Workington turns blue for the first time in decades
Political Correspondent Martin Stew.
From the start of this election Workington has been seen as the Bellwether seat. The constituency Boris Johnson would need to win to secure an overall majority. The (slightly simplistic and patronising) analysis was that this election would be about the battle for white, working class, leave voting men.
In that battle the Conservatives have comprehensively won. The Brexit Party vote never really materialised and Workington swung from a 4,000 Labour majority to a 4,000 Conservative majority.
Worth bearing in mind that Labour had won Workington in every election since 1918 with the exception of a brief period in the 1970s.
It was the first Labour scalp claimed by the Tories which saw shadow environment secretary Sue Hayman lose on a 10% swing.
Ms Hayman served as a Member of Parliament for the west Cumbrian constituency since 2015, and will step down to make way for Tory candidate Mark Jenkinson.
After the news was declared, the former MP addressed the room and said: "I've been very proud to represent this constituency for the last four years, and I'm very proud to have been the first woman member of parliament elected in Cumbria."
Mr Jenkinson promised in his acceptance speech that he would work hard for the future of west Cumbria and "get Brexit done."
Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage couldn't resist referring back to Mr Jenkinson's former UKIP credentials. He tweeted: "A personal congratulations to Mark Jenkinson for winning Workington tonight. He was an excellent UKIP candidate in 2015."
The Exit Poll
Exit polls indicated that that traditional Labour seats held by the party for decades would be won by the Conservatives. The Tories were on course for their biggest majority since Margaret Thatcher.
The forecast was for the Tories to win 368 seats - a majority of 86 - while Labour were predicted to tumble to 191 seats, their worst result since 1935.