Tories have won Stoke-on-Trent North for the first time since the seat was created in 1950.

Phil McCann
Cheshire Political Reporter, BBC News

Crewe and Nantwich was always going to be tough for Labour to hold on to given that they only had a majority of 48 votes and 60% of the constituency was predicted to have voted to Leave in the EU referendum.

The task was made all the more difficult without a totem issue to galvanise voters around - as they had in 2017 when local school funding cuts had been announced just months before the election.

Image source, BBC / Reuters

But only the most pessimistic of Labour activists would have predicted the Conservatives would beat them by more than 8,000 votes.

The seat has tended to be marginal given the different nature of its two main settlements, with Crewe mostly voting Labour and Nantwich mostly voting Conservative.

Now it looks like the Tories have been able to firmly establish themselves in both, so it could take some massive changes on Labour’s part and possibly a lot of waiting before they’re a force to be reckoned with there again.

The last time UK went to the polls in 2017, Crewe and Nantwich was the eighth most marginal seat.

Local Democracy Reporting Service

At only 24 years old, Nicola Richards has overturned 84 years of history in West Bromwich by returning a 1,593 majority to take West Bromwich East, ending decades of Labour representation.

The former Labour deputy leader Tom Watson, who stood down ahead of the election, had previously had a majority of 7,713 there.

Speaking after her acceptance speech, the Dudley councillor said: "It’s amazing, it’s incredible.

"I won’t say it didn’t feel it was possible because the vibe on the ground was, that it was.

"We could tell that people were changing and we could tell that people wanted something different – they wanted someone to listen to them and they wanted to get Brexit over and done with."

Asked how she managed to win such a Labour stronghold, she said: "This is a pattern and a trend we have seen across the the Black Country and the West Midlands since 2015. It’s been happening in other areas and there was no reason it shouldn’t happen in Sandwell too."

The re-elected Conservative MP for Mid Worcestershire, Nigel Huddleston, said he had been cautious ahead of this election, after seeing his party perform worse than expected in the 2017 election.

He said "the national polls can hide some very strange patterns" because of tactical voting.

Mr Huddleston promised his constituents that Brexit would be his party's first priority, but then wanted to concentrate on "other major important issues" like transport, housing, health, education and climate change.

Earlier, teacher and new Stoke-on-Trent North MP Jonathan Gullis paid tribute to fellow Tory Jack Brereton for paving the way for the party in the city.

"I think they [local voters] have seen what has happened in Stoke-on-Trent South with Jack Brereton and I think they wanted that change, they wanted to see a different kind of politics," Mr Gullis said.

The re-elected Conservative MP for Stoke-on-Trent South, Jack Brereton, has said the city has "been very badly let down by very poor representation over decades from Labour MPs".

He said that was one of the reasons for his party's victories in Stoke-on-Trent and added: "People absolutely detest Corbyn, they don't want what he stands for."

Image source, Getty Images

Mr Brereton increased his majority to 11,271 in the constituency which he took from Labour in 2017 and said people there, "want to see a change, they want to see improvements to our area."

The Bromsgrove MP Sajid Javid says he hopes to continue as chancellor in Boris Johnson's new government.

He was returned to Parliament for the fourth time, with a majority of 23,106 and said he would head straight back to London to continue his work, but would take nothing for granted.

Image source, Getty Images

But Mr Javid said that despite his work at Downing Street he would still work hard for his constituents.

Former Birmingham Northfield Labour MP Richard Burden says everyone has a "responsibility to work to end" hate that has infected political debate, after he lost his seat.

Image source, UK Parliament

He had represented the area since 1992, but Gary Sambrook gained the seat for the Conservatives with a majority of 1,640.

Mr Burden said: "All of us have a responsibility to work to end the hate and vitriol that has infected political debate both online and elsewhere in recent years. Democracy deserves better than that.

"And all of us, irrespective of whichever party we represent, have a responsibility to work for a democracy that is built on better than that.

"Our determination to create a fairer, more equal society is at the centre of the right values to have. They're the values that separate us in Labour from the Conservative party."

Yesterday's vote marked the third general election in less than five years.

Looking at results for the two main parties across all three Wolverhampton constituencies, it shows how the Conservatives have crept up on Labour since 2015.

Patrick Burns
Political editor, Midlands

This landmark election transforms the political map of the West Midlands.

Nine Conservative gains, now giving them virtually a clean sweep of all the seats in what had been Labour's core constituencies in Stoke-on-Trent, Wolverhampton and West Bromwich will be seen as a vindication of the Tories' strategy to reach out to working-class voters, especially in places that registered large leave majorities in the referendum.

Image source, UK Parliament

For Labour, the Birmingham Perry Barr MP and Shadow Europe Minister Khalid Mahmood and the defeated candidate in Stoke-on-Trent Central Gareth Snell (pictured) were among the first to call for the party leader Jeremy Corbyn to stand down.

It's a disappointing result for the Liberal Democrats who had no West Midlands MPs in the last Parliament and they continue to fail to make serious inroads here.

Joanne Gallacher
Political reporter, BBC Shropshire

Telford was a marginal seat being keenly targeted by Labour.

The incumbent MP, Lucy Allan, had a majority of 720 after the General Election in 2017, but this time she has increased it to 10,941.

Labour campaigned on the issue of hospital reorganisation plans, which would see the local A&E department downgraded and the removal of the consultant-led women and children’s unit - but that issue failed to cut through with voters.

Labour Party officials told me people that voted for them in May’s local election said they couldn’t vote for them again, as they couldn’t support Jeremy Corbyn.

There have been calls for him to resign from Katrina Gilman who stood for the party in the Telford constituency.

Tory Nicola Richards secures West Bromwich East with a majority of 1,593.

New Conservative Wolverhampton South West MP Stuart Anderson admits it "hasn’t been easy", after he turned Labour's majority of more than 2,000 into a Tory majority of 1,661.

The ex-soldier turned technology entrepreneur beat the former nurse and president of the Unison union, Eleanor Smith, who had been the MP since 2017.

The Conservatives' joy in the city [pictured] also included Jane Stevenson taking Wolverhampton North East from Emma Reynolds.

Following his win, Mr Anderson told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: "We’ve had a strong campaign and the results on the doorstep were good. It hasn’t been easy and we’ve spent a year on it.

"I want to represent the people in the constituency and give them a voice, making sure no-one is left behind. Wolverhampton has got a great history and a great heritage.

"It’s my intention to represent every single part of Wolverhampton South West."

Local Democracy Reporting Service
George Makin

The first ever Conservative MP for West Bromwich West has said his victory is "mind blowing".

Shaun Bailey, who takes over from Labour's Adrian Bailey, secured a majority of 3,799 votes in the previous Labour stronghold.

Image source, LDRS

“I love this community and I’m absolutely determined to be their voice in Westminster and not be Westminster’s voice here," he said.

"These people feel so betrayed at the moment, they feel ignored.

“Brexit demonstrated an underlyng issue. They voted Leave here and they felt they were being ignored.”

Lucy Allan said she wants to do her job in parliament without having to fight her marginal seat.

The newly elected Conservative MP for Crewe and Nantwich, Dr Keiran Mullan, said the election result gave a clear message about Brexit.

He took the marginal seat from Labour's Laura Smith with a majority of 8,508 and said the voters "have made it clear to everybody that we are a democracy in this country and if people vote for something, it is up to politicians to deliver it."

The last time the UK went to the polls in 2017 Crewe and Nantwich became the country's eighth most marginal seat, held by Ms Smith with a majority of just 48.

In the EU referendum, 60% of people in the constituency voted to leave.

Stoke-on-Trent North's first Conservative MP says he wants to show his constituents what the party can do to improve their lives.

Jonathan Gullis took the seat from Labour's Ruth Smeeth with a majority of 6,286 as the Conservatives took all three seats in the city.

And he is proud to be the first Conservative MP for the constituency.

The defeated Labour candidate in the Shrewsbury and Atcham constituency, has said a message has been sent about Brexit.

Dr Julia Buckley, who lost out to Conservative Daniel Kawczynski, said: "This is the third electoral result in a row when people who want Brexit have sent a message. They had a majority in the referendum, they certainly had a majority in the European elections and they had a majority again tonight."

She added: "One lesson is to listen to the majority and respond."

Dr Buckley, who was a friend of the murdered Labour MP Jo Cox, also thought some progress had been made and said: "Jo was murdered because people didn't respect each other's views.

"If we could respect each other's view instead of trying to convert people or always be right, we would have found a way out of this mess much sooner and a way out that doesn't involve conflict."

The returning Conservative MP for Shrewsbury and Atcham said the scale of his party's win was a surprise and the most he'd expected was a majority in the 20s.

Daniel Kawczynski increased his own majority to 11,217 and said he was very excited when the exit polls suggested a Conservative victory and said the win was a "very strong vindication of the campaign Prime Minister Johnson has pursued".

He said the "get Brexit done" message had obviously struck a chord, but believed that his party's handling of the economy had also been a vote-winner.