General election 2024 - live coverage through the night from the Stratford count
Scroll down for the latest news
VOTES are now being counted at Stratford Leisure Centre following the closure of the polling stations at 10pm.
The Herald will be bringing you the latest from Stratford, where three of the candidates have been seen wandering around the main hall where the counting is taking place – Kevin Taylor (Ind), James Crocker (Reform UK) and Neil O’Neil (NONPOL)
11.15pm: This is the first picture from the Stratford count.
11.25: David Buckland, chief executive of Stratford District Council, has confirmed all of the ballot boxes are now here at the leisure centre. Counting continues.
11.30pm: Labour shadow education secretary Bridget Phillipson has won the Houghton and Sunderland South constituency, in the first result of the night.
11.35:In the main hall we grabbed a few words with Independent Kevin Taylor, who was happy with the way the election campaign had gone.
“I wish I had a bigger team,” he said. “People are voting for me because I’m a former [Stratford] mayor.
“The chain of accountability, from the start to the end, needs addressing.
“I think I can win this.”
11.45pm: Reform UK candidate James Crocker, whose wife is a Labour voter, told the Herald: “If I win, I will throw myself into this whole for Stratford.”
He praised his team for the effort they put into his campaign and suggested he would be happy with around 10 per cent of the vote.
James added that the voting in Stratford was unlikely to reflect Reform’s performance elsewhere in the UK.
However, James was impressed with how the younger generation in Stratford had engaged with Reform, asking lots of questions about the party.
11.48pm: Some more photos from the count.
11.50pm: Neil O’Neil, of NONPOL, said he wasn’t talking to the Herald for six months.
As a reminder, if you’ve not seen it elsewhere, the exit poll predicts a Labour majority of 170, with 410 seats. The Conservatives are set for 131 seats.
Let’s see if that comes true.
12.08am: Jill Simpson-Vince, the campaign manager for the Stratford Conservatives, said: “Chris [Clarkson] has hit the ground running. A dream candidate and acutely aware of Stratford.”
She added that she had no concerns about Chris coming from Manchester; he had been chosen by Stratford Conservatives and was head and shoulders above the rest of the candidates looking to replace Nadhim Zahawi.
“If elected, he will bring energy, enthusiasm and he’s a really good learner.”
12.20am: Stratford District Council has confirmed that it sent out 17,160 postal votes and 14,134 were returned. That’s 82.36 per cent – a similar figure to previous years which suggests there were no significant Royal Mail issues in the constituency.
We should be getting the turnout figures for Stratford soon. They seem to have been fairly low in other parts of the country.
12.35am: There’s also a by-election for Stratford Town Council’s Shottery ward. The turnout for that was 72.9 per cent with 2,145 papers going forward to be counted.
12.45am: The Liberal Democrats say they are confident of victories in 12 seats, labelling them “Davey’s dozen”.
The party has claimed it will be victorious in three seats in the West Country – Torbay, North Cornwall and Yeovil.
It is also confident of wins in Eastleigh, Woking, Guildford, Wokingham and Lewes in the South East, and Wimbledon in south-west London.
The remaining seats on the list are South Cambridgeshire, Cheadle (Greater Manchester) and Hazel Grove.
A Liberal Democrat source said: “We are declaring victory in Davey’s dozen, the first 12 of many wins we’re expecting tonight.
“From the West Country to Greater Manchester, the map is being painted gold as Liberal Democrats sweep to victory in the Conservative Party’s former heartlands.”
1.05am: Bit of video to show what the counting hall looks like in Stratford. Gneeral election papers are still being verified at the moment, but counting has started in the Shottery by-election.
1.08am: Conservative Party chairman Richard Holden, someone who was thought to be interested in taking over from Nadhim Zahawi in Stratford, is predicted to lose in his new constituency of Basildon and Billericay. He was previously MP for North West Durham.
1.13am: The turnout for Stratford has been declared: 70.2 per cent. There are 53,138 ballot papers ready to be counted.
That’s the first stage of the counting process completed.
1.17am: Just a quick comparison: the Stratford turnout at the 2019 election was 74.4%. In 2015 it was 72.2%.
1.28am: David Buckland, Stratford District Council’s chief executive and the returning officer for the constituency, praised his election team as they worked towards getting a result.
“They have been brilliant,” he said. “It’s a six-month project delivered in six weeks.”
1.35am Here’s a video interview with Reform UK candidate for Stratford-on-Avon James Crocker.
1.45am: Steven Albon has won the Shottery by-election for the Liberal Democrats.
He had 1,101 votes with the Conservative’s Matt Fallon in second place with 503 votes.
Jacob Hill (Labour) had 246 votes and Claudine Pearson (Independent) 278 votes.
The by-election was held for the Stratford Town Council ward following the death of Bill Dowling.
1.55am: Here’s a video interview with Independent Kevin Taylor.
2am: We’ve just spoken to a Lib Dem source who said they’re pretty confident they’ve won Stratford…. We’ll have an interview with Maneula soon.
2.20am: Reform UK win their first seat - Ashfield was won by Lee Anderson with a 5,000+ majority.
2.35am We caught up with Manuela Perteghella, the Lib Dem candidate, when she arrived at the count.
2.55am: Some more pictures from the Stratford count.
3am: So, just in case, these are the rules for a recount. When can there be recount>
‘A candidate can ask for a recount if a result is close, or a candidate is close to losing their deposit. A candidate loses their deposit if they poll 5 per cent of the vote or less. The returning officer decides whether or not to hold a recount.’
3.30am It’s over and the winner is… Manuela Perteghella. You can read more here
