Nuneaton, Stevenage, Swindon, Worcester: Labour wins in key bellwether marginals

Labour has won the traditional bellwether general election seats of Nuneaton, Stevenage, Worcester and both Swindon seats, in a highly promising sign for the party.

The wins in key battleground towns that have tended to back the winning party will raise hopes the exit poll is accurate.

Labour had needed a swing of 14.5% to win in Nuneaton, significantly above what experts suggest Labour needs to secure a majority of at least 30. Jodie Gosling won it for Labour.

Nuneaton ranks around 170th on our unofficial list of Labour targets, if the party were purely targeting seats by the swing needed from 2019.

Labour has overturned a 13,144-vote Tory majority, with the Conservatives’ 2019 tally was almost twice the 2019 Labour vote share.

Gosling won 36.9% of the vote, versus 28.5% for the Conservatives and 22% for Reform. The Greens took 7%. Sky News suggested the strong performance of Reform was cutting into the Tory vote and allowing Labour to win without securing an enormous share of the vote.

Read more of our 2024 general election results coverage (article continues below):

Election night as it happened: Key results unpacked in historic landslide

Labour results tracker: Full list and map of Labour gains, holds, losses, new MPs

‘We did it’: Keir Starmer’s victory speech as Labour crosses key 326 seat line

‘A landslide masks discontent left, right and centre. Labour has its work cut out’

‘What should we look for in Keir Starmer’s cabinet?’

‘Keir Starmer is at the peak of his power. How should he make the most of it?’

Meanwhile Labour’s general election candidate Heidi Alexander has just been elected as the new MP for Swindon South, a key Labour target seat following recent local election gains in the town.

Alexander was the MP for Lewisham East from 2010 to 2018 and held the role of Shadow Health Secretary from 2015 to 2016.

Labour also gained Swindon North, with Will Stone defeating Justin Tomlinson. It had needed a swing of at least 14% to scrape a win.

Read more on how the night unfolded:

Liz Truss loses South West Norfolk: Beaten by a lettuce, beaten by Labour

Scotland results: Labour makes big gains as SNP obliterated

Wales results: Labour bags 27 of 32 seats as Tories wiped off the map

Red Wall: Gains in Stoke, Grimsby, Redcar, Workington, Hartlepool, Barrow, Bishop Auckland, Darlington, Bolsover

Jacob Rees-Mogg: Senior Tory loses seat as Labour mayor Dan Norris wins

Gaza: Jon Ashworth loses in Leicester as independents win Blackburn and Batley

Islington North: Jeremy Corbyn holds on in strong result over Labour

Read more on what could come next for Labour in power:

Day one: What would happen on Starmer’s first day in charge?

100 days: What would happen during the first 100 days of a Labour government?

Delivering pledges: ‘Change is hard – how can Labour achieve it?’

Manifesto: ‘12 great policies you may never have heard of’

Foreign affairs: ‘Whatever happens to Biden, Starmer faces a US challenge’

Trilemma: IFS warns Starmer will likely have to pick cuts, debt or tax hikes

Read more on how Labour fought this campaign in key battlegrounds:

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