Labour holds London but loses in Hartlepool and heartlands

LABOUR leader Sir Keir Starmer completed an unconvincing Shadow Cabinet reshuffle this week after his party suffered yet another difficult election night last Thursday.

The by-election defeat in Hartlepool removed another brick from the Red Wall which Mr Starmer had vowed to rebuild when he took over from Jeremy Corbyn in April 2020. 

Instead, Jill Mortimer became the first Conservative to be elected MP in the County Durham town since 1959 when Cliff Richard was top of the UK Singles' Charts with Living Doll.

Indeed, this result - and many others in council elections around England - shows Labour is still heading backwards at a significant rate in its former heartlands in the north and the midlands.

Labour lost its majorities in County Durham, Sheffield and West Lancashire, while the control of the councils in Harlow and Southampton moved directly from Labour to the Conservatives. 

For a party which has now been in power in Westminster for 11 years, the Tories enjoyed an extraordinarily good night, also gaining control in 14 other areas including Northumberland, Nottinghamshire, and Nuneaton and Bedworth.

Elsewhere, the Conservatives restricted their own losses to just three areas, and all of them to no overall control, rather than directly to Labour. 

This was indeed a defining victory in England for Conservative leader and incumbent Prime Minister Boris Johnson - and proof that the General Election which brought him a majority of 80 in December 2019 had been no fluke.

Of course, Mr Johnson is currently riding the crest of a wave created by a vaccine roll-out which has been among the best in the world and which has allowed restrictions in the UK to be lifted, albeit still cautiously. 

More pertinently for Labour, though, Mr Johnson will simply always hold an advantage over the main opposition party which - even after so long out of power - seems intent on tearing itself apart.

In fairness, it was not all bad news for Labour. Mark Drakeford's Welsh Labour increased the party's seat share in the Senedd, taking exactly half of the 60 seats on offer overall to remain in power. 

Andy Burnham scored a thumping victory in the Manchester mayoral contest while Labour also gained the mayoralities in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, and in the West of England. 

Sadiq Khan retained his position as Mayor of London, albeit on a slightly-reduced vote - and Labour candidate Tracy Brabin will now depart her Westminster seat of Batley and Spen after she convincingly won the newly-created West Yorkshire mayorality.

North of the border, though, it is the Scottish National Party which continues to dominate the political scene after a fourth successive win. 

This time, the SNP took no fewer than 62 of the 73 constituencies - and 64 seats overall - to fall short of a majority by just one.

But that slight shortfall will not worry the SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon as her allies in the Scottish Green Party still gave her a pro-independence majority at Holyrood in any case.

More importantly, Ms Sturgeon can expect that this nod of approval from the Scottish people will close off the most difficult period of her six-and-a-half-year premiership so far. 

Back in March, an independent report found that Ms Sturgeon had not breached the ministerial code during the Scottish government's botched handling of sexual harassment complaints against her predecessor Alec Salmond.

However, a separate inquiry by MSPs has described the government's actions as "deeply flawed", and questioned some of Ms Sturgeon's evidence.

The row between Mr Salmond and Ms Sturgeon began when allegations of sexual harassment - strongly denied - were made against the former leader by two female civil servants in 2018.

Those complaints were made after Ms Sturgeon asked for new government policies on sexual harassment to be put in place in the wake of the #MeToo movement. 

Mr Salmond believed the policy was aimed at him, and the Scottish government eventually admitted it had acted unlawfully with the result that it had to pay his legal fees which totalled more than £500,000.

It did not end there. In January 2019, Mr Salmond was arrested and charged with multiple counts of sexual assault, including attempted rape.

At the trial in March 2020, Mr Salmond was acquitted of all 13 charges - and, in court, he said the claims made about his alleged conduct were "deliberate fabrications for a political purpose", or "exaggerations".

Mr Salmond has since claimed there was a "deliberate, prolonged, malicious and concerted effort" from some in the Scottish government and leading SNP figures to damage him and even have him sent to prison.

However, Ms Sturgeon has accused him of peddling false conspiracy theories and suggested her predecessor is angry because she "did not collude with him" to make the sexual harassment allegations "go away".

Subsequently, in the run-up to these elections, Mr Salmond helped form the Alba Party as a rival independence-supporting front. 

Far from significantly splitting the pro-indy vote, though, Mr Salmond's new outfit polled only 2% and therefore failed to take any seats. 

It feels certain then, with the Brexit process behind us - if not the effects - and with the coronavirus recovery now in full swing, the next chapter of politics will focus on two competing visions of nationalism. 

On the one hand, there is a British version offered by the Union flag-bearing Mr Johnson - and, on the other, a Scottish version offered by the Saltire-spreading Ms Sturgeon. 

All the while, Labour appears destined to remain on the sidelines, hopelessly split into two or more factions, without either fully splitting or, conversely, cobbling together the so-called Progressive Alliance which it clearly now so badly needs.

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ELECTION RESULTS BREAKDOWN

• HARTLEPOOL •	LAB	CON	LDM	GRN	OTH	ELECTED MP
By-election	28.7%	51.9%	1.2%	1.2%	17.0%	Jill Mortimer (CON)
Change	(-9.0%)	(+23.0%)	(-2.9%)	(+1.2%)	(+12.3%)

Conservative gain from Labour

🗳️

• ENGLAND •	CON	LAB	LDM	GRN	OTH	NOC
Councils	63	44	7	0	0	29
	+13	-8	+1	-	-	-6
Councillors	2345	1345	586	151	308
	+235	-326	+7	+88	-4
Projected National Share	36%	29%	17%		18%
	(+8%)	(+1%)	(-2%)		(-7%)

• UNITARY AUTHORITIES AND METROPOLITAN BOROUGHS
• Conservatives
Buckinghamshire - Cornwall - Dudley - North East Lincolnshire - North Northamptonshire - Northumberland - Shropshire - Solihull - Southampton - Swindon - Thurrock - Walsall - West Northamptonshire - Wiltshire - Wokingham
• Labour
Barnsley - Bradford - Bury - Calderdale - Coventry - Doncaster - Gateshead - Halton - Knowsley - Leeds - Liverpool - Manchester - Newcastle upon Tyne - North Tyneside - Oldham - Rochdale - Rotherham - Salford - Sandwell - Sefton - South Tyneside - St Helens - Sunderland - Tameside - Trafford - Wakefield - Warrington - Wigan - Wolverhampton
• No Overall Control
Bolton - Bristol - County Durham - Derby - Hartlepool - Isle of Wight - Kirklees - Milton Keynes - Peterborough - Plymouth - Portsmouth - Sheffield - Southend - Stockport - Wirral

• COUNTY COUNCILS
• Conservatives
Derbyshire - Devon - East Sussex - Essex - Gloucestershire - Hampshire - Hertfordshire - Kent - Lancashire - Leicestershire - Lincolnshire - Norfolk - Nottinghamshire - Staffordshire - Suffolk - Surrey - Warwickshire - West Sussex - Worcestershire
• No Overall Control
Cambridgeshire - Oxfordshire

• DISTRICT COUNCILS
• Conservatives
Adur - Amber Valley - Basildon - Basingstoke and Deane - Brentwood - Broxbourne - Cannock Chase - Cherwell - Epping Forest - Fareham - Gloucester - Gosport - Harlow - Havant - Maidstone - Nuneaton and Bedworth - Pendle - Redditch - Reigate and Banstead - Rochford - Rugby - Runnymede - Rushmoor - Tamworth - Welwyn Hatfield - West Oxfordshire - Worcester - Worthing
• Labour
Cambridge - Chorley - Exeter - Hastings - Hyndburn - Ipswich - Lincoln - Norwich - Oxford - Preston - Stevenage
• Liberal Democrats
Cheltenham - Eastleigh - Mole Valley - St Albans - Three Rivers - Watford - Winchester
• Independent
Castle Point
• No Overall Control
Burnley - Colchester - Crawley - Elmbridge - Hart - Norther Hertfordshire - Rossendale - Stroud - Tandridge - Tunbridge Wells - West Lancashire - Woking 

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• LONDON •	CON	LAB	GRN	LDM	UKIP	OTH
Constituency	5	9	0	0	0	0
	0	0	0	0	0	0
Votes	32.0%	41.7%	13.0%	10.3%		3.1%
	(+1.0%)	(-1.9%)	(+3.9%)	(+2.8%)		(-5.8%)
Region	4	2	3	2	0	0
	+1	-1	+1	+1	-2	0
Votes	30.7%	38.1%	11.8%	7.3%	1.0%	11.1%
	(+1.5%)	(-2.2%)	(+3.8%)	(+1.0%)	(-5.5%)	(+1.4%)
TOTAL	9	11	3	2	0	0
	+1	-1	+1	+1	-2	-

Labour (11/25) is two seats short of a majority

• CONSTITUENCY SEATS
• Conservatives 5
Bexley and Bromley - Croydon and Sutton - Havering and Redbridge - South West - West Central
• Labour 9
Barnet and Camden - Brent and Harrow - City and East - Ealing and Hillingdon - Enfield and Haringey - Greenwich and Lewisham - Lambeth and Southwark - Merton and Wandsworth - North East

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• SCOTLAND •	SNP	CON	LAB	GRN	LDM	OTH
Constituency	62	5	2	0	4	0
	+3	-2	-1	0	0	0
Votes	47.7%	21.9%	21.6%	1.3%	6.9%	0.6%
	(+1.2%)	(-0.1%)	(-1.0%)	(+0.7%)	(-0.9%)	(+0.1%)
Region	2	26	20	8	0	0
	-2	+2	-1	+2	-1	0
Votes	40.3%	23.5%	17.9%	8.1%	5.1%	5.1%
	(-1.4%)	(+0.6%)	(-1.2%)	(+1.5%)	(-0.1%)	(+0.6%)
TOTAL	64	31	22	8	4	0
	+1	-	-2	+2	-1	-

Scottish National Party (64/129) is one seat short of a majority

• CONSTITUENCY SEATS
• Scottish National Party 62
Aberdeen Central - Aberdeen Donside - Aberdeen South and North Kincardine - Aberdeenshire East - Airdrie and Shotts - Almond Valley - Angus North and Mearns - Angus South - Argyll and Bute - Ayr - Banffshire & Buchan Coast - Caithness, Sutherland and Ross - Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley - Clackmannanshire and Dunblane - Clydebank and Milngavie - Clydesdale - Coatbridge and Chryston - Cowdenbeath - Cumbernauld and Kilsyth - Cunninghame North - Cunninghame South - Dundee City East - Dundee City West - Dunfermline - East Kilbride - East Lothian - Edinburgh Central - Edinburgh Eastern - Edinburgh Northern and Leith - Edinburgh Pentlands - Falkirk East - Falkirk West - Glasgow Anniesland - Glasgow Cathcart - Glasgow Kelvin - Glasgow Maryhill and Springburn - Glasgow Pollok - Glasgow Provan - Glasgow Shettleston - Glasgow Southside - Greenock and Inverclyde - Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse - Inverness and Nairn - Kilmarnock and Irvine Valley - Kirkcaldy - Linlithgow - Mid Fife and Glenrothes - Midlothian North and Musselburgh - Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale - Moray - Motherwell and Wishaw - Na h-Eileanan an Iar - Paisley - Perthshire North - Perthshire South and Kinross-shire - Renfrewshire North and West - Renfrewshire South - Rutherglen - Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch - Stirling - Strathkelvin and Bearsden - Uddingston and Bellshill
• Conservatives 5
Aberdeenshire West - Dumfriesshire - Eastwood - Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire - Galloway and West Dumfries
• Liberal Democrats 4
Edinburgh Western - North East Fife - Orkney - Shetland
• Labour 2
Dumbarton - Edinburgh Southern

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• WALES •	LAB	CON	PC	LDM	GRN	OTH
Constituency	27	8	5	0	0	0
	0	+2	-1	-1	0	0
Votes	39.9%	26.1%	20.3%	4.9%	1.6%	7.2%
	(+5.2%)	(+5.0%)	(-0.2%)	(-2.8%)	(-0.9%)	(-6.3%)
Region	3	8	8	1	0	0
	+1	+3	+2	+1	0	-7
Votes	36.2%	25.1%	20.7%	4.3%	4.4%	9.3%
	(+4.7%)	(+6.3%)	(-0.1%)	(-2.2%)	(+1.4%)	(-10.1%)
TOTAL	30	16	13	1	0	0
	+1	+5	+1	-	-	-7

Labour (30/60) is one seat short of a majority

• CONSTITUENCY SEATS
• Labour 27
Aberavon - Alyn and Deeside - Blaenau Gwent - Bridgend - Caerphilly - Cardiff Central - Cardiff North - Cardiff South and Penarth - Cardiff West - Clwyd South - Cynon Valley - Delyn - Gower - Islwyn - Llanelli - Mertyhr Tydfil and Rhymney - Neath - Newport East - Newport West - Ogmore - Pontypridd - Rhondda - Swansea East - Swansea West - Torfaen - Vale of Glamorgan - Wrexham
• Conservatives 8
Aberconwy - Brecon and Radnorshire - Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire - Clwyd West  - Monmouth - Montgomeryshire - Preseli Pembrokeshire - Vale of Clwyd
• Plaid Cymru 5
Arfon - Carmarthen East and Dinefwr - Ceredigion - Dwyfor Meirionnydd - Ynys Mon

🗳️

• ELECTED MAYORS •	LAB	CON	LDM	GRN	OTH	ELECTED MAYOR
[1] LONDON	55.2%	44.8%				Sadiq Khan (LAB)
[2] Bristol	56.5%	43.5%				Marvis Rees (LAB)
[3] Cambridgeshire & Peterborough	51.3%	48.7%				Nik Johnson (LAB gain)
[4] Doncaster	59.8%	40.2%				Ros Jones (LAB)
[5] Greater Manchester	67.3%	19.6%	3.2%	4.4%	5.5%	Andy Burnham (LAB)
[6] Liverpool	59.2%	40.8%				Joanne Anderson (LAB)
[7] Liverpool City Region	58.3%	19.6%	10.3%	11.8%		Steve Rotheram (LAB)
[8] North Tyneside	53.3%	31.2%	5.7%	6.9%	2.8%	Norma Redfearn (LAB)
[9] Salford	59.0%	23.4%	3.3%	8.8%	5.5%	Paul Dennett (LAB)
[10] Tees Valley	27.2%	72.8%				Ben Houchen (CON)
[11] West Midlands	46.0%	54.0%				Andy Street (CON)
[12] West Yorkshire	61.5%	38.5%				Tracy Brabin (LAB)
[13] West of England	59.5%	40.5%				Dan Norris (LAB gain)

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• POLICE COMMISSIONERS •	LAB	CON	LDM		OTH	ELECTED
[1] Avon & Somerset	47.6%	52.4%				Mark Shelford (CON gain)
[2] Bedfordshire	45.9%	54.1%				Festus Akinbusoye (CON)
[3] Cambridgeshire	47.3%	52.7%				Darryl Preston (CON)
[4] Cheshire	47.0%	53.0%				John Dwyer (CON gain)
[5] Cleveland	28.9%	54.2%	4.8%		12.2%	Steve Turner (CON gain)
[6] Cumbria	26.1%	53.6%	20.4%			Peter McCall (CON)
[7] Derbyshire	44.0%	56.0%				Angelique Foster (CON gain)
[8] Devon & Cornwall	34.8%	65.2%				Alison Hernandez (CON)
[9] Dorset	38.2%	61.8%				David Sidwick (CON gain)
[10] Durham	51.0%	49.0%				Joy Allen (LAB)
[11] Dyfed-Powys		45.0%			55.0%	Dafydd Llywelyn (PC)
[12] Essex	22.9%	54.0%	13.3%		9.8%	Roger Hirst (CON)
[13] Gloucestershire		60.4%	39.6%			Chris Nelson (CON gain)
[14] Gwent	60.5%	39.5%				Jeff Cuthbert (LAB)
[15] Hampshire	31.8%	68.2%				Donna Jones (CON)
[16] Hertfordshire	44.7%	55.3%				David Lloyd (CON)
[17] Humberside	47.4%	52.6%				Jonathan Evison (CON gain)
[18] Kent	25.3%	57.8%	17.0%			Matthew Scott (CON)
[19] Lancashire	48.7%	51.3%				Andrew Snowden (CON gain)
[20] Leicestershire	43.0%	57.0%				Rupert Matthews (CON gain)
[21] Lincolnshire	20.0%	59.9%	5.9%		14.2%	Marc Jones (CON)
[22] Merseyside	56.9%	22.9%	16.5%		3.7%	Emily Spurrell (LAB)
[23] Norfolk	36.7%	63.3%				Giles Orpen-Smellie (CON)
[24] Northamptonshire	27.5%	53.2%	15.3%		4.0%	Stephen Mold (CON)
[25] Northumbria	59.6%	41.4%				Kim McGuinness (LAB)
[26] North Wales	52.1%	47.9%				Andy Dunbobbin (LAB gain)
[27] North Yorkshire	39.0%	61.0%				Philip Arlott (CON)
[28] Nottinghamshire	48.6%	51.4%				Caroline Henry (CON gain)
[29] South Wales	63.8%	36.2%				Alun Michael (LAB)
[30] South Yorkshire	53.9%	32.2%	13.8%			Alan Billings (LAB)
[31] Staffordshire	27.5%	55.7%	4.4%		10.1%	Benedict Adams (CON)
[32] Suffolk	23.0%	54.7%	8.7%		13.6%	Tim Passmore (CON)
[33] Surrey	42.0%	58.0%				Lisa Townsend (CON)
[34] Sussex	34.4%	65.6%				Katy Bourne (CON)
[35] Thames Valley	42.7%	57.3%				Matthew Barber (CON)
[36] Warwickshire	27.7%	52.1%	16.2%		4.0%	Philip Seccombe (CON)
[37] West Mercia	24.0%	55.3%	15.7%		5.0%	John-Paul Campion (CON)
[38] West Midlands	53.7%	46.3%				Simon Foster (LAB)
[39] Wiltshire	36.7%	63.3%				NONE - by-election required

Johnson's Conservatives crush Corbyn's Labour in General Election

GENERAL ELECTION 2019

Conservative majority of 80

	SCOREBOARD	Seats	Diff	Votes%	Diff%
•	Conservatives	365	(+48)	43.6	(+1.2)
•	Labour	203	(-60)	32.1	(-7.9)
•	Lib Dems	11	(-1)	11.6	(+4.2)
•	Scottish Nationals	48	(+13)	3.9	(+0.8)
•	Green Party	1	(-)	2.7	(+1.1)
•	Brexit Party	-	(-)	2.0	(+2.0)
•	Democratic Unionists	8	(-2)	0.8	(-0.1)
•	Plaid Cymru	4	(-)	0.5	(-)
•	Others	10	(+2)	2.8

Turnout 67.3%

EXIT POLL • CON 368 • LAB 191 • LD 13 • OTH 78  • Conservative majority of 86

BORIS JOHNSON received a huge mandate for his promise to "get Brexit done" as the Conservatives crushed Labour in its heartlands in the north, the Midlands and Wales to gain a comfortable majority of 80.
 
On a catastrophic night for Jeremy Corbyn, the Tories took seats such as Blyth Valley, Bishop Auckland, Sedgefield, West Bromwich West, and Wrexham, all of which had been Labour-held since 1935.
 

Leigh - the former seat of Andy Burnham, the current Mayor of Manchester - had been a Labour stalwart since 1922 but has now returned a Conservative MP.

It was a picture repeated all over the country throughout the night from early on when the Blyth Valley result came through just after 11.30pm.

The Sedgefield result - a constituency previously represented for 24 years by former Prime Minister Tony Blair - came in around four hours later.

Well before that, the exit poll at 10pm - giving a Conservative majority of 86 - had caused its usual stir and ultimately proved to be just about as accurate as it was in 2017 when Theresa May lost her majority.

This time, Labour lost by some ridiculous margins in supposedly solid seats and so was also defeated in many other places which had never previously come under consideration for the Tories.

Bassetlaw in Nottinghamshire provided the biggest successful swing of the night - 18% - as the Conservatives ended a history of Labour control which stretched back to 1929.

Meanwhile, in neighbouring Derbyshire, 87-year-old Dennis Skinner lost Bolsover after representing the area for just short of half a century.

Indeed, it is perhaps difficult to quantify fully what a horror show this election was for Labour on Friday 13th. It really was the nightmare before Christmas for the party.

The unashamedly pro-Remain Liberal Democrats - who stood on a platform of revoking Article 50 - had a similarly poor night following a lacklustre campaign.

Their eventually tally of 11 seats was one fewer than last time as leader Jo Swinson lost her own Dunbartonshire East seat to the Scottish National Party.

Few tears around the country will have been shed for her on either side of the political divide.

The Scottish Nationalists have plenty to smile about, though. Having regressed somewhat in 2017, Nicola Sturgeon's party augmented their already dominant position north of the border.

It may well take another big win in the Scottish Parliament elections in 2021 to transform their dream into reality - but, while Mr Johnson might not like to hear it, the question surrounding Scottish independence is certainly not going to disappear anytime soon.

At least this election has appears to have provided a solution to the Brexit quandary which has stalled the country since the vote to leave the European Union three-and-a-half years ago.

Still, though, Mr Johnson has been re-elected to a country which is in dire need of investment in its public services while Brexit finally gets sorted.

In fairness, the Tories have pledged to reverse some of the damaging cuts made during the post-2010 period of austerity in terms of nurses and police officers, even if they have been rather economical with the truth regarding the actual numbers.

And therein lies the problem, really. Mr Johnson has won this election in spite of his poor personal ratings, aided by the fact that Mr Corbyn's popularity was, of course, worse still.

On the question of trust, Mr Johnson rated woefully - which must surely come as no surprise to a man who has literally been sacked from top jobs for lying - twice.

But Mr Corbyn ultimately had more historical mud which stuck - and, having been an asset to his party when still relatively unknown at a national level in 2017, he was equally a liability for Labour this time.

Labour's vote went down all across the UK - in both strongly Remain and Leave seats - so, while this was a Brexit election, the party must come to accept that Brexit was not the only reason for its defeat.

A period of introspection now follows for the Opposition - might the party have done better with the same manifesto with someone more popular fronting the campaign?

Or if Labour risked replacing Mr Corbyn with a more centrist outlook, how much of its fanatical membership will the party lose - and how many votes might it win back?

Instinctively, it does not feel as if it is going to be pretty either way - and, in the last few years, Labour has given the impression that it specialises in mass infighting.

In any case, the next leadership election will merely provide a potentially messy sideshow to the early decisions of the Johnson government.

Finally, for now, a word on the media - specifically the BBC - which, by any standards, had a wretched campaign from the start.

After a dishevelled Mr Johnson made a mess of placing a red wreath at the Cenotaph, ahead of the silence on Remembrance Sunday, BBC Breakfast instead showed footage of him in much smarter dress placing a green wreath in 2016 when he was Foreign Secretary.

Then there was the rather more serious matter of the BBC editing a clip for its main bulletin to cut out the audience laughter at the Prime Minister during the party leaders' Question Time, after he was asked whether he believed it was important to tell the truth. The edited clip showed only applause.

Now, only the most ardent Corbynite would suggest that the poor editorial decisions of the BBC was truly the reason why the Conservatives have enjoyed so much success in this election at the expense of Labour.

But, in a world ravaged by fake news on social media and newspapers in the traditional media which stick rigidly to their own agenda, it would be difficult to suggest the BBC in any way provided a much better service.

Sky News is now widely available in the UK on Freeview, not just by subscription - and, out of the clutches of Rupert Murdoch, appears to provide a genuinely more balanced output. 

Certainly, it must be said the BBC cannot consider itself to be the almost untouchable national institution which it once was.

GENERAL ELECTION 2019

REGION-BY-REGION

NORTH EAST ENGLAND

• Conservative

Berwick-upon-Tweed - Hexham - Middlesbrough South & East Cleveland | Gains: Bishop Auckland, Blyth Valley, Darlington, North West Durham, Redcar, Sedgefield, Stockton South

• Labour

Blaydon - City of Durham - North Durham - Easington - Gateshead - Hartlepool - Houghton & Sunderland South - Jarrow - Middlesbrough - Newcastle upon Tyne Central - Newcastle upon Tyne East - Newcastle upon Tyne North - South Shields - Stockton North - Sunderland Central - Tynemouth - North Tyneside - Wansbeck - Washington & Sunderland West

NORTH WEST ENGLAND

• Conservative

Altrincham & Sale West - Blackpool North & Cleveleys - Bolton West - Carlisle - Cheadle - Congleton - Copeland - Eddisbury - Fylde - Hazel Grove - Macclesfield - Morecambe & Lunesdale - Pendle - Penrith & The Border - Ribble Valley - Rossendale & Darwen - South Ribble - Southport - Tatton - Wyre & Preston North | Gains: Barrow & Furness - Blackpool South, Bolton North East, Burnley, Bury North, Bury South, Crewe & Nantwich, Heywood & Middleton, Hyndburn, Leigh, Warrington South, Workington

• Labour

Ashton Under Lyne - Birkenhead - Blackburn - Blackley & Broughton - Bolton South East - Bootle -  City of Chester - Denton & Reddish - Ellesmere Port & Neston - Garston & Halewood - Halton - Knowsley - Lancashire West - Lancaster & Fleetwood - Liverpool Riverside - Liverpool Walton - Liverpool Wavertree - Liverpool West Derby - Makerfield - Manchester Central - Manchester Gorton - Manchester Withington - Oldham East & Saddleworth - Oldham West & Royton - Preston - Rochdale - St Helens North - St Helens South & Whiston - Salford & Eccles - Sefton Central - Stalybridge & Hyde - Stockport - Stretford & Urmston - Wallasey - Warrington North - Weaver Vale - Wigan - Wirral South - Wirral West - Worsley & Eccles South - Wythenshawe & Sale East

• Liberal Democrats

Westmorland & Lonsdale

• Speaker

Chorley

YORKSHIRE & HUMBER

• Conservative

Beverley & Holderness - Brigg & Goole - Calder Valley - Cleethorpes - Elmet & Rothwell - Haltemprice & Howden - Harrogate & Knaresborough - Morley & Outwood - Pudsey - Richmond - Scarborough & Whitby - Selby & Ainsty - Shipley - Skipton & Ripon - Thirsk & Malton - York Outer - East Yorkshire | Gains: Colne Valley, Dewsbury, Don Valley, Great Grimsby, Keighley, Penistone & Stocksbridge, Rother Valley, Scunthorpe, Wakefield

• Labour

Barnsley Central - Barnsley East - Batley & Spen - Bradford East - Bradford South - Bradford West - Doncaster Central - Doncaster North - Halifax - Hemsworth - Huddersfield - Kingston-upon-Hull East - Kingston-upon-Hull North - Kingston-upon-Hull West & Hessle - Leeds Central - Leeds East - Leeds North East - Leeds North West - Leeds West - Normanton, Pontefract & Castleford - Rotherham - Sheffield Brightside & Hillsborough - Sheffield Central - Sheffield Hallam - Sheffield Heeley - Sheffield South East - Wentworth & Dearne - York Central

EAST MIDLANDS

• Conservative

Amber Valley - Boston & Skegness - Bosworth - Broxtowe - Charnwood - Corby - Daventry - Derbyshire Dales - Mid Derbyshire - North East Derbyshire - South Derbyshire - Erewash - Gainsborough - Grantham & Stamford - Harborough - Kettering - North West Leicestershire - South Leicestershire - Loughborough - Louth & Horncastle - Mansfield - Newark - Northampton North - Northampton South - South Northamptonshire - Rushcliffe - Rutland & Melton - Sherwood - Sleaford & North Hykeham - South Holland & The Deepings - Wellingborough | Gains: Ashfield, Bassetlaw, Bolsover, Derby North, Gedling, High Peak, Lincoln

• Labour

Chesterfield - Derby South - Leicester East - Leicester South - Leicester West - Nottingham East - Nottingham North - Nottingham South

WEST MIDLANDS

• Conservative

Aldridge-Brownhills - Bromsgrove - Burton - Cannock Chase - Dudley South - Halesowen & Rowley Regis - Hereford & South Herefordshire - North Herefordshire - Kenilworth & Southam - Lichfield - Ludlow - Meriden - Nuneaton - Redditch - Rugby - Shrewsbury & Atcham - North Shropshire - Solihull - Stafford - Staffordshire Moorlands - South Staffordshire - Stoke-on-Trent South - Stone - Stourbridge - Stratford-on-Avon - Sutton Coldfield - Tamworth - Telford - North Warwickshire - Worcester - Mid Worcestershire | Gains: Birmingham Northfield, Dudley North, Newcastle-under-Lyme, Stoke-on-Trent Central, Stoke-on-Trent North, West Bromwich East, West Bromwich West, Wolverhampton North East, Wolverhampton South West

• Labour

Birmingham Edgbaston - Birmingham Erdington - Birmingham Hall Green - Birmingham Hodge Hill - Birmingham Ladywood - Birmingham Perry Barr - Birmingham Selly Oak - Birmingham Yardley - Coventry North East - Coventry North West - Coventry South - Walsall North - Walsall South - Warley - Warwick & Leamington - Wolverhampton South East

EAST ENGLAND

• Conservative

Basildon & Billericay - South Basildon & East Thurrock - Mid Bedfordshire - North East Bedfordshire - South West Bedfordshire - Braintree - Brentwood & Ongar - Broadland - Broxbourne - Bury St Edmunds - North East Cambridgeshire - North West Cambridgeshire - South Cambridgeshire - South East Cambridgeshire - Castle Point - Chelmsford - Clacton - Colchester - Epping Forest - Great Yarmouth - Harlow - Harwich & North Essex - Hemel Hempstead - Hertford & Stortford - North East Hertfordshire - South West Hertfordshire - Hertsmere - Hitchin & Harpenden - Huntingdon - Maldon - Mid Norfolk - North West Norfolk - South Norfolk - South West Norfolk - Norwich North - Rayleigh & Wickford - Rochford & Southend East - Saffron Walden - Southend West - Stevenage - Central Suffolk & Ipswich North - Suffolk Coastal - South Suffolk - West Suffolk - Thurrock - Watford - Waveney - Welwyn Hatfield - Witham | Gains: Ipswich, North Norfolk, Peterborough

• Labour

Bedford - Cambridge - Luton North - Luton South - Norwich South

• Liberal Democrats 
Gains: St Albans

SOUTH EAST ENGLAND

• Conservative

Aldershot - Arundel & South Downs - Ashford - Aylesbury - Banbury - Basingstoke - Beaconsfield - Bexhill & Battle - Bognor Regis & Littlehampton - Bracknell - Buckinghamshire - Chatham & Aylesford - Chesham & Amersham - Chichester - Crawley - Dartford - Dover - Eastleigh - Epsom & Ewell - Esher & Walton - Fareham - Faversham & Mid Kent - Folkestone & Hythe - Gillingham & Rainham - Gosport - Gravesham - Guildford - East Hampshire - North East Hampshire - North West Hampshire - Hastings & Rye - Havant - Henley - Horsham - Isle of Wight - Lewes - Maidenhead - Maidstone & The Weald - Meon Valley - Milton Keynes North - Milton Keynes South - Mole Valley - New Forest East - New Forest West - Newbury - Portsmouth North - Reading West - Reigate - Rochester & Strood - Romsey & Southampton North - Runnymede & Weybridge - Sevenoaks - Sittingbourne & Sheppey - Southampton Itchen - Spelthorne - East Surrey - Surrey Heath - South West Surrey - Mid Sussex - North Thanet - South Thanet - Tonbridge & Malling - Tunbridge Wells - Wantage - Wealden - Winchester - Windsor - Witney - Woking - Wokingham - Worthing East & Shoreham - Worthing West - Wycombe | Gains: Eastbourne

• Labour

Brighton Kemptown - Canterbury - Hove - Oxford East - Portsmouth South - Reading East - Slough - Southampton Test

• Liberal Democrats

Oxford West and Abingdon

• Green
Brighton Pavilion 

LONDON

• Conservative

Beckenham - Bexleyheath & Crayford - Bromley & Chislehurst - Chelsea & Fulham - Chingford & Woodford Green - Chipping Barnet - Cities of London & Westminster - Croydon South - Finchley & Golders Green - Harrow East - Hendon - Hornchurch & Upminster - Old Bexley & Sidcup - Orpington - Putney - Romford - Ruislip, Northwood & Pinner - Richmond Park - Sutton & Cheam - Uxbridge & Ruislip South - Wimbledon | Gains: Carshalton & Wallington, Kensington

• Labour

Barking - Battersea - Bermondsey & Old Southwark - Bethnal Green & Bow - Brentford & Isleworth - Brent Central - Brent North - Camberwell & Peckham - Croydon Central - Croydon North - Dagenham & Rainham - Dulwich & West Norwood - Ealing Central & Acton - Ealing North - Ealing Southall - East Ham - Edmonton - Eltham - Enfield North - Enfield Southgate - Erith & Thamesmead - Feltham & Heston - Greenwich & Woolwich - Hackney North & Stoke Newington - Hackney South & Shoreditch - Hammersmith - Hampstead & Kilburn - Harrow West - Hayes & Harlington - Holborn & St Pancras - Hornsey & Wood Green - Ilford North - Ilford South - Islington North - Islington South & Finsbury - Lewisham Deptford - Lewisham East - Lewisham West & Penge - Leyton & Wantstead - Mitcham & Morden - Poplar & Limehouse - Streatham - Tooting - Tottenham - Vauxhall - Walthamstow - West Ham - Westminster North | Gains: Putney

• Liberal Democrats

Carshalton & Wallington - Kingston & Surbiton - Twickenham | Gains: Richmond Park

SOUTH WEST ENGLAND

• Conservative

Bournemouth East - Bournemouth West - Bridgwater & Somerset West - Camborne & Redruth - Cheltenham - Chippenham - Christchurch - North Cornwall - South East Cornwall - The Cotswolds - Devizes - Central Devon - East Devon - North Devon - South West Devon - West Devon and Torridge - Mid Dorset and North Poole - North Dorset - South Dorset - West Dorset - Filton & Bradley Stoke - Forest of Dean - Gloucester - Kingswood - Newton Abbot - Plymouth Moor View - Poole - St Austell & Newquay - St Ives - Salisbury - North Somerset - North East Somerset - Somerton & Frome - North Swindon - South Swindon - Taunton Deane - Tewkesbury - Thornbury & Yate - Tiverton & Honiton - Torbay - Totnes - Truro & Falmouth - Wells - Weston-Super-Mare - North Wiltshire - South West Wiltshire - Yeovil | Gains: Stroud

• Labour

Bristol East - Bristol North West - Bristol South - Bristol West - Exeter - Plymouth Sutton & Devonport

• Liberal Democrats

Bath

SCOTLAND

• Conservative

Aberdeenshire West & Kincardine - Banff & Buchan - Berwickshire, Roxburgh & Selkirk - Dumfries & Galloway - Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale & Tweeddale - Moray

• Labour
Edinburgh South

• Scottish National Party

Aberdeen North - Airdree & Shotts - Argyll & Bute - Ayrshire Central - Ayrshire North & Arran - Cumbernauld, Kilsyth & Kirkintilloch East  - West Dunbartonshire - Dundee East - Dundee West - Dunfermline & West Fife - East Kilbride, Strathaven & Lesmahagow - Edinburgh East - Edinburgh North & Leith - Edinburgh South West - Falkirk - Glasgow Central - Glasgow East - Glasgow North  - Glasgow North West - Glasgow South - Glasgow South West - Glenrothes - Inverclyde - Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch & Strathspey - Kilmarnock & Loudoun - Lanark & Hamilton East - Linlithgow & Falkirk East - Livingston - Motherwell & Wishaw - Na h-Eileanan an lar - Paisley & Renfrewshire North - Paisley & Renfrewshire South - Perth & North Perthshire - Ross, Sky & Lochaber | Gains: Aberdeen South, Angus, Ayr-Carrick & Cumnock, Coatbridge-Chryston & Belshill, East Dunbartonshire, East Lothian, East Renfewshire, Glasgow North East, Gordon, Kirkcaldy & Cowdenbeath, Midlothian, Ochil & South Perthshire, Rutherglen & Hamilton West, Stirling

• Liberal Democrats

Caithness, Sutherland & Easter Ross - Edinburgh West - Orkney & Shetland | Gains: North East Fife

WALES

• Conservative

Aberconwy - Brecon & Radnorshire - Carmarthen West & South Pembrokeshire - Clwyd West - Monmouth - Montgomeryshire - Preseli Pembrokeshire - Vale of Glamorgan | Gains: Bridgend, Clwyd South, Delyn, Vale of Clwyd, Wrexham, Ynys Mon

• Labour

Aberavon - Alyn & Deeside - Blaenau Gwent - Caerphilly - Cardiff Central - Cardiff North - Cardiff South & Penarth - Cardiff West - Cynon Valley - Gower - Islwyn - Llanelli - Merthyr Tydfil & Rhymney - Neath - Newport East - Newport West - Ogmore - Pontypridd - Rhondda - Swansea East - Swansea West - Torfaen

• Plaid Cymru

Arfon - Carmarthen East & Dinefwr - Ceredigion - Dwyfor Meirionnydd  

NORTHERN IRELAND

• Democratic Unionists
Belfast East - East Antrim - East Londonderry - Lagan Valley - North Antrim - South Antrim - Strangford - Upper Bann 

• Sinn Fein

Belfast West - Fermanagh & South Tyrone - Mid Ulster - Newry & Armagh - South Down - West Tyrone | Gains: Belfast North

• SDLP 
Gains: Belfast South, Foyle 

• Alliance
Gains: North Down

Election 2017: Young hearts run free as May clings on

GENERAL ELECTION

Preview - Results - Review

OVERALL SUMMARY

CON	318 (-13)	42.4% (+5.5%)
LAB	262 (+30)	40.0% (+9.5%)
SNP	35 (-21)	3.0% (-1.7%)
LD	12 (+4)	7.4% (-0.5%)
DUP	10 (+2)	0.9% (+0.3%)
Others	13	6.3%

RESULT CON minority government 
Turnout 68.7% (+2.6%)

THERESA MAY has desperately clung onto her position as Prime Minister following a failed gamble on another dramatic General Election night.

Mrs May's Conservatives won the most votes and most seats in Thursday's poll but they fell short of retaining even the narrow majority which they had previously held.

Consequently, Mrs May has been forced into doing a deal with the Democratic Unionist Party who won 10 seats in Northern Ireland, though it is only a loose arrangement and not a formal coalition.

Certainly, it is not the strong and stable government which Mrs May had set her heart on when she called the election seven weeks ago.

In all, the Tories lost a net total of 23 seats against Labour in England and Wales, and only gains from the Scottish Nationalists provided any solace.

The SNP had won 56 out of the 59 Westminster seats in 2015 but, with their own record in the devolved Holyrood government to defend, they were always likely to go backwards.

Indeed, Nicola Sturgeon's party lost 13% of their previous share of the vote in Scotland, resulting in almost 40% of their MPs being unseated.

The defeated included their former party leader Alec Salmond in Gordon and Angus Robertson, who had been their leader in the House of Commons during the last Parliament.

But the biggest name of the night to lose his seat was former Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg who finally got his comeuppance as Labour gained Sheffield Hallam from the Liberal Democrats.

Despite this, the Lib Dems at least had a mixed night, rather than a totally disastrous one. 

There were modest gains in Scotland at the expense of the SNP and in London against the Conservatives as former ministers Vince Cable, Ed Davey and Jo Swinson all returned to Parliament.

Overall, though, the party's vote share was down slightly, and there was little sign of a revival in their former heartland in south west England.

Elsewhere, Green Party co-leader Caroline Lucas defied a slight decrease in her party's overall vote to retain her Brighton Pavilion seat.

However, the UKIP vote collapsed massively just about everywhere, down from 12.6% to just 1.8%. 

Paul Nuttall was humiliated in the Boston and Skegness constituency, taking only just over 3,000 votes, and he became the only party leader - so far - to resign.

At the time of writing, Mrs May has not followed suit despite this having been a huge personal humiliation for her.

After all, just a few weeks ago, the polls suggested that she was on course for the massive landslide victory which she craved heading into the Brexit negotiations.

In Jeremy Corbyn, she faced a supposed relic of an opponent, a man who had struggled to keep his party united during the course of his leadership.

But, with the launch of the manifestos, the tone of the campaign changed. 

The Conservatives' policy on social care became dubbed the dementia tax and, generally, the discussion moved away from Brexit and towards the provision of services.

Historically stronger ground for Labour, Mr Corbyn was able to point out that - even after seven years of austerity - Mrs May was set to make even more cuts.

Worse still in the eyes of many of the public, the Tories did not even appear to be prepared to defend their policy positions.

For, while Mr Corbyn toured the country holding mass rallies, Mrs May organised small private events with a particularly memorable instance of her hiding away coming in a barn in Aberdeenshire.

Rarely can there ever have been a lazier, more arrogant, more insulting campaign in a General Election in Britain.

Terrorist attacks in Manchester and London, which killed a combined total of 30 people, naturally left a sombre backdrop to the election, and campaigning was briefly suspended twice.

But, on its resumption, Mr Corbyn went straight back on the offensive, criticising Mrs May for cutting police numbers during her six-year tenure as Home Secretary.

Suddenly, it was Mrs May who was having to defend her political past - and there is a certain further irony in her eventual deal with the DUP.

The DUP's past links with loyalist paramilitary groups are more well-founded than anything connecting Mr Corbyn to the IRA - and yet, as it stands, their 10 MPs now hold a significant stake in determining Britain's future.

That, of course, includes the Brexit negotiations. There, a diminished Mrs May, previously a Remainer herself, will head to the table aware that she only retains any sort of power courtesy of MPs from Scotland and Northern Ireland, areas which both voted to stay in the EU.

Already, the lack of authority which Mrs May commands, even within her own party, has been exposed by the resignation today of her two top aides Nick Timothy and Fiona Hill.

But, rather than shoring up Mrs May, their departure undoubtedly makes her weaker still - and, far from delivering her a massive landslide majority, this whole election has turned into a complete mess.

By contrast, things are looking up for Labour. True, the party still finished 56 seats short of the Conservatives - but there has been some excellent progress, especially in the south.

Seats like Peterborough, Enfield Southgate and Reading East - all won in the 1997 landslide under Tony Blair - have returned to the Labour fold after an intervening period of Conservative control.

More astonishingly, Labour gained Canterbury, a seat which had been held by the Tories since its inception in the 1800s.

And then, in the final result to declare, Kensington - the richest constituency in the country - fell to Labour after a third recount.

Overall, Mr Corbyn won over 12 million votes, more than Mr Blair in his "quiet" landslide in 2001 as Labour polled at 40% for only the third time since 1970.

The return of two-party politics has undoubtedly helped - though it has also assisted in keeping the Conservatives in power.

Nevertheless, if there is now going to be a period of binary politics, a strong opposition must now focus on presenting itself as a government-in-waiting. 

That means more support for Mr Corbyn from his own side, less sniping against him and certainly no embarrassingly pointless and diversionary leadership elections.

It seems inconceivable that the Conservatives will not, at some point in the near future, tear themselves apart over Mrs May's continued leadership after her failed gamble. Meanwhile, the arrangement with the DUP is tenuous in the extreme.

This General Election, when it was called, seemed incredibly unnecessary - and yet perhaps the greatest irony of this result is that it has necessitated another. 

Strong and stable times, indeed.