General Election 2024: Reaction across the South West to the exit poll

The exit poll is out and it is damning for Conservative candidates right across the West Country.

The predictions suggest the 2024 General Election could see the lowest number of seats for the Tories in the party's history.

It also predicts big wins for the Liberal Democrats, as well as a thumping majority of 170 for the Labour Party.

This is, of course, all just a prediction based on polling of voters throughout the day.

But senior members of all parties have already been reacting to the news - with a former Justice Secretary asking "what now for the Conservative Party?"

Here is the latest from across the South West as we wait for results throughout the night.

• Jacob Rees-Mogg: "The Conservatives have taken their core vote for granted"

Arriving at the count with a big smile on his face, senior Conservative politician Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg said: "I'm full of beans."

But, speaking ahead of the declaration in North East Somerset and Hanham where he is standing to be re-elected, Sir Jacob added more cautiously that he had a "pretty good idea of what's going to happen."

Addressing the disappointing results for the Conservatives, Sir Jacob said: "I don't blame the PM personally. I think there have been problems with the campaign, certain things didn't go as you would have liked.

"But really what has happened is that the Conservatives have taken their core vote for granted. The core Conservative vote, the people who minded about immigration when it obviously got out of control. The people who minded about tax being its highest level for 70 years who have gone and voted for Reform instead.

"We have no divine right to people's votes, we have to win them at every single election and parties do sometimes, particularly when they've been in office a long time, take their core vote for granted and that's been a mistake."

Pushed on how his party can win back those voters, Sir Jacob added: "The Conservative Party has to work out what its policies should be and how it can make itself electable in 2028 or 2029. How we have an offering to the British people that they will like and actually feel inspired by and it's got to be different.

"It seems to me that in 2016 with the Brexit referendum and the two votes in 2019, people showed they were fed up with politics as normal and we haven't responded to that properly. We now need to work out how to respond to that. I think that means doing the things people made clear they want done."

• Justin Tomlinson: "The country didn't feel we had earned the right for a fifth term and it is hard to disagree"

Justin Tomlinson, the Minister for Energy Security and Net Zero has lost his seat - making him the first member of the Government to lose his seat in the West Country.

Mr Tomlinson, who has represented Swindon North since 2010, said "we're all to blame".

"Collectively, the results tonight show that there were a multitude of reasons," he said.

"We were a team, we collectively made poor decisions. We got a lot right - I'm proud of the 14 years, of the investment in public services, the record employment, so don't get me wrong. But we've made other mistakes.

"But after 14 years, the country didn't feel we had earned the right for a fifth term and it is hard to disagree."

Speaking to ITV West Country, Mr Tomlinson added: "It's a dreadful night, dreadful night for myself and my colleagues. There is no excuses, there is no spin - collectively as a team we made mistakes, we ran out of steam.

"You have to earn the right to represent people. Democracy works in this country, and if you don't do that, judgement is passed and they have and they've sent a message. And I accept that."

• Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg: "The disaster doesn't seem to have been averted"

Conservative candidate for North East Somerset and Hanham, Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg has said it has been a "terrible night for the Conservatives".

The senior Tory added that "disaster doesn't seem to have been averted" for his party and said it would be “interesting” to see whether Reform UK leader Nigel Farage can achieve “a realignment of the right in British politics”.Asked whether he thought the Tories should have sought to join forces with Mr Farage, the former Conservative minister told BBC News: “We are where we are and the disaster doesn’t seem to have been averted.“You’ll have to ask Nigel what his plans are.“I think he looks for and seeks a realignment of the right in British politics, and it will be interesting to see whether he can achieve that.”

Former Tory minister Sir Jacob added it is “clearly a terrible night”, and said that the party has taken votes for granted.He said: “It’s clearly a terrible night for the Conservatives.

“There’s no way of describing this as anything other than a bad night for the Conservative party.”Asked where it went wrong for the Tories, Sir Jacob said there were “issues with changing the leader".

He added: “Voters expect the Prime Minister they have chosen to remain the Prime Minister and for it to be the voters who decide when that person is changed.“I’m afraid I think the Conservative Party took it’s core vote for granted, which is why you see so many people who may have voted Conservative previously, going off to Reform.”

• Sir Robert Buckland: "The road is going to be a very long one"

The Conservative candidate for Swindon South spoke to ITV News shortly after the exit poll was first revealed.

Sir Robert Buckland, who has served in a number of government roles including Justice Secretary and Welsh Secretary spoke of preparing for "the most horrible of defeats."

"I was in the 1997 election as a candidate," he said.

"I know what it feels like and you have to brace yourself for the most horrible of defeats. And it's a defeat that will take a long time for the Conservative Party to recover from and the question is 'what now for the Conservative Party?'

"If we come to some glib solutions that seem to suggest we should veer even more to the right and become a party of protest and incoherent anger that would be a huge mistake because it seems to me now the challenge now is generational.

"What are we saying to younger people who want to own their own home? Have a stake in our society, not enough."

• Sir Robert Buckland, incumbent candidate for Swindon South, speaks to ITV News

Looking to the future, Sir Robert said his party faces a "long" and "tough" road ahead to win back the public's support.

He said: "We need to start focussing on the new generation of voters who we need to vote for us in order to get back into government.

"The road is going to be a very long one. It's going to be a tough one. I'm worried if we rush this process we'll jump to the wrong conclusions and make the same mistakes we did after 1997."

More updates to follow...