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Election 2017 liveblog: 9pm update – Labour takes Kensington in final count

9 Labour has taken Kensington from the Tories with a majority of 20. Well done Emma Dent Coad on a quite spectacular result. Thank you for reading and please keep supporting LabourList.

The final tally of seats is as follows:

Conservatives: 318 (-13)

Labour: 262 (+30)

SNP: 35 (-21)

Lib Dems: 12 (+4)

DUP: 10 (+2)

Others: 13 (-2)

6.50 That’s it from me. If the Kensington count concludes at a reasonable hour then I will post the result.

And here is an interesting analysis from the editor of the Tory-leaning Spectator:

6.45 The third recount is underway in Kensington after council staff were sent home at dawn to rest. Labour’s Emma Dent Coad is hopeful of unseating Victoria Borwick.

6.30 Here is one from earlier – Scottish Labour put together a quadruple whammy of good news to sum up the party’s performance:

  • Around a quarter of Labour’s gains across the UK were in Scotland.
  • Ian Murray in Edinburgh South secured the largest parliamentary majority in Scotland.
  • Labour won back Glasgow North East just two years after the SNP broke the BBC’s swingometer in the seat in 2015.
  • Labour staged a “stunning” recovery, rising from just 13 per cent in April to 27 per cent.

6.15 Jess Phillips, re-elected in Birmingham Yardley, appeared to reference the three terrorist attacks this spring when she wrote on Twitter: “I know everyone is hanging their own ideological hat on this result, but I think the rejection of hatred by so many is the one I chose.”

5.55 Kezia Dugdale, Scottish Labour leader, has published an upbeat message in which she said: “For years, the Tories and the SNP have been desperate to silence the Labour Party. But in this General Election, we found our voice.

“Scottish Labour, having been nearly wiped off the map in 2015, is now sending seven MPs to Westminster to speak up for the people of this country.

“Our party will light the way forward for our country, and the next time there is an election we can win even more seats in Scotland.

“Every seat we win takes us closer to a Labour government, and a country run for the many, not a privileged few.”

5.45 Chuka Umunna has said he would be willing to serve in Jeremy Corbyn’s shadow cabinet. The former shadow business secretary was one of several from Ed Miliband’s top team who ruled themselves out of a frontbench job in September 2017.

Last night Umunna told his constituency: “I also want to pay tribute tonight to Jeremy Corbyn. He has run an energetic and engaging campaign. This result has derailed the Tories’ plans to slash school budgets, cut the NHS, and pursue an extreme Brexit that would make Britain poorer.”

Rachel Reeves has also been tipped as someone who might make a return but she has not revealed her intentions.

5.15 Hello I am back with news of another Theresa May climbdown: Philip Hammond has been confirmed as chancellor. It was only a few weeks ago that supporters of the PM were briefing that the Essex man and businessman would be ditched, following the Budget fiasco in which the government planned to raise national insurance for self-employed people, only to reverse the plan within hours. Now Hammond will stay in post, as well as Boris Johnson in the Foreign Office, Amber Rudd as home secretary, Sir Michael Fallon in defence and David Davis in the Brexit brief.

3.05 I am taking a bit of a break but will be back later to wrap up the afternoon’s reacton.

2.45 Len Duvall, leader of the London Assembly Labour Group, has said people in the capital have rejected “hard-nosed austerity”.

“Londoners in their masses got behind a campaign that promised a better life for their families with real investment in their schools, police and NHS. They must not lose hope,” he said in a statement.

“We will continue to work with mayor Sadiq Khan and London MPs to fight for what’s best for our city. These are uncertain times but London needs certainty on the big issues, not solely for the good of our capital but also for the rest of the country and our national economy. We will throw our support behind mayor Khan’s demands for better funding for public services, investment in Crossrail 2 to support our city’s economic growth, and real action to tackle the poor air quality affecting our communities.

“The prime minister must now do what is right for the people of London and this country by resisting a hard Brexit that risks the economic health of our city and abandoning hard-nosed austerity. We refuse to see Londoners, and the country, left behind.”

2.30 This prime minister cannot go on for another five years, McCluskey has just told the BBC.

“My message is that Labour now has to prepare for government. They do that by the parliamentary Labour party coming back together and being united and making certain that the policies are developed and spread out and propagated in a way that will attract more and more people to us.”

McCluskey struck an upbeat note and said Corbyn had proved the doubters wrong.

“The Conservative Party and the media in general were talking about 100, 150 – I even heard 200 seat – majorities.

“To come from the position Jeremy Corbyn started at – man who has been vilified and attacked very unfairly by the media for nearly two years – and go from 25 per cent of the vote to 40 per cent I think is the biggest jump ever in the history of campaigning. That is a victory.”

2.15 Len McCluskey has called on Labour members to back Corbyn who, he said, had pulled off the “biggest political reawakening of the century”. To read the Unite general secretary’s full statement click here.

2.10 Ed Balls, the former shadow chancellor, has delivered a damning verdict on May’s speech earlier today: “Theresa May’s tone deaf, stubborn and bunkered statement in Downing Street will prove the final nail in the coffin of her leadership”.

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2.05 Labour has published its response to May’s statement in Downing Street and accused May of refusing to listen to the British people, especially over Brexit.

A spokesperson said: “Theresa May claims nothing has changed, but the clear message from the electorate is that everything has changed.

“Instead of burying her head in the sand, May needs to listen to what the people of Britain are saying. The British people have not given her the landslide she wanted and many predicted, and Labour will not stand by and let her impose policies that do not have public support or legitimacy.

“Labour will fight for a jobs-first Brexit. We will defend the NHS and press for policies that benefit the many not the few, and we will oppose any attacks on the living standards of working people and pensioners.”

1.15 May has delivered a short speech outside 10 Downing Steet in which she said the Tories had the “legitimacy” to govern because they had won the most votes and the most votes seats.

12.30 There is a fascinating fight going on in Kensington, previously a safe Tory seat and the one constituency still to declare. After two recounts, the result is close and unclear, and council staff were sent home to rest. A third count will begin at 6pm.

12.15 May is on her way to Buckingham Palace.

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12.05 There is “no going back for Labour”, which has restored its link to working class voters, a trade union general secretary has said.

Dave Ward, head of the Communication Workers Union, said: “The election result heralds a change in the balance of forces in UK politics and there is no going back for Labour. Jeremy Corbyn and the leadership team deserve enormous credit for their resilience and for putting together a superb manifesto and campaign that brought Labour back home to working class people.

“There is work to do and no doubt there will be lots of developments to take into account in the hours, days and weeks ahead. The CWU will support Labour in every possible way to put the manifesto into practise at the earliest opportunity.

“Jeremy Corbyn is delivering a different kind of politics – unions must now build on this and deliver a different kind of trade union movement.”

12 We have a full story on Klug’s comments here.

11.30 The Tories are have agreed an informal deal for backing from he DUP, it is being widely reported.

10.50 Adam Klug, national organiser for Momentum, has told the BBC he is “disappointed” that Labour was not able to form a majority government but raised the prospect of governing as a minority administration.

10.40 Paul Nuttall has said he will stand down as UKIP leader after his party failed to win a single seat.

10.30 May will go to Buckingham Palace at 12.30pm to seek permission from the Queen to form a government. We have a full story on Corbyn’s comments here.

9.45 Here is a summary of developments at the end of another dramatic night:

Britain has voted for a hung parliament.

With nearly all the results in the breakdown of seats is set to be as follows: Tories 319; Labour 261; SNP 35; Lib Dems 12; Greens 1.

The vote share is expected to come in as follows: Tories 42 per cent; Labour 40 per cent; Lib Dems 7 per cent; UKIP 2 per cent; Greens 2 per cent.

Jeremy Corbyn has called on Theresa May to resign, telling the BBC it was time for her to “make way” and that he is “ready to serve”. He also ruled out any “pacts or deals”.

Sources have told the BBC and other media that she has “no intention” of resigning.

9.30 Good morning, it is Peter Edwards, editor of LabourList. Thank to Emma for all her work during the night.

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7.05 Can Theresa May stay as prime minister? It seems incredibly unlikely, and already there have been many Tory MPs baying for another leader. She’s due to speak at 10am. LabourList’s coverage of the election, and the fallout from it, will continue as its ramifications do.

And one of the last (but not the absolute last) seats to declare, North East Fife, seems to sum up the shock of this election. It stays SNP – but by just two votes over the Lib Dems.

I hope you’ve enjoyed our coverage of the vote – I am now going to bed.

6.25 We know that there is a hung parliament, and with 636 of 650 seats declared there’s no too much left to report.

The hubris of May to call this election, and to run the most shocking campaign imaginable, has lead to an unlikely turn of events – Labour outperforming the polls and making some gains. The concern is now though – with no clear workable coalition options, are we going to see another general election before the year is out? I’m pretty keen on democracy, but even I don’t think there’s the energy for that.

The other story of the night has to be the collapse of the SNP vote, and the growth of tactical Unionism. Of course, some losses are perhaps to be expected – their highwater mark of 2015 was always going to be hard to repeat. However, losing 21 seats – and some of you most high profile figures in Salmond, Robertson and Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh – is so much more than this.

These results have been achieved because of hardworking Labour activists up and down the country, aided by May’s miscalculation.

6.00 A hung parliament is now confirmed.

5.45 Gloria de Piero has just hung onto her Ashfield seat – but only by a few hundred votes in the end.

5.30 Peter Kyle has been re-elected in Hove and Portslade. A stonking 18,757 majority – for a seat he wasn’t even meant to win in 2015.

5.25 Stoke South has gone Tory, with Labour’s Rob Flello losing the seat by just 663.

5.15 Ilford North has kept its Labour MP Wes Streeting – with an increased majority to nearly 10,000.

5.10 Labour’s deputy speaker Natascha Engel has lost her North East Derbyshire seat to the Tories.

5.00 Labour takes Keighley – just a 249 vote majority.

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4.55 Mary Creagh holds on in Wakefield, as Amber Rudd only just hangs onto her Hastings seat.

4.45 Labour hold Halifax, Barrow and take Brighton Kemptown from the Tories. Extraordinary results.

4.35  Kezia Dugdale, Scottish Labour leader, has said on her party’s gains: “We’re seeing some really encouraging results across the whole of Scotland.”

“We’ve got a fantastic new generation of MPs going to the House of Commons. They’re going to be champions for their local communities, they’re going to be opposed to a second independence referendum, and they’re also going to be for Jeremy Corbyn’s anti-austerity platform and for raising investment in our public services. I’m hugely encouraged by results across the country tonight.”

“I started Labour’s campaign in Rutherglen on May 8, and I’m delighted that the first result tonight was to see Ged Killen returned as the MP for Rutherglen and Hamilton West. It’s a wonderful result.”

“All the way through this campaign we’ve had two very clear reasons to vote Labour: first of all, opposition to a second independence referendum; and second, a positive, progressive plan for a £10 real living wage, and £20billion of additional investment in Scotland’s economy, money for our schools and our hospitals, and a plan to build houses again.”

“Jeremy Corbyn’s anti-austerity message has focused on radically changing our country and who it works for, so it actually delivers right across this country.”

“The SNP vote is crumbling in their heartlands. Look at what’s happening in Glasgow; look at what’s happening across the west. It’s a very bad night for the SNP.”

4.25 Plymouth Sutton gained by Labour from the Tories.

4.20 Alex Salmond has lost his seat to the Tories.

4.12 Ian Murray has held on in Edinburgh South – a 15,514 majority for him this time around.

4.05 Croydon Central taken by Labour’s Sarah Jones with a 5,652 majority.

3.59 Cat Smith re-elected in Lancaster and Fleetwood. Now a 6,661 majority.

3.55 Chester’s Chris Matheson has been returned for Labour – and now he has a 9,176 vote majority. In 2015, he only had 93 votes.

3.41 Labour’s Chris Williamson has regained Derby North for Labour:

3.37 Labour have gained Warwick and Leamington, now a 1,206 majority for us.

3.31 Labour have taken Canterbury

3.28 Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland has been lost to the Conservatives.

Coatbridge and Chryston is a Labour gain from the SNP.

3.20 We’ve gained Peterborough. Fiona Onasanya has taken it by a narrow margin:

3.17 We’ve regained Gordon Brown’s old seat of Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath.

3.08 We now have our first ever Sikh female MP – Preet Gill has taken the Edgbaston seat.

You can read my interview with her here. 

3.02 Forgot to mention in the flurry of votes – with one Lib Dem grandee losing his seat (Nick Clegg) another regained his – Vince Cable has taken Twickenham from the Tories.

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3.00 Thangam Debonnaire has held on, easily, in a seat that was the Greens’ top target seat.

2.52 There are some huge majorities for Labour people in this election, Jess Phillips is one of these people:

2.47 Nick Clegg has lost his seat, and we’re the beneficiaries.

2.44 Some Scotland results: we lost Glasgow South West by just 60 votes. East Dunbartonshire has been retaken by the Lib Dem’s Jo Swinson from the nationalists, with a healthy majority.

2.26 Labour gain Midlothian from the SNP.

2.25 In Scotland, it has been an awful night so far for the nationalists, and we’re hearing there’s a recount in Kirkcaldy – it is that tight. Inverclyde and Glasgow East both lost by just a few hundred votes.

2.20 Labour’s Margaret Greenwood have held on in Wirral West, and the Tories have knocked out Angus Robertson in Moray.

2.15 Labour gain Bury North.

2.10 Hearing that we will take Glasgow North East.

2.09 That was a 12 per cent swing from Tory to Labour in Huq’s seat – just colossal.

2.07 Rupa Huq holds in Ealing Central and Acton

2.03 Labour gain Battersea and Stockton South – Battersea on a ten point swing, which is frankly, bloody huge.

2.00 Hearing that Ealing Central and Acton might be more than just a Labour hold, but a substantially increased majority.

1.58 Labour hold in Hartlepool.

1.43 Tom Watson has said that Theresa May’s authority has been completely undermined by this result.

We’re also hearing that Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath is on a knife-edge, that was Gordon Brown’s seat.

And there was a 10 per cent swing from Tory to Labour in Putney, which Justine Greening holds onto. My goodness, that’s a big change in a London seat.

1.40 Labour gain in Vale of Clwyd from the Tories.

1.32 Tom Watson holds in West Bromwich.

1.29 Paisley and Renfrewshire South stays SNP with Mhairi Black holding on,

1.23 Tooting: Labour hold for Rosena Allin-Khan, a 15,000 majority. A huge increase, in a seat that many worried about losing to the Tories just a few weeks ago.

1.18 Labour has regained the Rutherglen and Hamilton West seat, and the vote is looking good in various places. Edinburgh South, where Labour’s previously only MP Ian Murray held on in 2015, is looking to be returned with a much greater majority. This is a strongly anti-nationalist vote in Scotland, and Labour seems the primary beneficiary – at least in these seats that have so far declared.

1.16 LABOUR GAIN IN RUTHERGLEN!!!

1.15 Scottish Labour sources claiming victory in Rutherglen.

1.10 Wrexham stays Labour.

1.00 Ealing Central and Acton sources suggesting that the vote is holding up well for Labour, and this seems to be mirrored across many key London seats.

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00.55 Labour sources confident of a gain in East Lothian. Currently held by the SNP’s George Kerevan with a 6,803 majority.

00.50 Labour hold Darlington, and Jenny Chapman holding on suggests that a strong Tory majority off the cards. Excellent.

00.45 Workington and Middlesbrough both held for Labour.

00.25 Newcastle North held by Catherine McKinnell, small 0.6 per cent swing from Labour to the Tories.

00.15 Scottish Labour sources are confident that they will make gains.

00.05 Labour holds Washington and Sunderland West, a safe Labour seat for Sharon Hodgson. A slightly lower majority for Hodgson.

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00.00 Swing to Labour in those last two seats Swindon and Newcastle East, so I’m remaining pretty baffled by everything quite frankly.

23.59 Tories hold Swindon North, not a shock in the least.

23.57 Newcastle East stays Labour, chief whip Nick Brown holds it comfortably.

— Britain Elects (@britainelects) June 8, 2017

23.54 Important analysis from the BBC which I’m going to borrow – there have been two swings away from Labour to the Tories in the two Leave seats that have declared, and one swing from the Tories to Labour in Newcastle Central – which narrowly backed Remain in the EU referendum.

If this holds throughout Britain, it would suggest that Labour will do well in those cities that backed Europe, but in the smaller post-industrial towns it perhaps won’t. Of course, this is all speculative at this point, and there’s a very long way to go.

23.47 Labour hold in Sunderland Central, Julie Elliot’s majority about 10,000. There is a Labour to Tory swing there of 2.3 points.

23.45 Hearing that the picture is very mixed across the country – for example, London is looking very good from all the sources I have, but voices in the North East less positive. Oh gosh it’s all too stressful.

23.30 News from Scotland – various counts so far looking tricky for the nationalists, and Rutherglen and Hamilton West – where Scottish Labour’s campaign was launched – looking positive according to a Labour source, though of course still very early days.

One of the many SNP held seats, in 2015 the nationalists had a 9,975 majority over Labour.

23.15 BBC are saying there was a 3.5 point swing from Labour to the Conservatives in Houghton, as well as the Tories hoovering up the UKIP vote there.

The numbers:
Greens 725
Lib Dems 908
Conservatives 12,324
UKIP 371
Labour 24,665

23.06 Bridget Phillipson is back in parliament!

23.02 Newcastle beat Sunderland!

Chi Onwurah has been, unsurprisingly been reelected – by a very decent margin, so no big shocks so far. An increased majority of 14,900 ish – about 2,000 up.

Lib Dems 1,812
Tories 9,134
UKIP 1,482
Labour 21,071
Greens 595

An important point on swings:

23.00 Some sitting politicians seek to hide their feelings at times like this, but Harriet Harman, the former deputy Labour leader, has tweeted something pretty excellent.

So too David Lammy:

22.50 Houghton and Sunderland South, a Labour stronghold that is often the first to declare, has an increased turnout compared to 2015. Two years ago 56.6 per cent, now 61 per cent – that would be quite a change if repeated across the country.

22.40 So, who is at risk if this exit poll is correct? The SNP would lose Angus Robertson, their Westminster leader, and Alex Salmond, the former first minister, to the Tories. Amber Rudd, who stood in for Theresa May at the BBC debate, is also thought to be in trouble in Hastings, and her seat would turn red if the model is correct.

22.30 This is an interesting point from political journalist Siobhan Fenton:

My two penneth, I fear that there are no workable coalitions here, and if the exit poll is right, which is of course a big if, I think we could see GE2017 2.0. Well, may we live in interesting times?

22.20 Here’s what those numbers would mean compared to the 2015 parliament:

Conservatives: Down 16

Labour: Up 34

SNP: Down 22

Lib Dems: Up 6

Plaid Cymru: No change

Greens: No change

22.10 Ed Balls, the former shadow chancellor, who had his own Portillo moment in 2015, has said that if the exit poll is right the country has given Theresa May a “real kicking”.

22.00 Exit poll results:

Conservatives largest party – no overall majority
Conservatives 314 seats
Labour 266
SNP 34
LD 14
PC 3
Green 1
Other 18

This would leave the Tories 12 seats short of an overall majority.

21.55 EXIT POLL imminent

21.45 The exit poll will come out in just fifteen minutes time – and that means there still fifteen minutes to vote – if you’re reading this and haven’t yet, get to it, and make sure all you friends and family have!

21.30 Hello and welcome to LabourList’s general election 2017 liveblog! We’ll be here throughout the night, bringing you all the news from key seats across the country. Get ready to strap in for the ride.

LabourList has more subscribers than ever before – but we need your support. Our dedicated coverage of Labour’s personalities and policies, internal debates, selections and elections relies on donations from our readers. If you can support support LabourList’s unique and free service then click here.

Tags: Cat Smith / Emma Dent Coad / Kensington / Labourlist liveblog / key seats / Stoke North and Kidsgrove / Lancaster and Fleetwood / Ilford North / GE2017 / GE17 / stoke central / Hove and Portslade / Barrow / Ed Balls / Jess Phillips / Momentum / Kezia Dugdale / Jeremy Corbyn / Target Seats / Len Duvall / Liveblog / Rachel Reeves / Len McCluskey / Unite / Chuka Umunna /
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