Labour gains across West Midlands but Birmingham MPs speak of election intimidation

Summary

Our election coverage from Birmingham and the Black Country
Labour make gains from the Conservatives in Wolverhampton and Walsall
The party also takes seats across Tipton and the Black Country
Jess Phillips narrowly holds on to Birmingham Yardley
But speaks of worst election ever in speech
Ladywood's Shabana Mahmood also talks of intimidation
Conservative Andrew Mitchell holds his Sutton Coldfield seat...
...but Gary Sambrook loses his in Birmingham Northfield
Labour's majority is cut across some Birmingham seats
Live results and reaction from across the UK

Live Reporting

Edited by Sarah Portlock, written by Eleanor Lawson and Andrew Dawkins

Remours of Reform doing well in Dudleypublished at 03:28 British Summer Time 5 July
Steve Hermon
Reporter, BBC Radio WM
There are murmurs here that Reform are doing very well in Dudley and could finish second in the constituency ahead of the Conservatives.
I put that to the Reform candidate, Andrew Southall, who said he's just happy to have exceeded expectations.
He also called himself a candidate that has "come from nowhere" and put their success down to "14 years of Tory failure".
Hearing Reform could also be performing well in Stourbridge.
Labour candidates together ahead of declarationspublished at 03:22 British Summer Time 5 July
Emma Thomas
BBC Black Country political reporter
The three Labour candidates in Wolverhampton have been seen discussing the situation ahead of the expected declarations at about 03:30 BST.
Warinder Juss (left) is standing in Wolverhampton West and Sureena Brackenridge (middle) in Wolverhampton North East - she was the mayoress in the city in 2021/22 when her husband was the mayor.
Pat McFadden (right), who is standing in Wolverhampton South East, is seeking a sixth win in a seat traditionally dominated by Labour.
Turnout for Wolverhampton West is 56.36%, down from 68% in 2019.
In 2019 Labour lost two of the three seats to the Tories. Have they won them back in 2024?
Labour gains West Bromwich from the Conservativespublished at 03:16 British Summer Time 5 July
Labour hold Smethwickpublished at 03:15 British Summer Time 5 July
Labour has retained Smethwick, with Gurwinder Josan claiming a similar majority to predecessor John Spellar, who was in Parliament for 32 years.
Mr Josan polled 16,858, with Reform claiming second place - Pete Durnell had 5,670 votes, with Conservative Kate Fairhurst getting 4,546.
The majority now is 11,188, compared to the notionatl majority of 10,974 previously in a traditional stronghold.
Smethwick is a re-named and expanded version of the former Warley constituency.
Labour candidate sounding perkypublished at 03:12 British Summer Time 5 July
Kathryn Stanczyszyn
Political Reporter, BBC Radio WM
I’ve been messaging the Labour candidate in Sutton Coldfield, Rob Pocock, who cannot possibly comment but is sounding perky.
He is forecast to win the seat from Andrew Mitchell, who has been the constituency's MP since 2001.
'Organised chaos at biggest election count in country'published at 03:07 British Summer Time 5 July
Simon Gilbert
Political Reporter, Birmingham
The acting returning officer in Birmingham at the biggest election count in the country told us everything is running smoothly. Robert Connelly is overseeing his fifth general election.
There are 10 Birmingham constituencies and we’re expecting the first results about 04:00 BST.
He also gave details of the operation involved in getting ballot boxes from 500 polling stations to the ICC.
"The presiding officer who runs the polling station will bring the ballot boxes to... collection centres across the whole city and then we will have those vans coming into the city centre here at the ICC. We get them in for around midnight, 12.30."
After we suggested that it sounded almost like an Amazon-style logistics operation, he said: "That's a very good way of putting it and sometimes it's organised chaos."
Our cameraman has the right idea...published at 03:01 British Summer Time 5 July
Yasmin Rufo
Reporter
While us reporters at Tipton Sports Academy sit around with our measly shop bought snacks, our cameraman has had the right idea and ordered himself some hot food online.
"A delicious portion of chicken and chips" he tells the rest of us as we look on enviously.
The best part? "It only took 20 minutes to arrive!"
Smethwick Labour candidate concerned about Reform votepublished at 02:55 British Summer Time 5 July
Yasmin Rufo
Reporter
Gurwinder Singh Josan, the Labour candidate for Smethwick, has told the BBC he thinks "Reform will take a lot of votes in the area".
"If I'm elected, I'll need to look at why people are voting for a party like Reform and how we can make them feel less disillusioned," he adds.
Josan, who is standing in a safe Labour seat and is taking over from veteran MP John Spellar, says he has spoken to a lot of people who voted Conservative in 2019 and now were deciding between Labour and Reform.
In 2019 the Brexit Party, now Reform UK, won just 6% of the vote and came a distant third.
Turnout in Tipton and Wednesbury lower than 2019published at 02:46 British Summer Time 5 July
Yasmin Rufo
Reporter
We've just received the turnout figures for Tipton and Wednesbury which is 43.17%.
This is significantly lower than in 2019 when turnout was 51.7%.
Labour gains Tipton and Wednesbury from the Conservativespublished at 02:42 British Summer Time 5 July
Shaun Bailey will not do interviewspublished at 02:35 British Summer Time 5 July
Yasmin Rufo
Reporter
At Tipton Sports Academy, the Labour contingency of campaigners and supporters continues to grow.
In fact, the party’s group have practically taken over the foyer as they gather around a small screen to watch the BBC’s coverage of the night.
The mood is an excited one – you can see the couple of dozen campaigners are buzzing as they are hopeful that Labour will take back the two seats they lost to the Conservatives in 2019.
Meanwhile the Conservative candidate for Tipton and Wednesbury, Shaun Bailey, has arrived and is adamant that he won’t be giving any interviews.
“No, you can hear what I have to say up there,” he says.
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Image source, UK Parliament
Poverty, Gaza and challenges for Labour in an inner-city seatpublished at 02:31 British Summer Time 5 July
Image caption,
Alum Rock resident Lorna Neale said it was worrying more food banks were opening
Ladywood in Birmingham has been one of the safest Labour seats in the country since 1970, but boundary changes and a rising tide of anger over Gaza pose a threat.
With "Free Palestine" posters adorning shop windows on Alum Rock Road and a demonstration taking place on the streets every Saturday, the support for the people of Gaza is clear.
It is little surprise, then, that Independent candidate Akhmed Yakoob, the so-called TikTok lawyer, chose to campaign there.
The BBC spoke to voters and the candidates battling to represent them.
Andrew Mitchell: 'It could be a difficult night'published at 02:21 British Summer Time 5 July
Simon Gilbert
Political Reporter, Birmingham
Andrew Mitchell, the Tory candidate for Sutton Coldfield, has been in touch with me via WhatsApp.
He has been the MP for Sutton Coldfield since 2001.
He's conceded it could be a difficult night but that it was still unclear exactly what could happen.
That's quite an extraordinary thing for a man who has won his Sutton Coldfield seat at the last six elections to admit.
Andrew Mitchell is a fixture in the House of Commons. He's looking to win election to parliament for the ninth time this evening.
If he loses his place on the green benches of the Commons, there won't be many clearer signs of sweeping change in Parliament.
Image source, Reuters
Peerage for former Warley MPpublished at 02:13 British Summer Time 5 July
Media caption,
'Whole new world' for ex-MP John Spellar
More snack eating than countingpublished at 01:52 British Summer Time 5 July
Steve Hermon
Reporter, BBC Radio WM
There’s currently more snack eating than counting going on at the Dudley, Halesowen and Stourbridge counts at the Crystal Leisure Centre.
Legally, they have to start by 2am. The latest guesstimate for potential results is after 4am.
I might grab a snack myself then!
'Single parents are forgotten'published at 01:43 British Summer Time 5 July
Image source, Jane Bailey
One more look at the issues affecting voters.
A single mother said she felt “forgotten” by political parties.
Jane Bailey, 54, from Walsall, worked to put her 18-year-old son through university as well as keep a roof over her head.
She said she dreads her looming retirement as she was unable to build her savings.
She was among the many people who got in touch with the BBC via Your Voice, Your Vote to tell us that financial support for single parents was the most important issue for them in this election.
It’s a game of spot the Toriespublished at 01:28 British Summer Time 5 July
Yasmin Rufo
Reporter
At three counts in West Bromwich, I’ve been playing a game of spot the Conservatives.
None of the candidates have turned up to the count yet, and the few campaigners and supporters here are looking rather down in the dumps.
Meanwhile in the Labour camp, the few dozen people here can’t stop beaming and are gathered together already quietly celebrating.
Two of the seats being contested – Tipton & Wednesbury and Smethwick – were won by the Conservatives in 2019 for the first time since 1935, but it seems that those seats may swing back to Labour tonight.
The Tories could face an even bigger defeat here as Labour candidate for Smethwick, Gurinder Josan, is predicting that Reform may come second.
'We’ve given up the dream of owning our own home'published at 01:17 British Summer Time 5 July
Another look at some of the issues affecting people in the run up to the vote.
Secondary school teacher Agron Cakaj can no longer see a future for himself in the UK.
After moving from Kosovo in 1998 as war broke out, he said he had gone “from having dreams and expectations of having a place of my own to slowly realising that was never going to be possible".
Image source, AGRON CAKAJ
Mr Cakaj and his wife, also a teacher, work in one of the most deprived parts of the Birmingham. Unable to afford their own home, they now plan leaving the UK for Poland after 26 years here.
He is one of the many people who told the BBC via Your Voice, Your Vote that housing is their top election issue.
Mayoral election candidate expected to run Labour closepublished at 01:00 British Summer Time 5 July
Simon Gilbert
Political Reporter, Birmingham
Ahkmed Yakoob the independent candidate in Birmingham Ladywood is at the count.
He finished third in the mayoral election, the result for which was also declared here at the ICC.
He has campaigned on issues around Gaza and was endorsed by George Galloway’s Workers Party of Great Britain.
He is largely tipped to closely run Labour candidate Shabana Mahmood, despite the fact she had one of the largest Labour vote shares in the country at the last election.
Birmingham debate: Football, Gaza and charismapublished at 00:44 British Summer Time 5 July
While we wait for results have a look back at what some of the candidates thought the issues were in Birmingham.
The cost of living, healthcare, immigration, Gaza and football were the issues raised during a head-to-head debate between the candidates.
The Your Voice, Your Vote debate was hosted by BBC WM presenter Sarah Julian.
You can read more about what happened at the debate here.