Bbc

South Yorkshire general election count

J.Rodriguez21 hr ago
How the rebuild job on the Red Wall unfolded , BBC News As dawn breaks over South Yorkshire, a teary-eyed Sarah Champion raises her hands and shouts "we've done it people, we've done it".

This track has seen lots of winners and losers – normally though it's athletes dipping for the line.

Tonight, rows and rows of tables cover the blue floor, but people here will still be whipping up a sweat in the race for a seat in the House of Commons.

Before I'm even through the door at the EIS, two people gather around a phone, watching the BBC coverage as the exit poll is announced. Labour landslide, the ticker on the bottom of the screen says.

But that's not the topic of conversation for the Press who have gathered on the benches at the side of the track. Reform are predicted to pick up more seats than expected. The word of the moment? "Wow".

As the first ballot boxes begin to arrive, people can't take their eyes off the two massive TV screens on the count floor. Candidates are pacing, phones to their ears, relaying information to their team, and families.

The number of constituencies here means the counting is split between two rooms; the athletics track, and the netball hall, 40 paces away.

Incumbent Conservative MP Miriam Cates has been fighting for her seat in Penistone and Stocksbridge for six weeks now. She's ready for a long night, it seems, even bringing her own camping chair.

Her team's snacks of choice appear to be Haribo sweets, cupcakes and millionaire shortbread biscuits, but she's spent most of her time tapping away on her phone or speaking to colleagues to worry about them.

The TV behind her has shown the first result to come in - a Labour win in Sunderland South

The cupcakes have just been opened.

As verification takes place in Sheffield, I make the 11-minute drive to Rotherham. This is an area used to being red. Rotherham has been Labour since 1933. Rother Valley had been a red seat for 100 years, before turning Conservative in 2019 in a big swing, with Alexander Stafford winning.

LIVE: Follow all the latest general election results news

Who won in my area? General election results tracker

General election 2024: All BBC stories and analysis

LIVE: Labour win in Rother Valley and hold on to Barnsley

As I arrive in the packed car park, the security guard greets me with a slice of takeaway pizza hanging out of his mouth. "I'll be here for a long night," he laughs.

The counting hall at the town's leisure complex is hot, packed with volunteers furiously flicking through papers.

Reform UK candidate Tony Harrison, who's standing in the Rother Valley seat, tells us he's buoyed by the exit polls for Barnsley North and South, which suggest a win for the party in both constituencies.

"It's looking quite positive," he says.

When asked why he thinks that is, he adds: "Quite strange times, I think it all stems from Brexit. There was a high Brexit vote in Barnsley."

But Labour councillor Chris Read, leader of Rotherham Council, pours cold water on the excitement, saying not to judge the exit polls "too soon", and wants to wait for "the real votes" to be counted.

He's right. There's a huddle around a TV in the leisure centre reception area as the results come in, coupled with a cheer from the Labour members. I think most of that cheer was relief.

Talk turns to how the exit polls could have been so wrong for Barnsley – with predictions for both seats thousands of votes out.

Back in Sheffield, the results come in almost like football scores – back-to-back-to-back.

So quick in fact, the losing candidates seem to evaporate while the winners – who were all Labour – celebrate on the podium.

0 Comments
0