Liam Barnes
BBC News Online

Giving her reaction to the EU referendum vote, Ruth Smeeth, MP for Stoke-on-Trent North, acknowledged her constituents had "overwhelmingly" backed leaving the EU, despite her personal support for the Remain bid.

She said the Labour party needed to take stock and address long-running concerns over jobs and immigration in the Potteries.

"I think [voters] were rejecting the current status quo in a number of areas," she said. 

"Politicians haven't done enough for them over time, and Europe is an easy scapegoat."

Liz Ellis
Presenter, BBC Radio Stoke

Here's a different perspective on the European Union exit vote from a local person. 

Image source, Getty Images

Natalie Evans was born in Stafford but now lives in Hamlin, Germany and told BBC Radio Stoke she was "very sad and disappointed" with the vote to leave. 

She says she feels the different legacies the UK and Germany have from World War Two have played a part in the way people reached their decision.

A Staffordshire dairy farmer who voted to leave the EU has said the industry must now get the "best deal for British farms".

David Brookes, an NFU council member from Uttoxeter said: "We can't be disadvantaged by coming out of the EU".

Herefordshire and Worcestershire vote decisively to leave the European Union.

Wildlife Trusts say they are seeking assurances from politicians after the vote to leave the EU.

They said Europe had left "a legacy of strong legislation and invested in many practical projects" and expressed fears that deregulation could lead to "lower environmental standards, external."

Image source, Science Photo Library

The trusts also used today's result and the prospect of shrugging off EU legislation to call for better management of both fisheries and agriculture.

Staffordshire follows the national trend in voting to leave the European Union.

Liam Barnes
BBC News Online

Fred Hughes, a historian based in Stoke-on-Trent, backed remaining in the EU, and said Labour did not do enough to convince its members to do the same.

"This is a problem down to Labour losing touch with its heartlands - how they can get them back is to reassess its own systems and policies," he said.

"It's a depressing result. I see myself as European, I see the future in unity, and I don't see it in isolation and looking inwards.

"Economic issues we can get over, but we can't look into ourselves and become Little England."

The Dean of Coventry Cathedral says Brexit result will leave strong emotions as Coventry and Warwickshire supports the referendum result

Phil Bowers
Journalist, BBC Radio Stoke

Staffordshire- based digger maker JCB has just released its reaction to last night's vote.

Its boss Lord Bamford says the UK has "little to fear" from leaving the EU.

Image source, JCB

Before the vote yesterday, he wrote to his company's 6,500 employees in the UK, explaining why he favoured a vote to leave.

Lee Blakeman
Newsreader, BBC Radio Stoke

A Staffordshire haulage boss has urged people to "seize the opportunity" after the UK voted to leave the European Union. 

Image source, AP

Barry Proctor runs his firm in Talke and previously had said he wanted to leave the EU because of being bogged down by unnecessary regulations.

Today he wrote on the BBC Radio Stoke Facebook page, external: "Every journey starts with the first step and today we have taken that first step - don't be afraid, don't look down - believe, be positive, be inspired and together we can put the great back in Britain."  

BBC Politics

The UK has voted to quit the European Union following a referendum on its membership. So how did the Leave campaign win?  

From turnout among older voters to the "big beasts" of politics, here's an eight-point guide to how the Leave campaign won the lion's share of the vote.

Image source, Getty Images

Sixth-form students in Stoke-on-Trent were split down the middle in a post-referendum debate held today.

None of the 16 and 17-year-olds at Haywood Academy, Burslem, were old enough to vote yesterday but they still wanted to give their reaction to the UK vote to leave the EU.

BBC Travel

A lane's shut on the A38 northbound in Lichfield between Lichfield and Alrewas. 

There were celebrations at the ICC in Birmingham among Leave campaigners from across the West Midlands.

Phil McCann
Cheshire Political Reporter, BBC News

The vote in Cheshire East was almost a microcosm of the vote across the UK.

Leave won by 51% against nearly 49% for remain. 

This shows a borough as divided as the UK – but the leave vote will have come as much from working class communities in places like Crewe as it will from more affluent parts of the countryside.

There were celebrations at the ICC in Birmingham among Leave campaigners from across the West Midlands. The biggest count in the country took place at the convention centre which was where the regional vote was declared.

John Acres
BBC Radio Stoke

The managing director of a Stoke-on-Trent pottery firm says he "gutted" and concerned about the future after the UK voted to leave the European Union.  

Paul Farmer is in charge of Wade Ceramics and told BBC Stoke he's having to wait and see about the impact the result will have on his firm.  

BBC Politics

Labour MPs Margaret Hodge and Ann Coffey have sent a letter to John Cryer MP, chair of the Parliamentary Labour Party, submitting a motion of no confidence in leader Jeremy Corbyn.

The letter calls for a discussion at the next meeting of the PLP at 18:00 BST on Monday 27 June. This ballot has no formal constitutional force, but would be a significant expression of the lack of confidence of Labour MPs in their leader.

Follow all the reaction on the BBC Politics live page.

Lamont Howie
Reporter, BBC Radio Stoke

Crewe-based car maker Bentley Motors says it is going to work with the government after the European Union referendum vote "to secure a positive future" for the firm.

The company says in a statement it's too early to work out the exact impact after the UK voted to leave the EU.

But it says "our cars will continue to be built with the same passion and dedication".

The managing director of a Stoke-on-Trent pottery firm says he "gutted" and concerned about the future after the UK voted to leave the European Union. Paul Farmer is in charge of Wade Ceramics and told BBC Stoke he's having to wait and see about the impact the result will have on his firm.