Thanks for sticking with us as we mark a historic day in British politics, welcoming the country's first Labour prime minister since 2010.

We're now closing our live election coverage for Somerset.

You can find out more about the result in your constituency here, while there will be further coverage and reaction to the 2024 General Election here.

Being elected as the MP for the new constituency of Wells and the Mendip Hills is "testament to the power of persistence", says Tessa Munt.

She lost seat for Wells in 2015, when it became Conservative.

The area, in the heart of Somerset, has traditionally been a blue v yellow battleground and Ms Munt comfortably won the seat this time around, with the Conservative Party candidate Meg Powell-Chandler a distant second.

Ms Munt said the Lib Dems "are completely tuned into the needs of people in the West Country".

Conservative MP Ashley Fox says he's "enormously proud" to have been elected in the new constituency of Bridgwater.

"It's a fantastic privilege," he said.

But Mr Fox, who says his main priorities will be to tackle crime and anti-social behaviour, improve local high streets and support the NHS, said the national result had been "terrible" for his party.

Want to know more about the Somerset MPs who will be filling the green benches of the commons?

Here's what they had to say.

Image source, Reform UK

Reform's candidate for Taunton and Wellington says his party has made a real impact across Somerset.

Charles Hansard received 8,053 votes, coming third behind the Conservative Party's Rebecca Pow (12,392 votes) and Lib Dem winner Gideon Amos who attracted 24,331 votes.

He said: "We've been able to take 16% of the vote here from a standing start, as many of my colleagues have done throughout Somerset.

"That's a big message.

"The party in government have really got to look out."

Conservative Rebecca Pow was another member of her party to lose their seat.

She was elected as MP for Taunton Deane between 2015 to 2024, and was standing as the candidate for the newly-formed Taunton and Wellington seat.

It was a heavy defeat which saw her poll about half of Liberal Democrat winner Gideon Amos' 24,331 votes.

Ms Pow said she was "disappointed" in the result, adding: "It was always going to be a challenge, I knew that.

"There's a very changed picture."

Image source, PA Media

In a speech after she held her seat for Bath, Liberal Democrat MP Wera Hobhouse, said: "Today is a day to celebrate, but next week in parliament the serious will start."

She promised to "make sure that our NHS and our public services are coming back from the brink", that "those who are struggling in Bath with the cost of living are getting a fair deal" and "last, but not least, that we turbocharge our energy to get to net zero".

Image source, Daniel Mumby, LDRS

The Liberal Democrat leader of Somerset Council says he's optimistic the new Labour government will listen to and work with the local authority.

Bill Revans told BBC Somerset he's looking forward to speaking with ministers as soon as they're appointed.

It comes as the local authority is facing a financial emergency.

Overnight, we saw dramatic changes to the political landscape in the west of England.

Not only did some well-known and long-serving MPs lose their seats, but many took on brand new seats in Parliament after boundary changes created new constituencies.

Click here to see some of the key winners in the west.

Image source, PA Media

MP Sarah Dyke added it's an "absolute honour" and a "huge privilege" to be elected as the Liberal Democrat MP for the new constituency of Glastonbury and Somerton.

"Today's election is just stunning," she added.

Ms Dyke, who can trace her family back 250 years in the area, says she is "deeply rooted" in the community.

"I am so grateful to everybody across Glastonbury and Somerton who's put their trust in me.

"I hope I don't let them down," she said.

The new Liberal Democrat MP for Taunton and Wellington is Gideon Amos.

Speaking after his victory he said it was a priority to improve the local hospital.

"Musgrove Park was promised an entirely new hospital by the Conservatives after the last general election in 2019," he said.

"We've still got buckets in the corridors in the maternity unit catching the leaks from the roof. We need to get the upgrade approved."

Image source, Liberal Democrats

Image source, Jonathan Brady/PA Wire

Speaking after his victory in North East Somerset & Hanham, Labour's Dan Norris - who oust Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg - said the win was "a great honour".

“We’ve got Mogg-xit done.

“It’s a great honour to serve the people of Keynsham, North East Somerset, Hanham and surrounding areas.

"This is my home. I’m deeply proud of all our communities and want our part of the world to be the best it can be," he said.

Sadik Al-Hassan said it was an "absolute honour" to be North Somerset's first Labour MP, after Conservatives claimed the seat for 100 years.

"I cannot wait to get to help North Somerset and the constituents.

"I really want to get to work because there are so many problems that we need to fix and I am committed, as the Labour government is, to making things better."

He paid tribute to his campaign team, who spoke to more than 13,500 people.

"I'm so proud of that - and it has delivered us a victory of an unimaginable scale," he added.

The pharmacist won 19,138 (35.6%) votes, while Liam Fox received 18,499 (34.4%) votes.

Emma Grimshaw
BBC News, West of England

It has been a dramatic night across the West Country, with lots of heartbreak for outgoing MPs.

Some of those former politicians made passionate speeches before bowing out of public service.

Sir Robert Buckland was the first Conservative to lose his seat, when Swindon South was won by Labour's Heidi Alexander.

Afterwards he spoke out against some of his former colleagues.

"I'm fed up of personal agendas, and jockeying for position," he said.

"The truth is now, with the Conservatives facing this electoral Armageddon, it will be like a group of bald men arguing over a comb."

Meanwhile, former MP Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg quoted Chitty Chitty Bang Bang during his departure speech.

He said: "From the ashes of disaster grow the roses of success."

Sir Jacob lost his bid to become the MP for the newly-formed North East Somerset and Hanham seat. The area's new MP is Labour's Dan Norris.

Incoming MPs also delivered animated speeches.

Liberal Democrat Max Wilkinson clinched a “historic” victory after unseating Conservative Alex Chalk to become Cheltenham’s new MP.

He said: “I firmly believe that all politics is done with a smile on its face and politicians are better when they aren’t taking themselves too seriously, but they are taking seriously the concerns of the public."

Image source, Press Association

Jane Ashdown, widow of the late leader of the Liberal Democrat party Paddy Ashdown, has celebrated the party's election success.

"I can't wipe the grin off my face - it means everything. I just wish Paddy was here to see it and to celebrate.

"He would have been especially thrilled to see two Lib Dems elected locally, Adam Dance in Yeovil and Sarah Dyke in Glastonbury and Somerton, which cross over into what was his old seat, as well as so many other Liberal Democrat MPs in the West Country.

"But his interest was on the whole party and he would be gobsmacked at the national result - just speechless, which didn't happen very often," she said.

Paul Barltrop
Political Editor, West of England

Never has the political map of the West changed so dramatically in a single night. A region which was previously a sea of Conservative blue has gone overwhelmingly Lib Dem yellow and Labour red.

The big names that fell are astonishing. Serving cabinet ministers like Mark Harper, Alex Chalk and Michelle Donelan. Former Secretaries of State like Jacob Rees-Mogg, Liam Fox and Robert Buckland.

Some knew they were on the brink; in places like Cheltenham and South Swindon the Tory majorities last time were slender.

But others did not expect it. Liam Fox had represented North Somerset for three decades; the area has never had a Labour MP – until now. Michelle Donelan’s old seat was split up due to boundary changes; she chose Melksham and Devizes, thinking it was a safer bet. It wasn’t.

The Liberal Democrats took her out, and removed a string of other Conservatives, on their way to reinstating the West Country as a heartland. As the campaign progressed they had sensed things were looking better and better – but ending up with nearly half the area’s seats still exceeded all expectations.

Labour celebrated in places they had not expected, taking seats that had looked like outside chances. But they will be stung by the loss of Thangam Debbonaire in Bristol Central, ousted by the Greens’ Carla Denyer.

But the small party that many will feel has had the most influence for the least gain is Reform UK, who won no seats in the West. They polled strongly, which the Tories feel was at their expense.

I have covered elections in the West for three decades. Never has an election been as dramatic as this.

The newly-elected Anna Sabine, who won the Frome and East Somerset seat for the Liberal Democrats, plans to "crack on" with her promises.

"There's road safety, we have a really big problem with road safety on the roads around the town.

"The second thing I've been working on is water quality and sewage in our rivers.

"I feel like there will be a lot of people who are like kids on their first day of school, so I feel I will blend in with all the other newbies.

"I really felt quite strongly that we needed better quality politicians in this country," she told BBC Somerset.

Mrs Sabine won 16,580 (35.5%) votes, while the Conservatives' Lucy Trimnell received 11,165 (23.9%) votes.

Ruth Bradley
Politics reporter, BBC Somerset

Rebecca Pow said she has had a "challenging time" when she served as an MP, but was pleased to work in "her dream job" for Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra).

She was elected as a Conservative MP for Taunton Deane between 2015 to 2024, and was standing as the candidate for the newly-formed Taunton and Wellington seat.

The constituency was won by Liberal Democrat Gideon Amos who received 24,331 (48.4%) votes, while Mrs Pow gained 12,392 (24.6%) votes.

"I can't pretend it hasn't been challenging, it's extremely challenging - the things that go on behind the scenes, it's an enormous pressure that you take on and I think women have an awful lot more pressure than the men, if I'm honest.

"I've had a stalking case, my husband's died, but bad things happen to lots of people and I have had the chance to at least do some good."

Mrs Pow's husband, Charles Clark, died in 2019.

She added: "I'm going have a bit of a rest, go back to my garden and my plants, give my family more time and address my husband's passing because I've been working 70 hour weeks."

Liberal Democrat Rachel Gilmour said she was "walking on sunshine" after winning the Tiverton and Minehead seat from Conservative candidate Ian Liddell Grainger.

"I knew that my team and I had worked hard enough to win but I'm just so grateful to my constituents.

"They are the most wonderful people. I'm really humbled to be able to represent them.

"It's not just a rural constituency, there's a very rural and also deprived part of it. I don't like to refer to any of my constituents as deprived but rural poverty is a big issue," Ms Gilmour said.

She plans to be "a completely different MP to Ian".

"I think I'm going to be more accessible.

"We've just come out of a 14-year catastrophe. We've got the cost of living crisis, the lack of dentists, we need to up social care.

"I do think farmers have been treated very badly. Because of my NFU background, I'm particularly able to represent them."

Ruth Bradley
Politics reporter, BBC Somerset

Long-standing Somerset Labour councillor Andrew Govier has welcomed his party's landslide win, despite Labour coming fourth in most of the Somerset seats.

"We've had enough of the drama and circus of the Conservatives in government.

"All the time that's been going on, the hard work hasn't been done - public services and national infrastructure have gone to waste," he told BBC Radio Somerset.

On Sir Keir Starmer as prime minister, Mr Govier said it will be "good to have a serious person in charge".

"He's transformed the Labour party into an election-winning machine that has the mandate to go forward and transform the country," he added.