Gemma Dillon
Political Reporter

Image source, Getty Images

It’s been a rather muted campaign here in West Yorkshire.

In the past the patch has been seen as a key battle ground with David Cameron, Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn all launching their manifestos here ahead of previous elections.

But in 2024, we haven’t seen that level of high profile visit, although we shouldn't forget we do have two of the Shadow Cabinet defending seats here in the form of Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves and Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper.

Conservative candidates, especially those defending their seats like Jason McCartney in the Colne Valley or Andrea Jenkyns in South Leeds and Morley seem to have fought a very local campaign based on their personal achievements rather than those of the national party.

Labour meanwhile have been well organised, flooding the area with boots on the ground and pushing hard into seats on their target list, like South Leeds and Morley and Ossett and Denby Dale.

Reform UK candidate for Pontefract, Castleford and Knottingley John Thomas says he is feeling "really really positive" ahead of the results.

"The word on the street is that it looks like a really good campaign.

"We've had a Labour MP here for 27 years and people want change.

"I honestly do think I stand a chance, the feeling I'm getting is people want an MP to represent them, not a home secretary. They'll see even less of her".

The Green Party's Halifax candidate Martin Hey has been speaking to the BBC after the exit poll suggested his party could take two seats.

"It's a really exciting night for the Green Party.

"We're not optimistic locally but nationally this is going to be our best night for a general election."

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%

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

Gemma Dillon
Political Reporter

Labour party members gathered around screens in the foyer here at the Leeds count were counting down to the exit poll as it was aired on the BBC.

When it came, predicting a whopping Labour landslide of 410 seats, a huge deafening cheer went up.

Labour supporters here are finally daring to dream after 14 years out of power that Sir Keir Starmer will be the next Prime Minister, and one of their own, Rachel Reeves, could be the next Chancellor

Cllr Fiona Venner and Emma Flint had tears in their eyes as they took in what a monumental moment this is for their party.

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 West 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.

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