Labour have secured their first wins of the night as early election results begin to come in. Shadow education secretary Bridget Phillipson held on to Houghton and Sunderland South with an increased majority, while her colleague Ian Lavery kept Blyth and Ashington. But in the first blows for the Conservative Party, Reform UK came second in both seats, pushing the Tories into third place.
Labour's deputy leader - and possibly the next deputy prime minister - Angela Rayner told Sky News that Sir Keir had 'done a tremendous job in transforming the Labour Party and putting forward a programme for government that the country can get behind'. Meanwhile, a Conservative Party spokesperson said: 'If these results are correct it is clear that Starmer and Angela Rayner will be in Downing Street tomorrow - that means your taxes will rise and our country will be less secure.