The JC General Election Liveblog 2024: The moment of truth for Keir Starmer and Rishi Sunak

07.21 JC Politics Editor  David Rose has written a report on the success of The Muslim Vote -  bad news for Israel-supporters in the Labour party. 

 

06.20. Ben Coleman wins Chelsea & Fulham for Labour

The new Jewish MP beat Tory minister Greg Hands by just 152 votes. Coleman is deputy leader of Hammersmith and Fylham Council. 
 

6.18 Good morning
If you’re just waking up, Labour has won the general election, putting Keir Starmer into 10 Downing Street as Prime Minister. Sir Keir’s wife, Victoria is Jewish, making her the first Jewish occupant of 10 Downing Street (Disraeli, of course, was baptised as a Christian).

LONDON, ENGLAND - JULY 5: Labour leader Keir Starmer and his wife Victoria Starmer arrive during the count for the constituency of Holborn and St Pancras during the UK general election on July 5, 2024 in London, England. The incumbent MP for the London Constituency of Holborn and St Pancras is Labour Leader Sir Keir Starmer. (Photo by Leon Neal/Getty Images)Getty Images

Prominent Jewish losers include Conservative ministers Grant Shapps and Lucy Frazer.
Jewish winners for Labour include new MPS Josh Simons in Makerfield, Sarah Sackman in Finchley and Golders Green, and Peter Prinsley in Bury St Edmonds.
The Israel/Gaza conflict had a big impact, despite George Galloway losing his Rochdale seat. Jeremy Corbyn won Islington North, and independent candidates won in Leicester South, Dewsbury and Batley and Blackburn.

06.08. Charlotte Nichols holds Warrington North

The Labour MP beat Reform to hold the seat. 

06.03: Jenrick hangs on

Former immigration minister Robert Jenrick, whose wife is Israel and who some are tipping as a future Conservative Party leader, held onto his Nottinghamshire seat of Newark. Some opinion polls suggested he was under threat.

05.57: Jewish Culture Secretary defeated

Lucy Frazer, the culture secretary has lost her Ely and East Cambridgeshire constituency to the Liberal Democrats.

Charlotte Cane topped the ballot with 17,127 votes, Frazer came second with 16,632

05.34: Labour gain Chipping Barnet

Labour’s Dan Tomlinson has defeated former Northern Ireland Secretary Theresa Villiers.

He has become the first Labour MP for the seat ever, it has always been represented by a Conservative since 1974 when it was created.

05.24: Hertsmere and Bury South

Earlier in the night, Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden comfortably held onto his Hertsmere seat, the constituency with the second largest number of Jewish voters in the country.

Labour’s Christian Wakeford won a big victory in Bury South. 

05.16: Victorious Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer addresses Labour activists
 

04.43: Rishi Sunak and Jeremy Hunt hold seats

Rishi Sunak told the audience in his North Yorkshire constituency that he had called Sir Keir Starmer to concede defeat.
Both he and Chancellor Jeremy Hunt held onto their seats.

04.32: Labour win in Finchley and Golders Green

Labour’s Sarah Sackman has been elected as the new MP for Finchley and Golders Green.

The north London marginal is the parliamentary constituency with the largest number of Jewish voters.

The barrister and member of the Masorti New North London Synagogue defeated the Conservatives’ Alex Deane.

She succeeds Mike Freer, the Conservative Justice Minister who held the seat for 14 years and stepped down following death threats and an arson attack on his local office.

04.24: Damian Egan wins in Bristol

The Labour candidate, who is Jewish and married to an Israeli, has won the newly created seat.

Egan was first elected to Parliament at the Kingswood by-election in February this year. He previously served as mayor of the London Borough of Lewisham.

04.20: New Jewish Labour MP in Merseyside

Matthew Patrick has been elected as the new MP for Wirral West.

He told the JC: “I’m delighted to be elected to represent the people of Wirral West in an amazing night for the Labour Party - this shows just how far we have come since 2019.

“People have demanded change for our country and we will work tirelessly to deliver it.”

04.06: Green gain in Bristol

Green Party co-leader Carla Denyer has defeated Labour’s shadow culture secretary Thangam Debbonaire in Bristol Central.

During the campaign, Denyer was criticised by Jewish former Labour MP Louise Ellman for using the Palestinian flag and images of destruction in Gaza in a batch of electoral literature.

04.04: Pro-Israel campaigner wins for Labour in North Durham

We Believe in Israel Director Luke Akehurst has been elected as the new member of Parliament for North Durham.

04.02: Jewish surgeon in shock Suffolk win

Labour’s Peter Prinsley, who is Jewish, has pulled of a shock result in a constituency that has never been Labour before.
He defeated Conservative former No10 special adviser Will Tanner.

03.53: Jewish Labour MP wins north west seat

Labour’s Josh Simons was the first Jewish MP to be elected on the night earlier this evening.

He told the JC: “I’m honoured to be elected as MP for Makerfield. The British people have voted for change. My job now is to deliver for working people in Makerfield. It will be an honour to serve.”

03.40: Shock Labour loss in Leicester

A key member of Labour’s frontbench has suffered a shock defeat. Jonathan Ashworth, the shadow paymaster general was defeated by an independent candidate in Leicester South.

Shockat Adam had made the war in Gaza a key issue of his election campaign. 

An estimated one third of voters in Leicester South are Muslim and Labour’s stance on Israel’s war with Hamas was said to have hurt their popularity among Muslim voters.

03.30: Nigel Farage enters Parliament

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has been elected as the new MP for Clacton in Essex.

03.25: Jeremy Corbyn wins 

Former Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn has defeated his former party in Islington North.

The veteran left-winger topped the ballot with 24,120 votes, Labour’s Praful Nargund came second with 16,873 votes.

03.10: Iain Duncan Smith survives

The former Conservative Party leader won his north east London seat of Chingford and Woodford Green. The former work and pensions secretary came first with 17,281 votes.

Corbynista Faiza Shaheen, who ran for Labour in 2019 but was blocked from standing for the party came third with 12,445 votes. Shama Tatler, a Jewish Labour Movement member who replaced Shaheen as the Labour candidate came second with 12,524 votes. Shaheen visibly shook her head as the votes were read out.

03.10: Grant Shapps out

Defence Secretary Grant Shapps, who is Jewish, has been defeated by by Labour in Welwyn Hatfield
 

03.00: Labour leader holds seat

Sir Keir Starmer has been re-elected as the MP for Holborn and St Pancras.

In his victory speech the Labour leader called for a return to politics “as public service”.

He faced a strong challenge from independent candidate Andrew Feinstein who came in second with 7,312 votes. Feinstein made the opposition to Israel’s war in Gaza a key element of his campaign.

02.45: Sir Ed Davey retains seat

Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey has been re-elected in Kingston and Surbiton

02.30: George Galloway defeated

Labour’s Paul Waugh has defeated controversial anti-Israel MP George Galloway in the Greater Manchester seat of Rochdale.

02.20: Lee Anderson retains seat

Reform UK have their first win of the night. Lee Anderson, who defected to Nigel Farage’s Party from the Conservatives, has retained his Nottinghamshire seat of Ashfield.

The former Tory Party deputy chair becomes the first Reform UK MP to win their seat at the ballot box.

02.05: Rachel Reeves re-elected

Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves has been comfortably re-elected to her West Yorkshire seat of Leeds West and Pudsey. 

01.40: First Liberal Democrat gain of the evening.

The Lib Dems have gained the North Yorkshire seat of Harrogate and Knaresborough from the Conservatives. This evening’s exit poll put Sir Ed Davey’s party on course for the highest number of seats gained by the party in over a century (and 61 seats).

01.20: Corbyn challenge
Labour sources have told the BBC that their fight against former leader Jeremy Corbyn “looks challenging”.

The veteran left-winger was blocked from standing for his former party and this briefing suggests the result in the north London seat of Islington North could be very close.

01.10: Labour hold Gateshead
Labour’s Mark Ferguson has won the new seat of Gateshead Central and Wickham in the north east of England.

The new seat contains most of Gateshead's Charedi population (the third largest Charedi community in the UK).

01.02: Labour confident in Bury

Manchester Labour sources have told the JC that they expect to win Bury South and the Conservatives may even be pushed into second place.

Labour’s Christian Wakeford won the seat in 2019 as a Conservative, but defected to Labour in 2022.

00.50: Surprise in Chingford?

Could former Conservative leader Iain Duncan Smith survive the expected Tory wipeout? Several Labour sources have told the JC they think results in Chingford and Woodford Green will be incredibly close.

Corbynista Faiza Shaheen, who was Labour’s candidate in 2019 and barred from standing for the party this election, chose to stand as an independent candidate. There are concerns she may have peeled off enough votes to allow IDS to sneak through and survive.

00.15: Labour think they’ve won in heavily Jewish seats

A London Labour source has told the JC they think they’ve done enough to win in the north London seats of Hendon and Chipping Barnet. However, they think the result in Finchley and Golders Green, which has the most Jewish voters in the country, is going to be very close.

23.35: Second result of the night

Two down, 648 to go!
Ian Lavery, who served as Labour Party chair under Jeremy Corbyn, wins the newly created seat of Blyth and Ashington in the north east of England.
Like in Houghton and Sunderland South, Reform UK came second. 

23.15: First result of the night

One down, 649 to go!

Labour’s Bridget Phillipson becomes the first MP to be elected tonight.
She comfortably won her seat of Houghton & Sunderland South, Reform UK came second.

23.00: Tories: Exit Poll is “projection, not a result”

A conservative spokesperson said: “This is a projection, not a result, so it’s important we wait to see the actual results come in.

“But if these results are correct it is clear that Starmer and Angela Rayner will be in Downing Street tomorrow. That means your taxes will rise and our country will be less secure.

“It’s clear that based on this result we will have lost some very good and hardworking candidates. There is a long night ahead and we should wait to see the shape of the government that the people have chosen. We will know soon enough.”

22.45: JC Snapshot analysis:
Champagne corks will be popping and chants of “Things can only get better” will be ringing out at Labour HQ in reaction to the exit poll, which predicts a landslide to rival that of Sir Tony Blair.

What does the result mean for seats that matter to the Jewish community?

If the exit poll is correct, it is hard to see defence secretary Grant Shapps – a former president of BBYO – holding onto his Welwyn Hatfield constituency.

The results for the Conservatives were bad, but not as apocalyptic as many had feared. Yesterday’s MRP poll by Survation suggested that they would get 68 seats but the exit poll estimates they will get double that.

This is still their worst defeat since 1832, but one of the small comforts means that Oliver Dowden, the Deputy PM, will probably hold onto his Hertsmere constituency, the seat with the second largest number of Jewish voters.

Christian Wakeford looks set to hold his Bury South constituency against the challenge of the Conservatives’ Rabbi Arnold Saunders.

Labour may well have done enough to win in Hendon and Chipping Barnet Finchley and Golders Green – the seat with the most Jewish voters in the country – may be just beyond the reach of the Conservatives.

22.22: Reaction from Sir Keir Starmer:
The Labour Party leader is set to lead his party into Downing Street, ending 14 years of Conservative government.

 

22.18: Former Scottish Conservative leader reacts:
Ruth Davison reacts to the exit poll which suggests her party are on course for their biggest defeat since 1832.

 

22.12: Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey speaks:

WINDSOR, ENGLAND - MAY 05: Leader of the Liberal Democrat Party Ed Davey celebrates with supporters on May 05, 2023 in Windsor, England. With 61 of the 230 councils counted and declared from yesterday's local elections, the Liberal Democrats have won 315 seats, up 59. They have taken control of Windor & Maidenhad and Brentwood councils and increased their majorities in Hull and Bath & North East Somerset. (Photo by Finnbarr Webster/Getty Images)Getty Images

Reacting to the exit poll, the leader of the Liberal Democrats said: “The Liberal Democrats are on course for our best results in a century, thanks to our positive campaign with health and care at its heart.

“I am humbled by the millions of people who backed the Liberal Democrats to both kick the Conservatives out of power and deliver the change our country needs.

“Every Liberal Democrat MP will be a strong local champion for their community standing up for the NHS and care. Whether you voted for us or not, we will work day in and day out and we will not let you down.”

22.00 EXIT POLL: The Labour Party is set to win a landslade majority according to the exit poll conducted by broadcasters.
 

21.40: While we wait for the exit poll (due at 22.00), the JC has created a guide of key moments to look out for tonight.

The first result is expected at around 23.30.
The first Jewish MP of the night could be elected at around 1.00.

At 2.30 we will know the result in George Galloway’s Rochdale constituency.

At around 3.00 we are expecting results from Jeremy Corbyn’s seat of Islington North.

Jewish Defence Secretary Grant Shapps will discover his fate at around 3.45

At around 4.00 we find out results from Rishi Sunak, Sir Keir Starmer and Nigel Farage’s seats, we will also find out the result from Bury South.
From around 5.30 the results from all three Barnet constituencies (Finchley and Golders Green, Hendon and Chipping Barnet) are expected.