General Election 2024 Lancashire: All the results and reaction as Labour wins in landslide

As millions of Brits head to the polls to vote on election day, pets are also playing their part in the occasion with #dogsatpollingstations once again trending on social media.

Click HERE to see some of our favourite images from Lancashire so far.

Local Democracy Reporter Bill Jacobs looked back on the Tories’ 2019 shock win, and whether they have any hope of holding this time round.

If Antony Higginbotham was shocked when he became Burnley’s first Conservative MP for more than a century in 2019, he will be absolutely flabbergasted if he keeps his seat.

But as the poster boy for Boris Johnson’s demolition of Labour ‘Red Wall’ of Northern constituencies he will have to do his very best in the current General Election campaign.

He is facing one of Sir Keir Starmer’s bright new Labour candidates in Oliver Ryan after gains in May’s local polls that showed a party getting its act together.

Mr Higginbotham’s only hope as he defends a slim 2019 majority of 1,352 lies in the Gaza rebellion that saw council leader Afraisiab Anwar and several others quit the party over the leadership’s stance on Gaza.

He is one of eight candidates for the slightly enlarged seat with two wards from neighbouring Pendle.

They include from Reform UK, the Workers Party of Britain and the Independents not forgetting 80-year-old Liberal Democrat Gordon Birtwistle who was the constituency’s MP from 2010 to 2015.

After July 4 Mr Higginbotham’s main consolation may be that if he puts up a decent showing there will be more fertile blue pastures awaiting him.

A party grateful for his historic victory almost five years will find him a much safer Tory seat which will assure him a much longer time sitting on the green House of Commons benches in the future.

The full list of candidates is: Gordon Birtwistle – Liberal Democrats; Mitchell Cryer – Independent; Rayyan Fiass – Independent; Antony Higginbotham – Conservative Party; Jack Launer – Green Party; Nathan McCollum – Reform UK; David Roper – Independent; and Oliver Ryan – Labour and Co-operative Party.

Local Democracy Reporter Bill Jacobs looks at the new Ribble Valley constituency where changed boundaries could mean a change of MP.

Veteran Conservative Nigel Evans is hoping his three decades as an MP will just about get him back to Parliament despite the heavy redrawing of his once rock solid seat.

The loss of key Tory areas to the neighbouring new Pendle and Clitheroe constituency and unexpected Labour gains in last year’s local elections make his 18,439 in 2019 look unlikely to be repeated on the new boundaries on July 4.

His successful campaign to save Waddow Hall as an outdoor activity centre could be seen by some cynics as a last-ditch attempt to burnish his local campaigner credentials.

And by others as giving him something to do in charge of the charity running the former Girl Guiding UK hub when he loses his seat.

Mr Evans has been here before after he shockingly lost the constituency in 1991 after a highly unpleasant by-election campaign following the resignation of long-serving MP David Waddington only to regain it from the Liberal Democrats in the 1992 national poll as Labour started the surge towards Tony Blair’s 1997 landslide.

Now with part of Preston which were in the seat when he first represented it coming back the 66-year-old House of Commons deputy speaker is counting on being seen as ‘Mr dependable and familiar’.

He is also hoping his record as a long-term Euro-sceptic despite party warnings it would damage his chances of party advancement will help fend of the Reform UK threat.

The full list of candidates is: Qasim Ajmi – Independent; John Carroll – Reform UK; Maya Ellis – Labour Party; Nigel Evans – Conservative Party; Caroline Montague – Green Party; and John Potter – Liberal Democrats.

Passions ran high as dozens of Burnley, Padiham, and Brierfield people grilled six would-be MPs about the issues most important to them.

There was applause, cheers, and even some heckles at a hustings held at Burnley Youth Theatre as the candidates had their say on topics like the NHS, Gaza, climate change, housing, poverty, and the arts and culture.

Click HERE for the full story.

As Burnley, Padiham and Brierfiaeld voters take to the polling stations, these are the would-be MPs’ manifestos:

Antony Higginbotham: here is the Burnley Conservative candidate's manifesto for the General Election

Oliver Ryan: here is the Burnley Labour candidate's manifesto for the General Election

Nathan McCollum: here is the Burnley Reform UK candidate's manifesto for the General Election

Mitchell Cryer: here is the Burnley Independent candidate's manifesto for the General Election

David Roper: here is the Burnley Independent candidate's manifesto for the General Election

Jack Launer: here is the Burnley Green candidate's manifesto for the General Election

Gordon Birtwistle: here is the Burnley Liberal Democrat candidate's manifesto for the General Election

Numerous claims have been made on social media encouraging voters to take their own pen to the polling station, as a pencil might allow votes to be tampered with.

Evaluation

Pencils are commonly used at polling stations instead of pens. This is because ink might run on to different sections of the ballot and obscure the voter’s choice.

The Facts

In its guidance for polling station staff, the Electoral Commission says people can vote with a pen or pencil.

It says pencils are typically used for practical reasons – pens may dry out or spill on to the voting booth.

Ink can also transfer on to different parts of the page when the ballot paper is folded, potentially leading to a vote being rejected if the voter appears to have picked multiple candidates.

The Electoral Commission adds that there are safeguards in place to prevent tampering with ballot papers.

Seals are attached to ballot boxes at the close of voting, and are removed only when the count begins. Candidates are allowed to monitor the process and attach their own seals if they wish, and to check them before ballot boxes are opened.

The police investigated just 13 allegations of tampering with ballot papers during the 2019 general election, with only one leading to a conviction. This was after a person entered a polling station and took hold of a ballot box, preventing other people from voting.

Rishi Sunak and Sir Keir Starmer have cast their ballots as they vie to win the General Election after weeks of campaigning.

Polling stations across the UK opened at 7am, giving millions of voters the chance to decide if the Tory incumbent remains in the top job or the Labour leader enters Downing Street.

Opinion polls suggest Labour is on course to secure a big majority in the House of Commons and form a new government.

Mr Sunak, who has insisted the results are not a foregone conclusion despite dire poll ratings for his party, voted in his Richmond constituency.

He waved at reporters as he and his wife Akshata Murty arrived hand-in-hand at the Kirby Sigston Village Hall, as he hopes to be returned to Parliament as the MP for Richmond and Northallerton.

The Lancashire Post and the Lancashire Lead joined forces to host a hustings at Penwortham Golf Club.

The event gave voters in South Ribble the chance to quiz their candidates on the issues that matter most to them.

Here is what they had to say...

South Ribble election hopefuls quizzed by voters and make their pitch to the public

NHS staff ‘want to work weekends and evenings to cut waiting list’, South Ribble election candidate claims

Only biological women should be treated on female wards, South Ribble nurse says

Row over whether the A582 should be turned into a dual carriageway ‘at any cost’

Brexit benefits 'blown by government betrayal', South Ribble election candidate claims

Buying a home in South Ribble ‘an impossible dream’ for the young

Row over whether Lancashire needs an Andy Burnham-style elected mayor

14 illuminating pictures capture all the action from our South Ribble election debate

Residents can cast their votes today in the general election and MPs for Lancaster and Wyre and Morecambe and Lunesdale will be elected.

Candidates for Lancaster and Wyre say why you should vote for them

Here’s what the general election candidates in the Chorley constituency have been saying as voters prepare to make up their minds.

https://www.lep.co.uk/news/politics/general-election/general-election-chorley-candidates-set-out-their-stall-in-unique-contest-4688460

Our sister site National World will be following the General Election results as they unfold around the country.

Watch Live here

The Blackpool Gazette and The Blackpool Lead joined forced to host a hustings in Cleveleys to give voters in Blackpool North the chance to quiz their candidates on the issues that matter most to them.

Here is what they had to say...

Voters press candidates on key issues affecting the Fylde coast

Local candidates pressed on wages and social care ahead of General Election.

Plans to restore Fleetwood to Poulton rail line 'still on the table'

Clean up sewage to attract tourists is the call from election candidate.

Hustings panel hears of family set to become homeless as spotlight put on housing crisis

Immigration question sparks heated debate at Blackpool North and Fleetwood hustings.

Candidates go head to head as they set out their priorities at Blackpool North and Fleetwood hustings

The Lancashire Post in partnership with the Lancashire Lead held a hustings at UCLan so residents in Preston could quiz General Election candidates vying to be the city’s next MP.

Here is what they had to say...

General election: Preston candidates quizzed by city voters hustings event

Patients 'should see the right person first time', Preston election debate told

Empty shops, bus lanes and government cuts - what Preston’s wannabe MPs think is wrong with city

Preston 'will have two hospitals' once new Royal opens in South Ribble

Preston election candidate refuses to condemn 7th October attack on Israel

General election: Preston candidates quizzed

In the run up to the General Election the Lancashire Post in partnership with the Lancashire Lead have been running a series of hustings across the county.

Here is what candidates in Fylde said when they were quizzed....

General election: Fylde candidates make sewage, substations and farming their top priorities

General election: 'no point' increasing trains to Fylde towns if they are then cancelled

General election: Fylde candidates' integrity tested as they seek to replace MP locked up by 'bad people'

General election: condemnation of Fylde substation plan that would 'ruin countryside and businesses'

General election: Fylde's wannabe MPs make pitch to voters

Welcome to our live coverage of General Election 2024.

We will be bringing you the latest updates from across Lancashire and the UK as voters cast their ballots today.