Election results to watch out for in the North East and North Yorkshire

After six weeks of campaigning and with the chance to cast votes officially over, attention is turning to the general election results.

Here are five things to watch out for in the North East and North Yorkshire if you are staying up overnight.

The race to declare the first result

It's something the North East has become famous for, and many are proud of, though some councils have been playing down their interest this time.

Newcastle Central was the first result announced at the last general election.

The fastest ever declaration came at 10.43pm, in the old Sunderland South constituency in 2001.

Its successor seat of Houghton & Sunderland South, Tynemouth and Blyth & Ashington are all thought to be in the running, with the winner likely coming before midnight.

Boundary changes make things complicated

This general election is being fought on new boundaries, after an independent national review that's made constituencies more equal in terms of population size.

The North East is going down from 29 to 27 seats, and there's a new constituency crossing between North and West Yorkshire.

With significant changes in many areas, it makes comparisons with previous elections complicated.

For example, the Conservatives famously won Blyth Valley in 2019, but now people there will be part of the new constituencies of Blyth & Ashington and Cramlington & Killingworth.

Election experts have run the numbers and said Labour would likely have won those seats if the last election was fought on these new boundaries, so Labour are seen as defending both seats now.

'Red Wall' rebuilt?

The Tories put significant holes in Labour's traditional 'Red Wall' in 2019, gaining seven seats in the North East.

Hartlepool also switched from red to blue at the by-election in 2021, but Sir Keir Starmer's party are confident of winning it back now.

Bishop Auckland, Darlington and Redcar are also symbolic results to look out for in the early hours.

Some other constituency names and shapes have changed, but Labour are likely to reclaim all of their old heartlands in our region.

Tory turf under threat?

So significant have the Tories' troubles been over the last couple of years, a lot of their traditional territory is no longer safe.

Hexham and North Northumberland (previously Berwick) are being declared at the same count.

Labour have never won either constituency before, but claiming both now could mean they're well on the way towards a clean sweep in the North East.

In North Yorkshire, some opinion poll projections have even suggested Rishi Sunak could lose his seat.

He would be the first sitting prime minister ever to be beaten in his own constituency at a general election.

I think it's unlikely, given he finished more than 27,000 votes ahead of his nearest rival in 2019.

The result from Richmond and Northallerton is expected at around 4am.

What about the other parties?

The Liberal Democrats are confident of winning Harrogate & Knaresborough, which would mean they have an MP in our region for the first time since 2015.

Reform UK are unlikely to win any seats here, but could come second in plenty, and do harm to the Tories particularly.

It looks like the Conservatives will have had their vote share significantly squeezed from three sides.

Our region is of course part of a bigger picture, and those who don't stay up for the results overnight will likely be waking up to news of an incoming Labour government on Friday morning.

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