Conservative MP Will Quince said his election win to hold on to this Colchester seat was "hugely humbling".

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.

Jodie Halford
BBC News

With a full set of results in, reporters are heading home or back to the office.

I enjoyed the fact that BBC Essex's Stuart Woodward, who was at the count in Harlow, has come back fully and clearly labelled.

BBC East political correspondent Andrew Sinclair has been reflecting on the night's events.

Simon Dedman
BBC Essex political reporter

The people of Essex have spoken and voted to try and give Theresa May the majority she wanted. But Labour has seen a surge in support and has come second in every seat – pushing UKIP first to third in Clacton and overtaking former Lib Dem MP Sir Bob Russell in Colchester.

Labour was 345 votes shy of getting an Essex MP in Thurrock. But for the triumphant Tories comes turbulence, as nationwide the party has no strong and stable majority and have lost seats overall.

Who will be PM, who will govern Britain as the Brexit negotiations begin? Right here, right now, it is not known.

If you're just joining us, here's what you need to know about the election results in Essex.

• The Conservatives held 17 of the county's 18 seats going into the vote
• The remaining seat, Clacton, which was independent after Douglas Carswell left UKIP, was gained by the Tories overnight
• Four new MPs have joined the county's ranks of politicians - they are Kemi Badenoch in Saffron Walden, Alex Burghart in Brentwood & Ongar, Vicky Ford in Chelmsford and Giles Watling in Clacton.

Image source, Getty Images

• The number of people voting UKIP in Essex has dropped significantly. In many constituencies, the party came fourth or fifth, having come second in the 2015 general election
• Labour's share of the vote has gone up in almost every constituency, with the party the runner-up in all 18 seats

New Brentwood & Ongar MP Alex Burghart was one of four Conservative candidates who haven't stood in the county before and won the vote in their constituencies.

Here he was earlier when he got a call from his mum to congratulate him!

It's been a big night for many across Essex and the east of England - here's how other media outlets have been covering the stories:

• Conservative hold for Colchester and Harwich and north Essex seats, East Anglian Daily Times, external
• Tories romp home in Rayleigh and Wickford after record turnout, Echo, external
• Conservatives hold Colchester seat as Will Quince re-elected as MP with 5,800 majority, Gazette, external
• Tory Jackie Doyle-Price makes it three Thurrock election wins on the spin by just 345 votes, Thurrock Gazette, external

New MP Kemi Badenoch won the Essex seat with 37,629 votes.

Essex County councillor Stephen Canning congratulates two of his fellow Conservatives who've succeeded in holding on to their seats:

Here's how Essex is looking this morning, with the addition of Epping Forest and Thurrock (not pictured), which have also retained their Conservative MPs.

Across the county, we have four new MPs who take over from politicians who've stood down or retired.

The only change is Clacton, which was independent after former MP Douglas Carswell left UKIP. He announced he wasn't running this time around, and the seat has been taken by Conservative Giles Watling.