Jonathan Vernon-Smith
BBC Three Counties Radio

Conservative MP Iain Stewart, who retained his seat in Milton Keynes South, has told me that Theresa May should stay on as prime minister.

Image source, Conservative Party

Mr Stewart said he thought it "wasn't a mistake" to call the election but there were "clearly errors made in our campaign".

"We allowed ourselves to get the focus of the campaign on issues other than the critical ones in front of the country, and that is delivering Brexit," he said.

He added that the Conservatives "did not present [the party's social care policy] in the right way" but when asked if Mrs May must now step down he said "no, absolutely not".

"She remains the prime minister if you look at the constitutional process... she has the first right to form a new government," he said.

It's been a busy shift in the BBC's Cambridge newsroom...

Conservative says loss is 'not so bad if you believe in democracy'.

BBC Look East

BBC Look East is coming live very shortly on BBC One with an election special, featuring all the fallout from the general election.

Labour's Cambridge MP Daniel Zeichner will be giving his thoughts on the extraordinary night, along with Stewart Jackson who lost his Tory seat to Labour in Peterborough.

Mohammad Yasin, the new Labour MP for Bedford, and UKIP's Peter Reeve will also feature, along with analysis from Dr Sean Lang from Anglia Ruskin University.

Remotes at the ready!

Katy Lewis
BBC Local Live

The speaker of the House of Commons, John Bercow, who's been re-elected in Buckingham, has said he has noted the "very large number of spoiled ballot papers" and will be speaking to the House of Commons procedure committee about the situation in the constituency.

Image source, You Tube

Buckingham is a seat with a difference because as speaker, Bercow's role in Parliament is neutral, so traditionally the major parties have agreed not to stand against him.

This situation has led to frustration with more spoiled ballots in the 2015 election than anywhere else, and an online petition "Give Us a Voice, not a Speaker" launched several years ago.

This election saw 1,967 spoiled ballot papers.

Mr Bercow said he was "conscious of and sensitive to the strong feeling which exists amongst a great many people of all political persuasions" that the system in the constituency is "less than ideal".

He said: "I hope people will understand that it is not for the speaker to change that system.

"But as I have said before... it is my commitment to report to my colleagues and in particular to the relevant committee of the House, the very large number of spoilt ballot papers, expressions of discontent and to ask my colleague on that committee to look at the system and to assess from available options whether they think a better arrangement could be put in place."

Alex Pope
BBC Local Live

Before the results came in there was talk that the political scene could change in Milton Keynes and Watford, but they stayed Conservative.

So that just left Bedford to turn red, where Mohammad Yasin is the new MP, replacing Richard Fuller who was elected in 2010.

The new politician has been celebrating in Bedford, where his new role has been welcomed by some.

David from Bedford told me he voted Labour from Conservative for the very first time as Theresa May "refused to commit to protecting the public service".

Alison Glazebrook woke up very happy when she heard the news and says: "It's the result I was hoping for."

BBC Look East

This is the moment the biggest shock of the night happened in Bedfordshire, with Bedford and Kempston going from Conservative to Labour.

Katy Lewis
BBC Local Live

The newly-elected Conservative MP for Milton Keynes South, Iain Stewart, has responded to criticism that he hadn't been very visible during the election campaign.

After his re-election he revealed to the BBC that his father had been very ill and had a serious operation.

He said he was now recovering.

Image source, Conservative Party

Alex Pope
BBC Local Live

For anyone joining us just now, all the results are now in for Beds, Bucks and Herts.

The main news is that all seats stayed the same, except for in Bedford and Kempston where Richard Fuller lost his Conservative seat to Mohammed Yasin for Labour.

We expected counts to still be coming in by now, but most people have gone home and the clear up has well and truly started in Welwyn Hatfield.

Image source, Welwyn Hatfield Council

Alex Pope
BBC Local Live

Here's how some of the local papers have reported on the election results.

• The Bedfordshire On Sunday, external reports on the biggest shock of the night locally in Bedford and Kempston, where Conservative Richard Fuller lost his seat to Labour's Mohammad Yasin by the narrowest of margins.
• The Buckingham and Winslow Advertiser , externalexplains how John Bercow won in Buckingham, with none of the main parties standing against him.
• The Conservative majority being slashed in Watford features in the Watford Observer, external.

Katy Lewis
BBC Local Live

"Honour" and "privilege" - these seem to be the key words from the newly-elected MPs as they tweet their thanks to those who voted for them.

Gareth Lloyd
BBC Three Counties Radio

Here's the turnout table for Beds, Herts & Bucks.

You can see which constituency had the biggest turnout across the three counties.

Dani Bailey
BBC Local Live

How much has turnout increased since 2015 in Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire?

Katy Lewis
BBC Local Live

One of the seats we've been watching has been St Albans, where the Conservative MP Ann Main faced criticism for being a Brexit supporter in a city which voted to Remain.

It was a major target seat for the Lib Dems, with leader Tim Farron visiting the city three times during the election campaign. It also became a very orange-looking city covered in posters, banners and leaflets.

But it wasn't to be for Lib Dem candidate Daisy Cooper, who while managing to slash Mrs Main's majority to 6,109 from 12,732, still came in second place.

Mrs Main said: "If you could buy votes with leaflets I'm not surprised they've made some headway here, we've been deluged with leaflets," she said.

"But they are still some considerable way behind."

Ms Cooper said: "Obviously we're disappointed not to win but we have established ourselves as the key opposition party.

"As an opposition party, I'm sure [Ann Main] doesn't like the fact that we put out lots of leaflets but we hear time and time again from people in St Albans that we're the only people they hear from... they appreciate having a really clear steer on what it is we stand for."

Deborah McGurran
BBC East political editor

It has been a shocking night for the Conservatives in this region while Labour celebrated three gains across the East.

The Liberal Democrats held on to their only seat but UKIP failed in their bid to regain Clacton.

Labour wrestled Peterborough, Ipswich and Bedford from the Conservatives and returned thumping majorities in Luton North and Norwich South, where Clive Lewis's majority more than doubled.

Labour's biggest increase was in Cambridge, where MP Daniel Zeichner in Cambridge took his majority from about 600 to 12,500.

The Conservatives' high point was regaining Clacton, but elsewhere majorities were reduced across the board and they failed to take North Norfolk from the Liberal Democrats. Despite a concerted campaign by the Conservatives to take the seat, Norman Lamb held on with only a slightly reduced majority.

Elsewhere, it was not a good night for the Liberal Democrats, with both Bob Russell, in Colchester, and Julian Huppert, in Cambridge, failing to regain seats they once held.

UKIP's share of the vote has dropped by 14% across the region and the Liberal Democrats stayed stubbornly flat on 7%. Although the Conservatives' vote share did increase by 6%, it was overtaken by Labour who increased their share by 11%.

The map of the East remains resolutely blue, but the night definitely belonged to Labour.