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Millions of voters in the UK today turned out to cast their ballots in what is being described as a landmark general election.
Opinion polls leading up to election day are predicting that Labour will secure a solid majority, while the Conservatives are set for a major defeat.
In the past 14 years of Conservative governments, we have had five Prime Ministers, seven Chancellors for the Exchequer, eight Foreign Ministers and 16 Housing Ministers.
In the history books, this period will be remembered as Britain’s departure from the European Union, weak economic growth, harsh cuts, the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent “Partygate” scandal.
The first results began to appear within just a few hours, with the North East of England being the first to confirm its results and holding the unofficial title of fastest vote counter.
Why are Sunderland and Newcastle declaring first?
It is a long-standing tradition for North-East constituencies to contest for the first announcement of general election results.
Newcastle and Sunderland have a famous football rivalry, but the two cities are also in a fierce competition to be the first to announce the general election results.
Sunderland has held this honour for many years, having declared first at every general election from 1992 to 2015.
However, Newcastle won in 2017 and 2019.
But Newcastle City Council has said this year it will not announce the winner of the Newcastle Central and West constituency until around 1.15am on Friday – far from the usual 90-minute limit.
A major realignment of constituency boundaries – affecting around 90 per cent of the area – means Newcastle will have to rely on ballot boxes sent in from other constituencies in neighbouring North Tyneside, but the delays are likely to mean Newcastle loses its number one position in this election.
The city council says it’s not trying to make a first announcement and that accuracy is its number one priority.
A third candidate, Ashington and Blyth, is also under discussion as the first to be announced, with announcement time expected to be around 11.30pm.
by BBCChief electoral officer Bill Crawford, who has long overseen Sunderland’s speedy count, will travel to Northumberland to lead the count.
Who usually votes last in a general election?
Unlike the race for the top spot in the Northeast, no constituency has the ignoble honor of being the last region to declare its results.
However, several factors may influence why certain constituencies declare their votes later than others.
For example, the vastness of the Blyth Valley in Northumberland and the tidal ranges of Holy Island have made counting of votes difficult in past years.
The final announcement of the year is expected to be made around 6:30 a.m. on Friday.
These include:
- Argyll, Bute, South Lochaber
- Farnham and Bordon
- Ilford North
- Ilford South
When are the first results expected?
As mentioned above, Ashton and Bryce have emerged as the front-runners to make their announcement first, at around 11:30pm.
The Houghton Sunderland South seat is also due to arrive at around 11.45pm.
This will be followed by Basildon, Billericay and Broxbourne at 12.15am.
The earliest recorded declaration was made at 10.43pm in his former seat of Sunderland South in 2001.