Summary

  • Keir Starmer says Labour's by-election success in Selby and Ainsty - overturning a 20,000 Tory majority - is a "cry for change"

  • Standing next to new MP Keir Mather, he said: "You voted for change"

  • Meanwhile the Lib Dems' Sarah Dyke has overturned a Conservative majority of 19,000 in Somerton and Frome

  • Party leader Ed Davey, standing in front of a cartoon cannon, says the victory shows that voters are uniting to defeat the Conservatives

  • But Rishi Sunak says the next general election is "not a done deal" after the Tories narrowly held the London seat of Uxbridge and South Ruislip

  • Labour blames their loss in Boris Johnson's former constituency on the expansion of the Ultra Low Emissions Zone (Ulez)

  • Steve Tuckwell won that constituency by 495 votes after a recount

Live Reporting

Edited by Jack Burgess

  1. Coming up... dogs at polling stations

    Managing to combine exercising your pet and your democratic right has passed from something a few people did on polling day to one of the biggest internet tropes of recent years.

    #DogsAtPollingStations trends on Twitter and Instagram each time the UK goes to the polls, and we at BBC News are not immune to the charms of a ballot box Beagle or a democratically-minded Dachshund - as you can see here from 2022 and also in 2021.

    We’ll be keeping a keen eye out for pictures of pooches at polling stations and we’ll bring you some of the highlights here on this page - here's one called Prince, snapped earlier today in Uxbridge, to kick things off.

    A man waits with his dog outside a polling station in UxbridgeEPA

  2. Why can’t we say very much on polling day?

    The BBC, like other broadcasters, is limited in what it can report while the polls are open, meaning details of campaigning or election issues cannot be covered until they close at 22:00 BST.

    Coverage instead tends to focus on giving information that will help voters with the process of going to polling stations.

    The BBC is required by electoral law to adopt a code of practice ensuring fairness between candidates.That code is set by Ofcom, and the details of it can be found here.

  3. What is a by-election?

    A man walks past a polling station sign outside Selby Community Centre in Selby North YorkshirePA Media

    A by-election is the process for electing a new member of Parliament when a seat in the House of Commons becomes vacant outside a general election. This can happen, for example, when an MP dies or resigns, or is convicted of a serious criminal offence. In today’s elections, all of the seats are being contested because an MP resigned.

    A by-election does not have to take place if an MP changes political party.

    During the period before the vote while the seat is empty, an MP of the same party in a neighbouring constituency manages constituency matters.

  4. Welcome to our live coverage

    Heather Sharp
    Live reporter

    Good evening. Polls have been open since 07:00 BST in by-elections to replace MPs in three constituencies in England.

    Voters are heading to polling stations in Selby and Ainsty, Somerton and Frome, and Uxbridge and South Ruislip.

    The UK has strict rules on what broadcasters can report about elections while polls are open.

    But once they close at 22:00 we’ll be covering what’s been happening in more detail and we’ll bring you the results here on this page as they come in later. Stay with us.