Lucy Ashton
BBC Sheffield political reporter

South Yorkshire was full of surprises in 2019, but where will the interest be this year?

I'm tipping these three seats as ones to watch.

Sheffield Hallam – the smallest majority in South Yorkshire and one of the few constituencies nationwide which is head-to-head between Labour and the Lib Dems. Labour won it in 2019 with a slim majority of 712 and it’s number three on the Lib Dems’ target list.

Rother Valley – the constituency was Labour for over 100 years before turning blue in 2019. It’s the epitome of a red wall seat, where mining communities voted Conservative for the first time in generations.

Barnsley South – This was one of the first places Nigel Farage visited after announcing his return as Reform UK leader. He said he doesn’t expect to win but wants to come a strong second to build the groundwork for the next general election.

Oli Constable
BBC News

In Rotherham, there are three seats up for grabs for Rother Valley, Rotherham Central and Rawmarsh and Conisbrough.

The counting hall is hot - packed with volunteers furiously flicking through papers.

Image source, Oli Constable/BBC

We've just caught up with Reform UK candidate Tony Harrison, who's standing in the Rother Valley seat. He's seen the exit poll for Barnsley North and South which suggest a Reform UK win.

"It's looking quite positive," he says.

When asked why he thinks that is, he adds: "Quite strange times, I think it all stems from Brexit. There was a high Brexit vote in Barnsley."

Image source, Oli Constable/BBC

Does he think he could win his seat from the Conservatives in Rother Valley?

"Yeah, never say never. Think it'll be a tight-run thing. The Conservative candidate seems to be doing better than expected, certainly not an easy night for Labour. I might come a close second maybe, or even maybe even take the seat. More likely to be a close second."

Labour councillor Chris Read, leader of Rotherham Council, has said not to judge the exit polls "too soon", and wants to wait for "the real votes" to be counted.

Image source, Oli Constable/BBC

"We did of course have a big Leave vote [in Rotherham], we had a big Ukip group on the council before, so in some ways perhaps not too much of a surprise Reform are doing well. I don't think they're doing well enough to challenge the two big parties for seats here in Rotherham," he adds.

Lucy Ashton
BBC Sheffield political reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Perhaps the biggest surprise of this general election is that neither Rishi Sunak nor Keir Starmer have been seen in South Yorkshire during the campaign.

Instead of visiting the so-called "red wall" seats which made the headlines in 2019, both party leaders have instead concentrated on safe Conservative seats in other parts of the country.

Liberal Democrat Leader Ed Davey bounced through SheffieldHallam, where the party is going head-to-head with Labour.

But even that visit – spent making insect houses – seemed subdued for Mr Davey, who has spent his campaign bungee jumping, riding fairground rides and performing water stunts.

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage had the most high profile visit, riding through Barnsley on an open top bus, glad-handing shoppers and addressing crowds with a microphone, though his foray was marred when a member of the public hurled a number of items towards him.

Our reporter at the Barnsley North count says a declaration is expected within the next 10 minutes.

Oli Constable
BBC News

The counting here in Sheffield is being split at the English Institute of Sport between the athletics track and the netball hall.

There's only 40 steps between them, with constituencies Penistone & Stocksbridge and Brightside & Hillsborough being counted in the smaller room.

Image source, Oli Constable/BBC

Conservative Miriam Cates, incumbent MP for Penistone & Stocksbridge, has come prepared for a long night it seems, bringing her own camping chair.

Her team's snacks of choice appear to be Haribo sweets, cupcakes and millionaire shortbread biscuits, but she's spent most of her time on her phone or speaking to colleagues to worry about them.

The TV behind her has just shown the first result to come in - a Labour win in Sunderland South

The cupcakes have just been opened.

Image source, Oli Constable/BBC

Labour's Sheffield South East candidate Clive Betts says he believes the surge in support for Reform UK is down to people people the north being fed up with decades of decline.

"People get very frustrated at what they see is years and years of failure to regenerate these areas and bring decent jobs to them," he said.

"That's going to be a massive challenge for the new government to do what the Tories failed to do and that's to genuinely put some proper resources, proper skills, proper infrastructure into the poorest areas to give those areas a chance for renewal for the people there."

Meanwhile, on his own party's precited victory he said: "I think this will be the first step on a very difficult journey.

"We have been honest throughout this election there are no easy fixes, the Tories have run public services into the ground, people are desperately hard up with their own personal finances and it's going to take a long time to repair the damage. We can't do it overnight but we can begin to move in the right direction."

Mick Lunney
BBC Yorkshire

The leader of Barnsley Council, Sir Steve Houghton, says he doesn't believe Labour will lose Barnsley North and Barnsley South to Reform UK, whatever the exit polls say.

"These are very abstract calculations, not necessarily based on an exit poll in Barnsley but on what's going on elsewhere in the country, and then they transpose that onto Barnsley and say 'look at this!'

"There's no doubt Reform will do well, but equally I'm confident we'll retain two Labour MPs in Barnsley."

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.

David Rhodes
BBC political reporter

The UK exit poll predicts that Reform UK may win seats in our region. Namely:

Barnsley South 49% of the vote – Labour 39%

Barnsley North 48% of the vote – Labour 37%

If these results were to come true the votes in Barnsley would be the biggest vote share for Reform in the country – out polling Nigel Farage in Clacton.

The party is running Labour close in the following seats

Pontefract, Castleford and Normanton – Labour 41% Reform 36%

Rother Valley – Labour 38% Reform 35%

Doncaster East and Isle of Axholme – Labour 34% Reform 33%

David Rhodes
BBC political reporter

The UK exit poll predicts that Reform UK could be in line to win seats in our region. Namely:

Barnsley South 49% of the vote – Labour 39%

Barnsley North 48% of the vote – Labour 37%

If these results were to come true the votes in Barnsley would be the biggest vote share for Reform in the country – out polling Nigel Farage in Clacton.

The party is also running Labour close in the following seats:

Pontefract, Castleford and Normanton – Labour 41% Reform 36%

Rother Valley – Labour 38% Reform 35%

Doncaster East and Isle of Axholme – Labour 34% Reform 33%

Oli Constable
BBC News

Image source, Oli Constable/BBC

Large metal trollies have arrived carrying the first ballot boxes here at the English Institute of Sport in Sheffield.

There's whispers on the press bench here about the Liberal Democrats having a very high chance of taking Sheffield Hallam - which is currently under Labour control.

People on the counting floor have been gathering around TVs and having hushed conversations with each other. It feels like this is it. Counting is to begin shortly.

Lots of people on the floor are checking their phones again and again. I hope someone remembered to bring a charger.

Image source, Oli Constable/BBC

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

Oli Constable
BBC News

Image source, Oli Constable/BBC

Even before I've gone into the counting hall, people are gathered around smartphones watching the BBC's exit poll coverage.

Here in Sheffield, six constituencies are being counted.

Image source, Oli Constable/BBC

On the running track inside the English Institute of Sport, rows and rows of desks are filled with counters, diligently verifying the first votes.

This place is used to crowning winners, normally hosting athletics events, but tonight, it will see politicians climbing atop a podium on the finishing line becoming, possibly, a new MP.

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 South 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.

People at a Yorkshire café explain what life is like - and whether politics can make a difference.

Luke Platts says he will have to work from home while looking after son because of high nursery fees.

Sheffield Council says beavers could provide a natural solution to reducing the risk of flooding.

The practice is a form of "brutal violence against women and girls", South Yorkshire Police say.