North West election results coverage

Cat Smith wins new seat of Lancaster & Wyre Labourâ€TMs Cat Smith has won the newly-drawn seat of Lancaster and Wyre with 19,315, a lead of 9,253 over Conservative Peter Cartridge.

Ms Smith was previously MP for Lancaster and Fleetwood, which was abolished alongside Preston North and Wyre - which was held by former Defence Secretary Ben Wallace.

Labour veteran Dame Angela Eagle re-elected in Wallasey Dame Angela Eagle has been re-elected in the Wirral constituency of Wallasey, with a slightly reduced majority.

The veteran Labour politician picked up 24,674 votes, counting for 57.7% of the overall ballots cast, down from 63.7% in 2019.

Reform candidate David Burgess-Joyce came a distant second with 6,678 votes, with Conservative Robbie Lammas in third with 4,987.

Elsewhere in Wirral, Labour's new Birkenhead MP Alison McGovern told the BBCâ€TMs Phil Munns: "I know what a difficult 14 years this has been for people on the Wirral.

"People who work hard shouldnâ€TMt have to struggle and they should be able to enjoy themselves a bit at the weekend too, thatâ€TMs not a pipe dream.

"Thatâ€TMs what ordinary working people deserve in this country. We need make sure that people can afford the necessities of life, and maybe even a holiday."

Tories 'have decimated local government in my city', says Salford mayor The Labour Mayor of Salford, Paul Dennett, has spoken to BBC Radio Manchester about the prospect of a landslide Labour victory.

He said Salford - the 18th poorest authority in the UK - had suffered during 14 years of Conservative rule at Wesminster.

Mr Dennett claimed the Tories had "decimated local government in my city".

When asked about what the first thing heâ€TMd like a Labour government to influence in Salford, he replied: "My priority continues to be what Iâ€TMve been campaign for since day one really, tackling the housing and homelessness crisis."

New Labour MP hails historic victory in Southport Southportâ€TMs new MP says it is a historic moment as he becomes the seaside townâ€TMs first ever Labour representative in the House of Commons.

It was the only Merseyside seat not represented by Labour - now, every seat in the Liverpool City Region is red.

Patrick Hurley â€" who was previously a councillor in Liverpool â€" said: "I feel relieved the campaign is over. I am eager to get working.

"The town has seen better days; if you walk down Lord Street it looks tired.

"People have been mentioning the Pier being closed to me on the doorstep and everywhere looks like itâ€TMs seen better days and needs investment.

"Southportâ€TMs always had pockets of deprivation, but under the Tory government those pockets have expanded."

Reds dominant on Merseyside Labour looks like it has achieved a clean sweep on Merseyside.

They won Southport from the Tories.

Kim Johnson has been re-elected in Liverpool Riverside while Bill Esterson keeps his seat in Sefton Central.

Both St Helens seats are in, with David Baines taking St Helens North and Marie Rimmer being returned in St Helens South and Whiston.

Ian Byrne is re-elected in West Derby.

In all those seats, Reform UK candidates came second, apart from Liverpool Riverside which saw the Green Party candidate Chris Coughlan take 5,246 votes, and in Sefton Central, where Conservative Marcus Bleasdale came second with 8,490.

Over the water in Birkenhead, Alison McGovern is re-elected in the former constituency of the late Labour giant Frank Field, with 22,468 votes to the 8,670 won by second-placed Jo Bird of the Green Party.

Cabinet minister awaits voters' verdict Cabinet minister Esther McVey has arrived for her count at Macclesfield Leisure Centre, where we are awaiting the results not only from her Tatton constituency but also Macclesfield.

They have traditionally been safe Tory seats, but Labour supporters are dreaming of success in both.

From the press gallery, our Cheshire political reporter Kaleigh Watterson says she has a good vantage point over the count, including the boxes where the counted votes are being placed

She says it is looking very close in Tatton, although in Macclesfield it looks like Labour have pulled ahead.

There are still plenty more votes left to count here, though.

Lib Dem joy in Hazel Grove The Liberal Democrats have taken Hazel Grove in Greater Manchester following a collapse of the Tory vote.

Lisa Smart won with 17,328 votes, ahead of Claire Vibert for Labour on 10,828.

Conservative Paul Athans came third with 9,011 - for context, the Tories secured 22,994 votes at the last general election in 2019.

The swing from Conservative to Lib Dems was 13.2%, while it was 16.6% from the Tories to Labour.

All eyes on WarringtonBill Rice BBC Radio Manchester, reporting from Warrington

Warrington is likely to give us a good indication of how big the swing from Conservative to Labour will be in this election.

Warrington North is a safe seat, having been held by Labour since its inception in 1983, and so despite a much reduced majority in 2019, anything less than victory for Charlotte Nichols would be a huge surprise.

Warrington South, however, is considered a bellwether seat - whoever wins there usually wins the election overall, the only exceptions being in 1992 and 2017. Andy Carter won the seat for the Conservatives five years ago with a majority of just over 2,000, but thanks to the constituency changes, analysts say that under the current boundaries the seat would have gone to Labour last time with a winning margin of just 0.06% share of the vote.