Summary

  1. Who was 'beans man' next to Jacob Rees-Mogg?published at 08:58 British Summer Time 5 July

    Emma Grimshaw
    BBC News, West of England

    Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg lost his bid to become an MP for the newly-formed North East Somerset and Hanham seat while standing next to a candidate who was wearing a baked beans balaclava.

    Phin “Barmy Brunch” Adams, who is a teacher and radio presenter, hoped to introduce a “statutory brunch hour”.

    He previously said: “Yes, it’s ambitious, it’s bold, it’s an hour long. If we can just pause and just breathe, it's one of the things that I think is key to upholding the good mental health that we all really desire.”

    Mr Adams has lived in Bath for 24 years and used to have a show called “Phin’s Barmy Brunch” on Somerset Valley FM, from which the character takes its name.

    Jacob Rees-Mogg smiles while looking at Phin “Barmy Brunch” Adams, who has a balaclava covered in a baked bean design
  2. Somerset Conservative leader: Time for Sunak to gopublished at 08:16 British Summer Time 5 July

    Ruth Bradley
    Politics reporter, BBC Somerset

    David Fothergill, Conservative opposition leader on Somerset Council and former Somerset County Council leader, has been speaking to BBC Radio Somerset.

    "I did think I might be the last surviving senior Conservative in the county - thank goodness Ashley Fox got elected in Bridgwater," he said.

    "I saw a bingo game of excuses we would use... but this is going to take a long time to analyse what went wrong," he added.

    "A lot of votes have gone to Reform...a lot of those people within Reform are naturally right of centre, conservative voters.

    "What we have to do is understand how the Conservative Party becomes a broad church again.

    "We've lost the abiilty to talk to the extremes of our party and become too focused on the centre, but we've now got five years to regroup," Mr Fothergill added.

    He's been a big supporter of Rishi Sunak in the past but concedes it is now time for him to go - though won't be drawn on who he'd like to see as the next party leader.

    David Fothergill sat in a radio studio
  3. Listen: Adam Dance speaks after Yeovil winpublished at 07:43 British Summer Time 5 July

    Media caption,

    Adam Dance takes the seat from the Conservatives and pays tribute to Paddy Ashdown.

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  4. New MP's mother: 'I'm so proud of you'published at 07:23 British Summer Time 5 July

    Weston-super-Mare's first ever Labour MP is congratulated by his family.

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  5. Weston: Everyone else has gone to bedpublished at 06:49 British Summer Time 5 July

    Cheryl Dennis
    BBC News, West of England

    People have left the sports hall where the count took place

    We’re likely to be turfed out soon because new MPs, old MPs, MP wannabes, count staff, and council staff who’ve run this count have all left Hutton Moor Leisure Centre.

    Where ballot papers were shuffling a few hours ago, just the sound of lonely tables and ballot boxes being stacked remains.

    Here is view from our media station in the corner.

    BBC Reporters Cheryl Dennis and Mike Gilmore
  6. Rees-Mogg quotes Chitty Chitty Bang Bang after losing seatpublished at 06:46 British Summer Time 5 July

    Jacob Rees-Mogg ended his speech with a quote from the fictional character Caractacus Potts.

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  7. 'I got Mogg-xit done': Labour ousts Jacob Rees-Moggpublished at 06:42 British Summer Time 5 July

    Sir Jacob congratulated Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer on "what seems to be a historic victory".

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  8. Rees-Mogg quotes Chitty Chitty Bang Bang in speechpublished at 06:31 British Summer Time 5 July

    Former MP Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg ended his speech with a rather unusual quote: "From the ashes of disaster grow the roses of success."

    The quote came from Caractacus Potts, one of the characters from the film Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.

    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 Dan Norris.

    Media caption,

    Jacob Rees-Mogg chose a rather unusual quote to end his speech with

  9. North Somerset’s first ever Labour MPpublished at 06:18 British Summer Time 5 July

    Cheryl Dennis
    BBC News, West of England

    The area has only ever voted Conservative but tonight Sadik Al-Hassan is North Somerset's first ever Labour MP.

    A pharmacist from Patchway, he says it’s an “absolute honour to be selected” and he “cannot wait” to get to work.

    Liam Fox looked emotional as his 32 year reign came to an end and said "that's how it goes in politics".

    Sadik Al-Hassan, the Labour MP for North Somerset
  10. As the sun rises, Somerset is turning Lib Dem yellowpublished at 06:18 British Summer Time 5 July

    Ruth Bradley
    Politics reporter, BBC Somerset

    All of the seven Somerset constituencies I was covering have now declared, and a markedly different political picture has emerged here.

    In 2019 Somerset was a sea of blue with Conservative MPs returned in all the seats, the same as in 2015.

    But nowhere can the Lib Dem comeback be felt more starkly than Somerset, which is now a field of shimmering yellow, with a spot of blue in Bridgwater.

    The Lib Dems have won Frome and East Somerset, Taunton and Wellington, Glastonbury and Somerton, Wells and Mendip Hills, Yeovil and the new Tiverton and Minehead constituency.

    Newly-elected Liberal Democrat MP for Yeovil, Adam Dance, said he was "ecstatic" to restore the "heartland of the Liberal Democrats", citing his mentor the late Paddy Ashdown, Yeovil MP for 18 years and former party leader.

    Mr Dance said Lord Ashdown gave him the parliamentary nomination papers about a year before he died.

    The Liberal Democrat vote has been strong, and the Conservative vote weak, but Reform UK have also played their part, as in other parts of the country, coming third in every seat here, beating Labour sometimes by thousands of votes.

    Candidates at wells election declaration
    Image caption,

    Tessa Munt (centre) won the new Wells and Mendip Hills constituency for the Liberal Democrats from the Conservative candidate Meg Powell-Chandler (left)

  11. Liam Fox loses seatpublished at 05:54 British Summer Time 5 July
    Breaking

    Liam Fox, who has held several cabinet roles, has narrowly lost North Somerset to Labour.

    Labour's Sadik Adam Al-Hassan won 19,138 votes to Fox's 18,499.

    Graphic showing Labour gains North Somerset from the Conservatives. The winning candidate was Sadik Al-Hassan.
  12. Jacob Rees-Mogg: 'The vote was never about me'published at 05:51 British Summer Time 5 July

    The former North East Somerset MP Jacob Rees-Mogg has spoken to the BBC after he lost his bid to become the MP for North East Somerset and Hanham.

    He said the fate of elected MPs depended on the popularity of their party leaders, and that the votes he received in his previous election was down to the popularity of former leader, Boris Johnson.

    He still plans to be a prominent figure in the local community, saying he will open the Clutton Flower Show in August.

    Media caption,

    Jacob Rees-Mogg: 'The vote I got was never based on me'

  13. Result: Liam Fox loses North Somerset seatpublished at 05:50 British Summer Time 5 July
    Breaking

    Sadik Al-Hassan wins for Labour with a majority of just 639.

  14. Result: Frome and East Somerset - Liberal Democrats winpublished at 05:49 British Summer Time 5 July

    Anna Sabine wins with an almost 5,000 majority.

  15. Not a blue rosette in sight for Weston’s declarationpublished at 05:09 British Summer Time 5 July

    Mike Gilmore
    BBC News, West of England

    While accepting his defeat at the hands of Labour’s Dan Aldridge, John Penrose expressed concern at the low turnout, not just in Weston-super-Mare but across the country.

    Asserting that it was bad for democracy that people had lost faith in politics.

    He then left the building, refusing to give any interviews.

  16. Rees-Mogg loses North East Somerset and Hanham to Labourpublished at 05:05 British Summer Time 5 July
    Breaking

    Media caption,

    Watch: Jacob Rees-Mogg loses seat to Labour

    He tells the BBC he can't "blame anybody other than myself" and that it's been "a very bad night for the Conservatives" - but the "small silver lining is that we will at least be the official opposition, which some of the MRP polls were saying wouldn’t be".

    "I think that Rishi Sunak has done his best," Jacob Rees-Mogg adds.

    Graphic showing Labour gains North East Somerset and Hanham from the Conservatives. The winning candidate was Dan Norris.
  17. New Bridgwater Conservative MP: 'relief national campaign is now over'published at 05:04 British Summer Time 5 July

    Ruth Bradley
    Politics reporter, BBC Somerset

    "The national result is a terrible result for the Conservative party," says new Bridgwater Tory MP Ashley Fox.

    "From a local point of view, it was like 'noises off stage left'.

    "We were trying to deliver a message in the constituency and [then] there would be trouble from Westminster, so it's a relief that national campaign is now over."

    The former MEP was elected with a slim majority of 1,349 over Labour in the new constituency.

    a man with a blue rosette
  18. Result: Jacob Rees Mogg loses seatpublished at 05:01 British Summer Time 5 July
    Breaking

    Labour's Dan Norris has beaten Jacob Rees-Mogg to the new North East Somerset & Hanham seat.

  19. Result: Lib Dems gain Tauntonpublished at 04:59 British Summer Time 5 July

    Lib Dem candidate Gideon Amos has won the seat in Taunton.