Jonny Humphries

If you’re just waking up, spare a thought for those of us with bleary eyes who’ve got through the night powered by adrenaline, cheap energy drinks and pizza.

As has been clear since the moment the exit poll dropped last night, it’s an enormous thumping victory for Labour - it seems Sir Keir Starmer's cautious, steady approach has paid off, with his clarion call to leave "circus" politics behind.

Across north-west England there has been precious little respite for the Conservatives on a dismal night.

No Conservative MPs in Merseyside. No Conservative MPs in Greater Manchester. And Fylde the solitary island of blue in a sea of red in Lancashire.

The red tide didn’t quite wash over Cheshire - Esther McVey managed to hold her Tatton seat with a dramatically reduced majority - but there were stinging losses in Warrington South and Macclesfield, which has been a Tory stronghold since 1918.

Even the deepest pessimist would struggle to argue this is anything other than a spectacular night for Labour.

But beyond the headline victory, there are some pointers to potentially troubled waters ahead. In Blackburn, the shock victory of independent pro-Gaza candidate Adnan Hussain is an example of the party’s struggles in areas with a strong Muslim population.

And across the map, the surge in votes for Reform will need careful consideration for party strategists. In seat after seat the insurgent party pushed the Conservative candidates into third place.

With the Tories consigned to electoral limbo, Reform’s crosshairs will undoubtedly settle on Labour as the governing party.

Whether the new-look, changed Labour party can hold firm and maintain its discipline against the ferocious scrutiny to come could be the story of the next five years.

Image source, Reuters

Conservative Nigel Evans, a former deputy-speaker, has lost his Ribble Valley seat to Labour.

Maya Ellis beat Mr Evans by 856 votes, polling 18,177 and overturning his 2019 majority of 16,839.

Like other seats in Lancashire where the Conservatives lost their seats Reform came third - gaining 8,524 votes.

Turnout dropped from 68.7% to 64.6% with a 16.9% swing.

Adnan Hussain pledged to make sure constituents' concerns about Gaza were "heard loud and clear".

Labour’s Cat Smith has won the newly-drawn seat of Lancaster and Wyre with 19,315, a lead of 9,253 over Conservative Peter Cartridge.

Ms Smith was previously MP for Lancaster and Fleetwood, which was abolished alongside Preston North and Wyre - which was held by former Defence Secretary Ben Wallace.

Labour’s Paul Foster has taken South Ribble from the Conservatives' Katherine Fletcher by 19,840 to 13,339.

Mr Foster overturned a Tory majority of 8,515 with a swing of 15.6%.

Reform’s Andy Hunter came third with 8,995 votes.The turnout was down from 68.3% to 63.6%.

The Conservatives have lost Blackpool North & Fleetwood.

Paul Maynard, who has represented the seat since 2010, has been beaten by Lorraine Beavers for Labour. They won 40% and 29% of the vote respectively.

There was a 15.7% swing from the Tories to Labour.

Mr Maynard's chances were undoubtedly harmed by the rise of Reform UK, whose candidate Dan Barker came third with a 24% share of the vote.

Antony Higginbotham famously became the first Conservative MP for Burnley in more than a century when he took the seat in 2019.

But the Lancashire town has gone back to Labour, with Oliver Ryan winning the seat by 3,420 votes.

Lib Dem veteran Gordon Birtwistle, 81, beat Mr Higginbotham into third place.

Turnout fell from 62.4% to 53%.om 62.4% to 53% with a 5.8% swing to Labour.

Former Conservative Party deputy chairman and ex-Levelling Up Minister Jake Berry has been defeated by Labour in Rossendale and Darwen.

He suffered a 16.2% swing to Labour which was enough to secure victory for Andy MacNae by nearly 6,000 votes.

Reform UK bit into the Tory vote, with Daniel Matchett polling 9,695.

Burnley was a top Labour target, with a Conservative majority of just 127 in the 2019 election.

And Labour have done it - Oliver Ryan wins and bolsters the majority to 3,420 over the Tories.

The Conservatives have hung on to retain Fylde, but saw their majority slashed to only 561 following a huge 17.9% swing to Labour.

Andrew Snowden, with 15,917 votes, edged out Labour’s Tom Calver on 15,356.

Reform came third with 8,295.

The seat was previously won by Mark Menzies for the Conservatives with a massive 19,254 majority. He resigned in April after claims he misused party funds.

Tim Padfield
Assistant editor, BBC Radio Lancashire

There’s been a big increase in postal votes physically handed in in the Lancaster and Morecambe seats.

One theory is this due to people not trusting the Royal Mail after the recent stories about problems with postal votes.

The turnout in Lancaster and Wyre is 57.8%, while in Morecambe and Lunesdale it was 63.1%

The results for Chorley have just come in with Labour keeping a solid majority - so why aren't we describing it as a Labour hold?

It's because it's Speaker Lindsay Hoyle's seat.

The role of the Speaker is politically impartial, so incoming Speakers resign from their political party when they are appointed, but can still undertake work on behalf of their constituents.

The main parties do not usually field candidates against the Speaker at general elections held during their term in office.

Labour’s Chris Webb has retained the Blackpool South seat that he only won from the Tories at a by-election in May.

He massively boosted his majority, with a 20.6% swing that resulted in the Tories not even coming second.

Mr Webb secured 16,916 votes, with Mark Butcher for Reform UK coming second on 10,068.

Conservative candidate Zak Khan got 5,504 votes.

The seat has been redrawn for this election, with wards from Blackpool North added to it.

Labour takes Blackpool South - following its resounding by-election win there in May. It's wiped out the Tory majority of 3,690 in 2019 and has its own majority now of almost 7,000.

Just a note - this result is described as a Labour gain rather than a hold, because it's compared to the result at the last election in 2019.