'This is for Gaza', victorious Leicester South candidate says

Alberto Costa: I could run for Tory leadershipWill Jefford BBC East Midlands

Speaking to BBC Radio Leicester, Alberto Costa - MP for South Leicestershire - has said he could run for Tory leadership if it is right for his constituents.

"I've just been re-elected and I promise the people of South Leicestershire this, I will ensure that the Conservative Party reflects and goes forward in the right direction and if that means I stand for leadership, I will do so," he said.

Leicestershire and Rutland: The results so farAlex Smith BBC News Online

For the new readers to our live coverage - where have you been?!

While you're waking up to a Labour government heading for a landslide victory, in Leicestershire and Rutland, the picture has been decidedly more mixed.

Here's a round-up of what's happened:

Conservative Neil O'Brien held on to his seat in the newly-formed Harborough, Oadby and Wigston constituency Dr Luke Evans stayed in post for the Tories in the new Hinckley and Bosworth seat Shivani Raja secured a gain for the Tories from Labour Leicester East In arguably the biggest shock of the night, independent Shockat Adam beat Labour's Jonathan Ashworth in Leicester South Liz Kendall retained her seat for Labour in Leicester West Jeevun Sandher wins Loughborough for Labour from the Tories The newly-formed seat of Melton and Syston went to the Conservatives Another new seat, Mid Leicestershire , was won by the Tories Labour gained North West Leicestershire from the Conservatives The newly-named Rutland and Stamford seat was held by Conservative Alicia Kearns And Tory Alberto Costa held on in South Leicestershire Labour have 'a huge amount to do', new MP saysWill Jefford BBC East Midlands

The new Labour MP for Loughborough, Jeevun Sandher, said he had worked for 571 days in a bid to help "achieve the change that we seek".

"We've now crossed the threshold into government," he said.

"There's a huge amount we have to do at this difficult time.

"In 2019 we had our worst defeat in a century, and now is the point where we can help change people's lives."

Meanwhile, Conservative Jane Hunt, who had been in Parliament for five years, said she was sad at the result, and that she had "absolutely loved being the member of Parliament for Loughborough".

She added the national result was "very difficult" because "a fantastic amount of experience is going out the door tonight".

Why did Jonathan Ashworth lose his seat?Aleem Maqbool Religion editor, BBC News

A month ago I reported on the campaign in Jonathan Ashworthâ€TMs Leicester South constituency.

The then Shadow Paymaster General had held the seat for 13 years, and even in Labour's disastrous 2019 election, he won 67% of the vote, but with about 30% of the electorate being Muslim, there was nervousness for one primary reason, Gaza.

Shockat Adam, an ophthalmologist, had been a Labour-supporting political activist but decided to stand as an independent candidate.

Angry about the number of civilians killed and humanitarian crisis in Gaza and Labour's response, he said trust for Mr Ashworth had primarily been lost when the MP abstained from a Gaza ceasefire vote in November.

Mr Ashworth's explanation to me as to why he had done that was that while he supported a ceasefire in Gaza, he did not vote for the motion calling for a ceasefire because the vote would not have achieved such a ceasefire.

In truth, the fact that the order to abstain came from the top of the party would have been a big factor, though it was an order that some other Labour MPs had defied.Mr Adam said his focus was to call out Labour's and not the government's response to the conflict because it was to the Labour Party that for decades Muslim voters in Leicester had remained loyal.

New Melton and Syston MP says team 'worked hard' for trustWill Jefford BBC East Midlands

Newly-appointed Conservative MP for Melton and Syston, Edward Argar (centre), said he had worked hard to earn the trust of his constituency, 17,526 of whom voted for him.

"My team and I have worked incredibly hard since this election was called, andindeed before it, to earn the trust of the people of Melton and Syston and securetheir support," he said.

"It's a trust and support you can never take forgranted."

An extraordinarily good night for Labour - but not with Muslim votersHenry Zeffman Chief political correspondent

Letâ€TMs be clear, tonight has been an extraordinarily good night for the Labour Party. Under Keir Starmer they have won more seats than they would ever have dreamed in the aftermath of the 2019 general election.

But there is grit in the oyster. They have performed strikingly badly in seats with large numbers of Muslim voters. Labourâ€TMs vote is down on average by 10 points in seats where more than 10% of the population identify as Muslim.

Thatâ€TMs one reason Labour have lost Leicester East to the Conservatives and the main reason perhaps that Jonathan Ashworth, a shadow cabinet minister, lost Leicester South to an independent - so far the biggest shock of the night.

Leicester South: Gaza a key issue in cityWill Jefford BBC East Midlands

The Israel-Gaza conflict was a big talking point in the build-up to the general election, and it seems to have been one of the key factors in the shock result in Leicester South .

Pro-Palestinian candidate Shockat Adam Patel beat senior Labour member Jonathan Ashworth by fewer than 1,000 votes in the constituency.

More than 33,000 Palestinians in Gaza have been killed in air and artillery strikes carried out by the Israeli military in response to an attack by Hamas on 7 October 2023, Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry says.

Labour's position had been criticised during the election and a number of independent candidates stood against the party exclusively on the issue.