Labour and Liberal Democrats win over the West Country in Conservative wipeout

The Conservatives have suffered some catastrophic defeats across the West Country, with the Liberal Democrats achieving a record political comeback in their former heartland.

A number of seats are still yet to be declared, but the scale of Conservative loss is clear.

The Lib Dems knew they would make big gains across the region, but the results are beyond what even they thought were possible.

The former Justice Secretary, Alex Chalk, and former Science Secretary, Michelle Donelan, are among the Cabinet secretaries ousted by Sir Ed Davey's Party in the South West.

Seats like Torbay, Newton Abbot and North Devon have also turned yellow. These were previously considered 'stretch' targets for the Party, given the robust Conservative majorities they would need to overturn.

They have swept to victory in Somerset too, taking back Paddy Ashdown's former Yeovil seat and unseating senior Conservative minister, Rebecca Pow, in Taunton and Wellington.

The big story of the night though is Labour's record landslide and Sir Keir Starmer's party has caused upset in the South West, wiping out the Transport Secretary Mark Harper, Veterans' Minister Johnny Mercer, former Defence Secretary Liam Fox, and former Business Secretary Jacob Rees-Mogg.

Mr Fox's seat has been represented by the Tories for more than half a century and was considered a safe seat for the Party, even in the face of a predicted wipeout.

Weston-super-Mare has also turned red, having been held by the Tories since 2001, along with St Austell and Newquay.

Jacob Rees-Mogg lost to Labour's Dan Norris, the current West of England Metro Mayor. Speaking to ITV before the declaration, he blamed a strong show of support for Reform UK for his potential defeat.

In the new North East Somerset and Hanham constituency, Nigel Farage's Party secured more than 7,000 votes.

But despite the overall picture of success for Labour, Thangam Debbonaire was dealt a heavy blow in Bristol by the Green Party, who now have the city's first ever Green MP.

Ms Debbonaire was guaranteed a seat at Sir Keir's Cabinet table if she managed to hold onto the new Bristol Central seat and was defending one of the Party's biggest majorities.

For decades the West Country has had a political patchwork of mostly blue components and this morning it looks considerably different.

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