A full recount is now taking place in the constituency of Basildon and Billericay, in Essex, which was most recently the seat of Conservative John Baron.

Hoping to win it is Conservative Party Chairman Richard Holden and Reform UK's Stephen Conlay, who earlier told the BBC he was "quietly confident".

The exit poll said it was pretty tight between the two. The BBC's Chris Mason, citing the Labour leader of the local council, says there's about 20 votes in it.

It was Tory under Thatcher, and Labour under Blair - now Labour have taken back Nuneaton from the Conservatives, with nursery manager Jodie Gosling beating Tory government whip Marcus Jones.

It was a seat the Conservatives would have been hoping to keep - with Rishi Sunak seen campaigning there just days ago.

Shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves tells the BBC that "people are crying out for change" and "have voted for that in huge numbers".

She's cautious about the exit poll, but says if the night unfolds as it suggests then "this is going to be an almost unprecedented landslide majority for the Labour Party - that would give us the mandate to make the changes that our country needs".

Labour vs Corbyn - a fascinating subplot tonightpublished at 01:49 British Summer Time 5 July 2024

01:49 BST 5 July 2024

Chris Mason
Political editor

Image source, EPA

Labour sources are telling me the tussle in Islington North in London is "challenging" for them.

In other words, perhaps they could lose the seat to... their former leader Jeremy Corbyn, who is running as an independent.

Labour have held the seat for decades with Corbyn as the MP.

But having been kicked out, he decided to run on his own ticket.

Labour are desperate to beat him. It is a fascinating subplot to the wider story tonight.

Could Corbyn beat the party he used to lead and find himself back in Parliament but still on the opposition benches, as Labour win big nationally? Let’s see.

Mark Francois holds on to his seat, with a majority of more than 5,500 over Reform candidate Grant Randall, who comes second.

It's the first Tory win of the night.

Faisal Islam
Reporting from Leeds

Labour sources are saying they have won all the Leeds seats for the first time since the Tony Blair era.

This means Leeds Southwest and Morley, being fought by Tory Brexiteer Andrea Jenkyns, could have been lost.

The first official announcement is coming imminently in Leeds West and Pudsey, the seat of shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves.

Leanna Byrne
Reporting from Ashton-under-Lyne

Image source, PA Media

There are lots of red rosettes pacing the floors of the Dukinfield Town Hall in Ashton-Under-Lyne, where the count for Labour’s deputy leader Angela Rayner is under way.

While Rayner is not yet here herself, her supporters are energised, drinking soft drinks, eating sandwiches and grinning over ballot papers.

The Conservative candidate, however, is nowhere to be seen. Instead, it’s Ashton’s Reform UK candidate, 25-year-old Robert Barrowcliffe, who says he is feeling confident that his party will poll better than expected.

And he could be right. Early tallies here indicate Reform have secured a sizeable amount of votes from certain pockets of the constituency. But better than expected is still not a win and Rayner, for now, looks to be sitting comfortably at home waiting for her moment.

Image source, Getty Images

Dehenna Davison - who was elected in Bishop Auckland, County Durham in 2019 - says it would be "unusual" for a government to win a general election after being in power for 14 years.

Davison, who is not standing this time round, says her party's "biggest mistake" was "getting too used to being in power" - and suggests some Conservative members need to take a "long hard look in the mirror" and "accept a level of responsibility".

"We're supposed to be a united force," she tells the BBC's election programme. Davison won her seat at the last election when the Tories demolished large chunks of Labour's northern 'red wall' of seats.

Mark Easton
Reporting from Portsmouth North

Turnout in Penny Mordaunt's seat, Portsmouth North, is 59.25% - down from 63.9% in 2019.

The result is expected in a few hours - it was designated "too close to call" in the exit poll, but there are some gloomy Tory faces at the count and Mordaunt - leader of the House of Commons - herself has not yet appeared.

Labour looks confident, and Reform UK very chipper.

Image source, Reuters

It’s the Lib Dem’s first seat of the night as they take Harrogate & Knaresborough from the Conservatives. Tom Gordon beats Andrew Jones with a majority of more than 8,000.

Chris Mason
Political editor

The Liberal Democrats tell me they think they have beaten the Education Secretary Gillian Keegan in Chichester in West Sussex.

Earlier we reported there were tears among the Labour team in Bristol Central, where shadow culture secretary Thangnam Debbonaire is facing a battle to keep her seat against Green Party co-leader Carla Denyer.

Former Green leader Natalie Bennett says she expects the Greens to secure "a very strong win" there.

She tells BBC Radio 4 and 5 Live: "It has been disappointing that what Labour presented has essentially been to follow the Tory spending plans, to follow the same kind of austerity. I don't think that's going to be achievable."

The below map shows the exit poll forecast across England, Wales and Scotland.

In the locations coloured grey, the contest is very close. Everywhere else is coloured by the party currently considered most likely to win.

It's worth noting, the forecasts may change over the night.

• You can find the prediction for your seat by going to our exit poll page

Lord Charlie Falconer, former justice secretary under Tony Blair, tells Radio 4 and 5 Live that the exit polls suggest an "extraordinary achievement" by Keir Starmer - but warns there is less optimism than when Blair won power.

"People have become profoundly unhappy about their politicians. Keir has been steady, and the country is willing to entrust the leadership of the country to Labour. But they do so with much less optimism than they did in 1997," he says.

The BBC's Scotland editor James Cook explains some of the reasons why Scottish voters might be turning to Labour at this election.

The exit poll predicts the SNP could see its number of MPs at Westminster fall to 10, down from 48 at the last general election.

Cook says it boils down to wanting a change from the Tories - and being dissatisfied with the SNP's performance: