Reform beats Tories in first three seats declared

The Reform Party has knocked the Tories into third place in the first three seats declared. Nigel Farage's party has polled in second place in the so-called 'red wall' seats and is predicted to take 13 seats in total.

The first new MP was declared to be Bridget Phillipson, who Houghton and Sunderland South for Labour.

The results were:

Bridget Phillipson, Labour - 18,837

Sam Woods-Brass, Reform UK 11,668

Chris Burnicle, Conservative - 5,514

Paul Edgeworth, Lib Dem - 2,290

Richard Bradley, Green Party - 1,723

Next came Blyth and Ashington, which was retained by Labour, again with Reform second. The votes were:

Ian Lavery, Labour - 20,030

Mark Peart, Reform UK - 10,857

Maureen Levy, Conservative - 6,121

Steve Leyland, Green Party - 1,960

Stephen Psallidas, Lib Dems - 1,433

And Labour's Lewis Atkinson has held his seat in Sunderland Central after received 16,852 votes

Reform's Chris Enyon came second, after receiving 10,779 votes.

Conservative Greg Peacock received 5,731 votes and Lib Dem's Niall Hodson had 3,602 votes.

READ NEXT:

Cornwall election results 2024 as they happen

The exit poll predicts Labour landslide victory

Mr Farage has already started celebrating, as his Reform Party is projected to win 13 seats in the 2024 General Election.

Clutching a glass of red wine, Farage speaks to those gathered at a party in his honour. He is expected to win his seat at Clacton-on-Sea.

Reform UK deputy leader David Bull has declared the 2024 General Election a 'historic moment' for his party. "I think what you're seeing is the shy 'Reformers' coming out in droves," he told BBC news.

He said he believes pollsters were "caught off-guard" and that it would be "extraordinary" if Reform UK wins 13 seats tonight.

Lee Taylor, the Reform UK candidate in Richmond and Northallerton, could be seen wandering the floor of the election count wearing the light blue rosette of his party.

Mr Taylor told the PA news agency he always expected to come “second from the beginning”, behind only incumbent Rishi Sunak, describing the contest for the constituency as a “race between myself and Rishi”.

“Labour has never had that many votes in this constituency. When insurgent parties like mine or Ukip come in, they normally beat Labour here,” he said, casting doubt on polling estimates about Labour’s chances.

The Reform candidate added: “The way that Reform UK wins is if Conservative voters swing towards Reform UK.

“It could happen, but as you know it is not just about issues and policies, it is about trust as well, and therefore by employing a speedy election it made it harder for me to gain that trust.”

Mr Taylor also spoke of his novel means of campaigning even in the “far reaches of the constituency”, telling PA a van had been “fashioned and designed” with onboard megaphones and Reform branding to broadcast his electoral message across that part of North Yorkshire.

See all results and updates for Cornwall and nationally in our live blog here.