

The Conservatives took Don Valley, Penistone and Stocksbridge, Rother Valley, Keighley, Colne Valley, Dewsbury and Wakefield five years ago as Labour's so-called "red wall" crumbled.

On a night of big wins for the Conservatives, Alex Stafford (pictured above) became the first Tory MP for Rother Valley since it was created in 1918 while Nick Fletcher ended almost 100-years of Labour dominance in Don Valley.

Since then Wakefield has turned red again, with Simon Lightwood winning the seat following a by-election in June 2022 after previous incumbent Imran Ahmad-Khan was convicted and jailed for sexual assault.

Image source, PA Media

After a 2023 Boundary Commission review many of the constituencies in Yorkshire have undergone changes, with some disappearing all together.

As a result the majorities candidates held after the 2019 general election have been altered to reflect the majorities that would have been achieved in 2019 based on the 2024 boundaries.

Under the new calculations the following seats have the smallest majorities:

• Pontefract, Castleford and Knottingley - 1,082
• Sheffield Hallam - 1,108
• Rawmarsh and Conisbrough - 1,257
• Doncaster Central - 1,271
• Halifax - 1,902

Rishi Sunak has posted on X, external in the past hour to thank all the Conservative candidates and volunteers.

Mr Sunak, who is standing in the Richmond and Northallerton seat, said: "Thank you for your hard work, thank you for your support, and thank you for your vote."

Louise Fewster
Reporter, BBC Radio York

The first lot of ballot boxes have started arriving at York Racecourse where counting will take place for the York Central and York Outer seats.

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.

The polls have now closed and counting is set to begin.

We're not expecting any results for a few hours, but in the meantime we'll be bringing you updates from across Yorkshire as well as local reaction to the bigger, national picture.

Voting has been taking place throughout the day across the UK in the 2024 General Election.

Join us after 22:00 BST for coverage of all the results and reaction across North Yorkshire.

BBC Yorkshire 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.