More reaction is coming in from figures across the Labour party, to the result in the Hartlepool by-election.

Former Labour cabinet minister, Lord Adonis, who served under Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, has told the BBC, "it could be curtains for Labour" and Keir Starmer was only a "transitional leader".

He said everyone had initially wished Starmer well when he took over but "the verdict of the people is the verdict of the people" and "the golden rule of politics is that you can't avoid it".

He said Labour now has to grapple with what this means because "clearly the public isn't persuaded that Labour has either the leadership or the policies or the critique of the government, or the energy and dynamism, in terms of its view of the future of the country, to deliver".

We've heard from Boris Johnson for the first time today since the election results started coming in.

Speaking to reporters in the West Midlands, the prime minister said it's "early days," but the results so far have been "very promising" for the Conservatives.

He added that the government had been trying to deliver on the "people's priorities" and had been "focusing on the pandemic as much as we can".

Image source, Reuters

General Secretary of Unite the Union Len McCluskey, has said he hopes Sir Keir Starmer “learns the correct lessons” from Labour’s defeat in the Hartlepool by-election.

“He was elected a year ago on a radical programme, some said a Corbyn-esque programme; he said he wanted to make the moral case for socialism; he wanted a united party - unfortunately he’s failed in all of those areas.

"Hartlepool is the manifestation of it - people don’t know what his vision is. People don’t know what Labour stand for anymore.”

Speaking on Political Thinking on BBC Radio Four, Mr McCluskey told Nick Robinson he no longer spoke to the Labour leader.

“Unfortunately when either side actually don’t deliver the deal and say there wasn’t a deal, trust breaks down, and that’s what happened with me and Keir.

But he added: “Obviously if he rang me I would speak to him. I don’t want to be nasty to anybody."

"But the truth of the matter at the moment is unless he presses that reset button, unless he goes back to making the moral case for socialism, unless he starts talking about the radical alternative for ordinary working people then I’m afraid we’ll find ourselves in this continuous downward decline.”

Labour's Hartlepool defeat worse than party pollingpublished at 12:27 British Summer Time 7 May 2021

12:27 BST 7 May 2021

Iain Watson
Political correspondent

Party insiders tell me Labour's defeat in Hartlepool was even worse than their own private polling predicted.

This pointed to the Conservatives winning a 5,000 vote majority, whereas in the end it was nearly 7,000.

A by-election happens, external when a parliamentary seat becomes vacant in between general elections. This can happen if the incumbent MP dies or resigns.

Other reasons for a gap coming up is if the existing MP is convicted of a serious crime, is declared bankrupt or unable to carry out their duties because they are mentally ill.

Deciding to switch to another party mid-term however does not trigger a contest.

Thursday's by-election in Hartlepool was called because the Labour MP, Mike Hill resigned.

Hartlepool by-election: What a difference 25 years makespublished at 12:12 British Summer Time 7 May 2021

12:12 BST 7 May 2021

Lewis Goodall
Newsnight Correspondent

I have compiled a list of seats held by Labour cabinet ministers during Tony Blair's first Labour government - and who holds them in 2021.

The list is striking.

It includes Tony Blair's old constituency, Sedgefield, which is now held by the Tories, Gordon's Brown's Kirkcaldy seat which is now under SNP control and of course Hartlepool, which was held by Lord Mandelson for 12 years from 1992 and has now turned blue.

Here's the lowdown:

• Sedgefield - Conservative
• Kirkcaldy- SNP
• Edinburgh South West - SNP
• Copeland - Conservative
• Ashfield - Conservative
• Darlington - Conservative
• Redcar - Conservative
• Hartlepool - Conservative
• Airdrie and Shotts - SNP
• Edinburgh East - SNP

Image source, Getty Images

There are several marginal seats in Wales that could swing the result of the election.

Here are six seats to keep an eye on, each of which were won by fewer than 1,000 votes in 2016:

• Llanelli (Labour) 382 vote lead over Plaid Cymru
• Blaenau Gwent (Labour) 650 ahead of Plaid
• Aberconwy (Conservatives) 754 ahead of Plaid
• Vale of Clywd (Labour) 768 ahead of the Conservatives
• Vale of Glamorgan (Labour) 777 ahead of the Conservatives
• Cardiff Central (Labour) 817 ahead of the Liberal Democrats

Other seats will need larger swings to change hands, but several Labour strongholds fell to the Conservatives in the 2019 general election, so there could be a few surprises in store.

Police and Crime Commissioner for Devon and Cornwall, Alison Hernandez, had a less than positive election day - when she was bitten by a dog while delivering leaflets.

She later added that she was "fine", praising the "slick" medical staff who took care of her wounded finger.

Conservative Ms Hernandez is seeking re-election to the post she has held since 2016.

Thirty nine police and crime commissioners are being elected in England and Wales, but in 12 of the counts - including votes in Torbay where Ms Hernandez is seeking re-election - will not take place until Monday, when the result is also due to be announced.

A member of Labour's National Executive Committee - who is on Keir Starmer's wing of the party - Luke Akehurst, has tweeted saying Labour needs to make sure it is relevant and talking about issues that big swathes of the electorate care about.

Mr Akehurst is a secretary of Labour First - an organisation that describes itself as appealing to "moderates" who want to return Labour to power.

Shadow Culture Minister Alison McGovern said it was "really important that we focus on where the country is now" following "a difficult time" for Labour since 2019 - and Friday's loss in Hartlepool.

The Labour MP for Wirral South said the party needed to focus on "practical, deliverable policies".

"There are lots of people who will have voted Conservative with a heavy heart - who want there to be an alternative.

"The way to do that is to offer people a set of policies that give them hope for the future, [hope] that we don't live in a one-party Tory state, that things can be better and different.

"There are a lot of results to come in... we've got to keep on going and making sure that our ambition for the country is clear."

Adam Fleming
Chief political correspondent

I’ve been speaking to the left-wing Labour MP Lloyd Russell Moyle, who won the race on Twitter, external to be the first to criticise his leader this morning.

He said Sir Keir Starmer went down well in some parts of the country, but in others he reminded people of Ed Miliband – “uncharismatic and inauthentic.”

He doesn’t think MPs in the Socialist Campaign Group will make a concerted move today - but they are meeting up with fellow left-wingers next week to start work on proposals for radical reform of the party.

This would be either moving towards a federal structure in England - with leaders in cities and regions and a co-ordinator at Westminster - or turning it into a party of parties, such as by allying with the Greens.

The former shadow chancellor, John McDonnell, who served under Jeremy Corbyn, has been talking to the BBC about what went wrong for Labour in Hartlepool.

He said people do tend to rally around the government of the day during a time of national crisis such as the pandemic, but there is a bigger lesson for Labour about the need to set out a coherent vision.

He said: "You cannot go in to an election without any policy programme, without explaining what sort of society you want. You can't send candidates out there naked without policies to advocate."

Image source, Getty Images

BBC political correspondent Phil Sim, external has looked at what could be the ten most closely contested seats in Scotland.

Which parties are targeting them and which candidates might emerge victorious? And how will this impact the national picture?

Glasgow Southside pits two party leaders: the SNP's Nicola Sturgeon and Labour's Anas Sarwar - with Sarwar looking for a swing of historic proportions to take the seat (he's also on the party's regional list so is likely to be returned to Holyrood through that route).

And as former Scottish Conservative party leader Ruth Davidson quits Holyrood who will take over her seat in the capital? And to what extent will the unionist and pro-independence votes prove decisive?

Read on to find out which seats to watch as the counting begins.

Counting has started in Wales and Scotland.

We will get the results from Wales and the bulk of the constituency results in Scotland today, although the final make up of the Scottish Parliament won't be known until Saturday or Sunday.

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Conservatives picking up working class voterspublished at 10:14 British Summer Time 7 May 2021

10:14 BST 7 May 2021

Professor Sir John Curtice
Polling expert

The results so far from the BBC's key wards shows that Leave and working class areas are moving more strongly to the Conservatives than are Remain and more middle class places.

In the most Leave voting areas where the last local elections were in 2016, the swing from Labour to Conservative is averaging 12 points. In contrast, in the most Remain voting areas there is currently hardly any swing to Conservatives at all.

In those wards where the last electoral contest was in 2017, there is a four point swing to the Conservatives in the most pro-Leave areas, but a 5 point swing to Labour in the most pro-Remain wards.

This latter pattern means that we can anticipate some Labour gains in places where the last election was in 2017.

In the most working class wards the swing since 2016 is averaging 12 points, whereas it is only 3 points in more middle class areas.

In wards last contested in 2017, the swing to the Conservatives is 4 points in the most working class areas, while there is a 4 point swing to Labour in the most middle class ones.

These figures illustrate the lack of progress that Labour has made in reconnecting with working class voters since the general election.

Boris Johnson's former adviser Dominic Cummings has tweeted his reaction to this morning's election results:

Here's a round-up of the latest lines:

• The Conservatives have won the Hartlepool by-election, taking the seat from Labour and giving the town a Tory MP for the first time since the seat was created in 1974.
• Jill Mortimer won the seat by almost 7000 votes and a swing from Labour of 16%
• Shadow Labour minister, Steve Reed admits the result is "absolutely shattering"
• The left-wing Momentum group says Starmer's strategy has "comprehensively failed"
• The Conservatives also win control of councils in Northumberland, Harlow, Redditch, Dudley and Nuneaton & Bedworth
• Full results in the Welsh Parliament elections, and some results in the Scottish Parliament elections, are expected later
• Labour has won the mayoral contest in Doncaster, with more mayoral results due later across England

Image source, Reuters

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has left his home this morning, but did not have any comments on the Hartlepool result for the reporters waiting outside.